Sikh Teenager Held in Asylum Detention Center
Satnam Singh Gurwara, a 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, is currently being held in a detention center in Manchester, UK after his application for asylum was denied. His mother, is begging officials to show “humanity” and release her teenage son from the detention center. The Home Office is understood to have rejected his claim for asylum amid questions over his claimed age of 16.
Satnam Singh Gurwara says he was just 12 when he was snatched on his way to a Sikh temple in his native Afghanistan. He says he was held for two days and needed 39 stitches in his leg when he was released. But his family continued to face threats – and they decided to sell everything they owned and flee the country in April 2007. They settled in Bolton, where Satnam became a student at the community college. [link]
The Refugee and Asylum Participatory Action Research Organisation (RAPAR) is calling for the Home Office to release Satnam immediately.
Ben Hickman, a member of RAPAR’s leadership group said: “We are outraged that an innocent young person can be detained like this. We are doing all that we can to demand that the Home Office release him immediately and return him to his family. Our thoughts are with him, as we cannot be, while he is held captive.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We do not accept that we should make the provision that each and every asylum seeker that presents themselves as being from a particular country or a particular region should automatically be given UK protection. “Such an approach would lead to abuse and would cause a pool of other applicants. Therefore, applications are considered on their individual basis.”Only those who will face fear, persecution or crisis at home will be granted asylum and we will enforce the return of those individuals that the courts are satisfied are not at risk of persecution when they return to Afghanistan.”
There is a petition circulating and a meeting, planned in support of the family, will be held at the Socialist Club in Wood Street, Bolton town centre, on Wednesday February 11th at 7.30pm. Satnam’s friends have even started a Facebook group to show their solidarity.
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO:
ukbapublicenquiries[at]ukba.gsi.gov.uk and
citto[at]homeoffice.gsi.gov.ukAsk for the immediate release of Satnam Singh Gurwara!
We will update once we have more information. Perhaps our UK Langarites will update us as more news arises about Satnam’s release.
17 Responses to “Sikh Teenager Held in Asylum Detention Center”
This is so unfortunate for this family to be treated this way. What's the alternative – send them back to Afghanistan simply because of his age?
This is so unfortunate for this family to be treated this way. What’s the alternative – send them back to Afghanistan simply because of his age?
Well there is this place called the Punjab. There are millions of sikh's there. I think he could adjust to living in place like that.
But the one thing I have never understood that is that there have been sikh's in Afghanistan for a long time. And when the Taliban took over they treated the small sikh population there horrible, yet rest of the sikh world did nothing. Yet in a place like Sweden or Denmark if sikh has to take his kirpan off to enter a building, all hell brake lose and every sikh group out there is ready to fight.
Well there is this place called the Punjab. There are millions of sikh’s there. I think he could adjust to living in place like that.
But the one thing I have never understood that is that there have been sikh’s in Afghanistan for a long time. And when the Taliban took over they treated the small sikh population there horrible, yet rest of the sikh world did nothing. Yet in a place like Sweden or Denmark if sikh has to take his kirpan off to enter a building, all hell brake lose and every sikh group out there is ready to fight.
uh 'suki' your pathetic attempts at masking your identity with incorrect grammer and syntax-it doesn't fool anyone. Just makes us laugh. Here and on Sepia Mutiny where sometimes you forget who you are posing as and write perfect english! Jackass!
uh ‘suki’ your pathetic attempts at masking your identity with incorrect grammer and syntax-it doesn’t fool anyone. Just makes us laugh. Here and on Sepia Mutiny where sometimes you forget who you are posing as and write perfect english! Jackass!
When something like this happems to one Sikh, it happens to us all. Suki, whoever you are, I agree with bdb.
Sundari ji, long time, eh?
Unfortunately, I cannot read that email address. Could you please post it again. Thanks.
When something like this happems to one Sikh, it happens to us all. Suki, whoever you are, I agree with bdb.
Sundari ji, long time, eh?
Unfortunately, I cannot read that email address. Could you please post it again. Thanks.
Mai Harinder, Here are the email addresses:
ukbapublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk and
citto@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Hope that helps.
Mai Harinder, Here are the email addresses:
ukbapublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk and
citto@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Hope that helps.
I suggest his family applies for asylum in Australia. This is bacause the number of asylum granted in australia is much higher.In addition the number of applicants for asylum in Australia is significantly lower than UK.Based on this 2 facts, his family chances of getting an asylum in Australia will be much higher.
——————————————————————————–
Main countries of resettlement of refugees in 2006*
USA 41,300
Australia 13,400
Canada 10,700
Sweden 2,400
Norway 1,000
New Zealand 700
Finland 550
Denmark 530
Netherlands 500
UK 380
Ireland 200
Brazil 50
Chile 40
Mexico 10
——————————————————————————–
New asylum applications submitted in selected industrialized countries in 2005*
France 49,700
USA§ 39,200
UK 30,500
Germany 28,900
Austria 22,500
Canada 20,800
Sweden 17,500
Belgium 16,000
Netherlands 12,300
Switzerland 10,100
source :http://www.unhcr.org/country/gbr.html
I suggest his family applies for asylum in Australia. This is bacause the number of asylum granted in australia is much higher.In addition the number of applicants for asylum in Australia is significantly lower than UK.Based on this 2 facts, his family chances of getting an asylum in Australia will be much higher.
——————————————————————————–
Main countries of resettlement of refugees in 2006*
USA 41,300
Australia 13,400
Canada 10,700
Sweden 2,400
Norway 1,000
New Zealand 700
Finland 550
Denmark 530
Netherlands 500
UK 380
Ireland 200
Brazil 50
Chile 40
Mexico 10
——————————————————————————–
New asylum applications submitted in selected industrialized countries in 2005*
France 49,700
USA§ 39,200
UK 30,500
Germany 28,900
Austria 22,500
Canada 20,800
Sweden 17,500
Belgium 16,000
Netherlands 12,300
Switzerland 10,100
source:http://www.unhcr.org/country/gbr.html
BAD NEWS SATNAM SINGH FROM BOLTON HAS BEEN DEPORTED BACK TO AFGHANISTAN.AS AFTER BEING A SIKH AND ASYLUM SEEKER I THINK HOME OFFICE DOES NOT TRY TO UNDERSTAND AND GO THROUGH THE APLLICANTS CASE.I THINK ALL OF US SHOULD TRY SOMETHING TO GET SATNAM BACK AND HELP HIS FAMILY………..SATNAM's FREIND
singhrules21@yahoo.com
BAD NEWS SATNAM SINGH FROM BOLTON HAS BEEN DEPORTED BACK TO AFGHANISTAN.AS AFTER BEING A SIKH AND ASYLUM SEEKER I THINK HOME OFFICE DOES NOT TRY TO UNDERSTAND AND GO THROUGH THE APLLICANTS CASE.I THINK ALL OF US SHOULD TRY SOMETHING TO GET SATNAM BACK AND HELP HIS FAMILY………..SATNAM’s FREIND
singhrules21@yahoo.com
am gurmit sing resident of stoke on trent am also in same condition seperated from my mother 58 and father 63 . at the moment am in manchester detention centre going to be deported on 24 nov, 2009 at 7.30 pm flight plz help me i acnt live without my parents and they live without me
am gurmit sing resident of stoke on trent am also in same condition seperated from my mother 58 and father 63 . at the moment am in manchester detention centre going to be deported on 24 nov, 2009 at 7.30 pm flight plz help me i acnt live without my parents and they live without me
what is going is against humanity. if minorities are treated in this way,then as the time passes by community which are in majorities may become minority as time passes by.