Protest the deportatio of Lordorice and Imelda

antrim | racism & migration related issues | event notice Friday May 18, 2007 20:29 by fli

11th Hour protest to prevent deportation of mother and baby to cameroon. Tues 22nd May, 1pm, City hall.

Press Release

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FROM: “The Friends of Lordorice and Imelda”
DATE: 18th May 2007
EMBARGO: For immediate release
“11TH HOUR” PROTEST TO PREVENT DEPORTATION OF MOTHER AND BABY TO CAMEROON
In a last ditch attempt to save a woman and her 1 year old child from being deported back to the Cameroon, a range of concerned campaigners will gather to protest outside Belfast City Hall at lunchtime on Tuesday 22nd May at 1pm.

Calling themselves “The Friends of Lordorice and Imelda”, campaigners for the pair say that if they are sent back to the Cameroon, there is a serious risk to the life of this woman and potentially even that of her daughter.

Lordorice Djountso arrived in Belfast in August 2005. Already pregnant, her daughter Imelda was born here in early 2006. She fled from her home in Cameroon following her brutal rape and the murder of her brothers as part of a bitter dispute with a powerful local chief. She was forced to leave her partner behind, who was also attacked and has subsequently disappeared.

Following an unsuccessful claim for asylum, Lordorice and her daughter were picked up by Immigration Officers and have now been imprisoned in detention for two months awaiting deportation. At the time of her detention Lordorice was receiving treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. Since being in detention she has received no treatment at all for this condition. Lawyers acting on behalf of the mother and child took the case all the way to the Court of Appeal but were unable to prevent the Removal Order. Lordorice and her daughter are due to be deported to Cameroon on 23rd May 2007.

Those who are familiar with the case have said that it is one of the worst that they have seen. The threatened deportation has shocked even those who are well used to the Home Office policy of detaining and removing those whose claims for asylum have failed. Barbara Muldoon from the Anti Racism Network who is herself an Immigration Practitioner has said she is “deeply disturbed” by the case. “Like most asylum cases Lordorice’s refusal of refugee status was based on her not having sufficient evidence, as if those who are fleeing for their lives are handed a certificate of persecution as they are leaving the country. Lordorice has a professional diagnosis of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, compelling evidence of harm that was completely discounted by the Home Office. It is horrific that a woman and child who have sought shelter in our community will be forced onto a plane and taken back to the very place where they are most at risk”.

At this 11th hour campaigners are urging politicians from across the political spectrum to get behind the campaign and call for a halt to Wednesday’s deportation until there can be a full review of the case. Organisers also intend to ask the office of the Child’s Commissioner and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to intervene on behalf of the pair.

Campaigners say that if the Home Office has made the right decision then they have nothing to fear by having the case reviewed “surely the lives of a woman and child are worth ensuring that the UK Home Office are not intending to fly them to a country where they will suffer injury or death”.

Despite her trauma Lordorice was an active member of The Church of the Good Shepherd, where the parish priests who christened her daughter have described their loss of an active, integrated and popular member of the congregation: “we hope her appeal will be reconsidered so that she may remain a valued member of the parish and local community”.

A driven, hard-working woman, she also volunteered with Mornington and Corymeela Community Centres, offering her skills and attending residential. She is a popular and well known participant in the One Vision Project in South Belfast, where friend and protest organiser Cassie McKeever explained the aim of Tuesday’s protest: “Belfast feels the loss of a bright, kind young woman – a model citizen – and her beautiful daughter. We call on the government to grant her the appeal she richly deserves, to secure her return to the community she has made her home”.
She is regarded with deep affection by everyone who knows her and her young daughter, and it is expected that a number of people from these groups together with human rights campaigners and campaigners for refugee rights will attend Tuesday’s protest.

For more info contact Cassie, 07745724703.