Celebrity authors have joined forces in a last-ditch plea to prevent the deportation of a respected playwright.
Lydia Besong fled war-torn Cameroon with her husband, Bernard Batey, in 2006.
She claims she was persecuted and jailed because of her political activities then raped in prison. The couple have been seeking asylum ever since and set up home in Bury.
But both are now in custody and are due to be deported to Cameroon tomorrow. The Home Office has refused a series of appeals lodged by the couple against deportation.
A letter supporting Lydia and Bernard has now been sent to home secretary Theresa May, signed by more than 30 leading writers, actors and journalists.
They include Brick Lane author Monica Ali, Stockport-born journalist and author Joan Bakewell and About a Boy and Fever Pitch author Nick Hornby.
Former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo, whose novel War Horse has just been transformed into a Hollywood blockbuster by Steven Spielberg, and top stage and screen actress Juliet Stevenson have also pledged their support.
Morpurgo begged the government not to remove a ‘remarkable’ woman.
He said: “How this country treats asylum seekers is the measure of what kind of people we are. Lydia was oppressed in Cameroon. That there is risk she will be imprisoned and abused again seems undeniable.
“That she is extraordinarily brave in her stand against oppression is clear. “And that her talents would be of great value to us as a citizen in our society would seem to be obvious.”
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Juliet Stevenson, known for her roles in Truly, Madly, Deeply and Mona Lisa Smile, added: “Lydia Besong is an incredibly courageous woman who has put her head above the parapet to talk about her experience and write her plays. This country should not send her back to a situation where she could be in very real danger.”
The campaign has been organised by national organisation Women for Refugee Women and English PEN. The couple are due to leave on an Air France flight from Heathrow at 8.20am tomorrow.
Lydia remains at Yarl’s Wood detention centre in London and Bernard at Morton Hall prison in Lincoln, supporters say. One of Lydia’s plays, How I Became an Asylum Seeker, has been performed across the country
Natasha Walter, director of Women for Refugee Women said: “Lydia’s courage and creativity is a real inspiration for those standing up to oppression. It is shocking to see how she has struggled to get a fair hearing in the UK asylum process.”
The UK Border Agency said: “The UK has a proud record of offering sanctuary to those who need it, but where we and the courts have found they do not qualify for protection they must return to their home country.”
“Where individuals seek to frustrate their removal through the courts it can delay the returns process, however we will continue to pursue removal in these cases.”
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Overall we need to resolve Asylum issues for the UK but you need asylum based on violence related political and not because of being a playwright. I just don't like playwrights and authors only supporting an individual because they are an author or playwright, would the same levels support begiven to someone whose career were different?
not staying here...Goodbye
There are other countries in Europe to live. Oh wait now I remember other countries don't give as many handouts as we do. With regards to his comments about how the UK treat asylum seekers just look at the latest figures pal released today.
As someone who has lived and worked in Cameroon can I correct a number of serious errors in this article.
Firstly: "war-torn Cameroon" - what unmitigated rubbish! Post-colonial Cameroon has been amongst the most stable countries in Africa.
Secondly: Unlike many countries Cameroon has free political parties and an open press who are not afraid to criticise the government.
Thirdly: "political reasons" are very rarely the cause when people have a run-in with authority; it is usually because they have offended someone or an individual has a grudge against them. [I have seen this happen and because Cameroon operates the system of "guilty until proven innocent", people often end up in goal for no good reason other than the unreliable word of another.]
Fourthly, if someone doe not agree with your political views, it does not give you the right to feel persecuted.
All of this does not currently justify being allowed to claim asylum in the UK. Cameroon is a country which Britain regards, quite correctly, as being safe and in comparison to many others (Zimbabwe, Somalia, Afghanistan etc.), this is probably true.
It is a shame that "celebs", who probably know nothing about Cameroon other than what they are told by people with a degree of self interest, are dragged into giving their backing.
These articles always bring out the idiot, racist, posters... more of the same please, MEN.
Back you go, lines have to be drawn I'm afraid. Africa needs to keep its talent if it is ever to drag itself out of the mire.
Although i sympathise with this woman doesn't she realise the country is on its knees, we are at bursting point, charity begins at home.
Who does she think she is? Would an englishman just turn up in a foreign country and help himself!???!?!?!
An asylum seeker who has been refused a stay in the country, time to go, and go now, regardless of any excuses or trivial reasons, get him out along with all the other 50,000 illegal's.
As ever, the MEN allows some of our less charitable views to be aired.
Fortunately Air France's facebook shows that there are different attitudes as well. Let's hope that AF take notice before people's trips are disrupted.
Reports like this always bring out the 'for' and 'against' arguments. Facts are we have an established asylum policy in the UK which many feel is unjust and many believe to be far too easily exploited. Mr Morpurgo has a right to air his views in our free speech society, however, once a decision is made (based on all the facts and not just the ones that MEN feel makes a good story) the Home Office is acting within their remit to remove from the UK. Sad - yes / unfair - no.
we need a complete overhaul of the asylum seeking law. and why is it that in calais everyone want to get in to britain? answer were not hard lined enough!!!