YET ANOTHER FAMILY REMOVED IN A DAWN RAID FROM THEIR COMMUNITY, THEIR FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS AND SCHOOL IN THE GORBALS
Mr Sinan Kupeli, 38
Mrs Songul Kupeli, 37
Miss Suna Kupeli, 9
Miss Yagmur Kupeli, 6
Yet another Scottish asylum family has been disappeared in a Home Office Dawn Raid from their community in the Gorbals, where they have lived for the past five years.
Blackfriars primary school friends of Suna, 9, and Yagmur, 6 ½, broke down in tears when they realised that the two sisters were not off sick but had disappeared overnight. The family were ‘removed' on 14th October to Yarlswood Detention Centre and face deportation to Turkey on Monday 31 October.
This morning, Positive Action in Housing was contacted by a teacher at Blackfriars Primary School in the Gorbals:
"On Monday we were told that two of our pupils had been taken in a dawn raid. Suna, aged 9, is in primary 5 and Yagmur, aged 6 ½ is in primary 2... their attendance at school is excellent and both girls are happy and well adjusted…. the family had been taken to the airport last week but because of the upset children and Mrs Kupeli being so distraught the airline staff refused to let her fly . It is also alleged that she was given an injection of morphine to calm her down .if this is correct it sounds like assault to me.
It is understood that a 12 strong immigration snatch squad raided the Kupeli's multi-storey. Suna, 9, said form Yarlswood in a strong Glaswegian accent:
"When they came in my room, I was sleeping, and I thought that's a dream, when I wake up they're going to go away. I couldn't see my mum, only her crying in the other room. My dad was saying please don't put the handcuffs on my wife she is too ill and my mum is so crying because they put handcuffs on my mum and dad. I said I want my mum but the lady said no. They took me and my little sister separate from my mum and dad, my sister is only 6½ and she's in primary two, and I holded her hand because she was shaking. I was crying as well. My mum and dad were in the van. They took us in another one. I miss my friends Lauren and Courtney and my class at Blackfriars Primary School, and I miss Mrs Harley she's my teacher, please can you tell them to help me come back home."
Mrs Kupeli suffers from chronic depression because of a bereavement having lost her three month old baby. Her daughter Helin is buried in Glasgow. Despite knowing all this, immigration did not even give her the chance to visit her daughter's grave. Despite her pleas to be with her daughters and not separated, the immigration squad ignored her request and put her and her husband in handcuffs. Mrs Kupeli said:
"A piece of my heart, my Helin, is in Glasgow, I told immigration I want first to go the grave yard, they say no, I said let me have my daughters please, they said no, they put first my husband in handcuffs, then myself. I said not my daughters, I was just crying too much, I thought I never see my Suna and Yagmur again because they put us in separate vans… it was too hard".
Robina Qureshi, Director of Positive Action in Housing, said:
"The removal of the Kupeli family has all the hall marks of the Home Office's favoured tactics of psychological terror, handcuffs and overnight disappearances. Sleeping children, 9 year olds and 6 year olds continue to be dragged from their beds, separated from their parents by immigration snatch squads, and terrified Scottish asylum children are too scared to sleep. Mrs Kupeli, 37, has lost two babies, she suffers from depression and they put handcuffs on her when she asked to see her daughters' burial site before being deported. They also handcuffed her husband. She wanted her little daughters beside her but they separated the children from her and took them in separate vans at dawn. This is not only traumatising the family, its tearing a hole in the heart of otherwise well settled communities. Tony McNulty assured us on October 16 that there would be no let up on dawn raids - which left the protocol in tatters - and he has fulfilled that promise to the letter. The far right need do nothing because the home office is doing it for them and the Scottish executive is sitting back letting it happen on the grounds that this terror and inhumanity practiced on Scottish soil is ‘reserved'.
"Does our First Minister still have nothing to say about this? Does the Scottish Executive think that Scottish people's hearts are so hard that our communities will just let their friends and neighbours and pupils just be disappeared? How can our First Minister allow any Scottish child to suffer this unremitting terror? How can he allow our communities and schools to be traumatised in this way? What happened to One scotland Many Cultures? What is he going to do to stop our communities being ripped to shreds by the barbarity that is uk asylum policy? Does he think the UK asylum policy on Scottish soil is a piece of utter barbarity and has no place in Scottish civilised society? It's time for Jack McConnell to speak up for Scotland. Scotland's people demand it.
"The Scottish Executive wears a cloak of shame so long as tiny children, babies and depressed mothers are dragged from their beds at dawn. Other Scottish asylum children are too terrified to sleep for fear of the immigration snatch squads visiting with their vans and disappearing them too. The psychological terrorism of whole communities continues courtesy of the Home Office and the bought silence of the Scottish Executive.
"We call on everyone to write to the First minister and their MSP, MP and MEPs and ask him these questions and demand a halt to any further disappearances of Scottish asylum families from our communities, whether it is in the form of a dawn raid or a disappearance through the doors of Brand Street Immigration Office.
Suna and Yagmur are utterly traumatised, according to their lawyer, Roopa Tanna, of Popkin & Co Solicitors, 020 7688 2300.
Dawn Raids in Glasgow
Dawn Raids on children and families
Congratulations to those courageous people who have taken this stand - from NCADC News Service
Scotland: Home Office Immigration offices occupied - Vehicle compound for 'Snatch squads' padlocked by protestersJust after opening its doors this morning Wednesday 2nd November the Immigration Office in Brand Street, Ibrox, Glasgow was taken over by protestors and brought to a complete standstill in what is understood to be an all day occupation and effective shut down. It is understood that *Paddy Joe Hill, Tommy Sheridan MSP, church ministers and Sandra White MSP are amongst those occupying the building.
Brand Street immigration office is where asylum seekers go to report weekly with their children and where dawn raid victims are taken to be finger printed, photographed before being transferred to removal centres such as Yarl's Wood and Dungavel.
At the same time protesters were occupying the building. Another group of protesters went round to the back of the building where the entrance to the 'enforcement Unit' vehicle compound for the 'snatch squads' is and chained and padlocked the gates
Join the protesters:
UK Immigration Service
Festival Court
200 Brand Street
Glasgow
G1 1DH
" "Frankly I'm not surprised at the occupation and lock out. We are acutely aware of the growing unease about the inhumanities perpetrated by the Home Office under the 'reserved' issue of asylum. . The more people find out about what is happening, the more they feel ashamed of what's going on in our name. We have consistently made these views known to the First Minister since the removal of Saida Vucaj and her family on 13 September. But there was considerable disbelief and anger when the Kupeli family were removed on October 14, three weeks after the Scottish Parliament itself condemned dawn raids. And of course on 16 October, Tony McNulty, immigration minister then defended the raids and denied they were inhumane. What he miscalculated is that Scotland has a long tradition of welcoming strangers."
"The Home Office's practices on Scottish soil are now causing international embarrassment. If people feel their views are not being properly reflected by the Parliament to Westminster then you have a Braveheart situation and it is no wonder that Scottish people now feel compelled to take matters into their own hands and stand up to Westminster. What's clear right now is that things can't go on as they are and we need for our First Minister to end the shame and dis-gust (the bleeper did not like this word!?) right now and tell Westminster where to go with its constant undermining of One Scotland Many cultures, the fresh Talent Initiative and of course law abiding asylum seeker families who Scottish people want as friends and neighbours" Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing:
Peter Mullan & Robina Qureshi are making their way to Brand Street to meet protestors. It is understood a statement will be made to the press from there.
Messages of support for the occupation: home@paih.org, gillana@parliament.uk, strangg@parliament.uk, susan.deacon.msp@scottish.parliament.co.uk, scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Further information, call Robina Qureshi on 07773321727.
Positive Action in Housing Ltd
98 West George Street
Glasgow G2 1PJ
Tel: 0141 353 2220 Fax: 0141 353 3882
Email: home@paih.org
Web: www.paih.org
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in this email and any attachments are not necessarily those of Positive Action in Housing Ltd.
*Paddy Joe Hill - was wrongfully jailed along with 5 other men for 16 years
End of Bulletin:
Scotland: Home Office Immigration offices occupied - Vehicle compound for 'Snatch squads' padlocked by protestersJust after opening its doors this morning Wednesday 2nd November the Immigration Office in Brand Street, Ibrox, Glasgow was taken over by protestors and brought to a complete standstill in what is understood to be an all day occupation and effective shut down. It is understood that *Paddy Joe Hill, Tommy Sheridan MSP, church ministers and Sandra White MSP are amongst those occupying the building.
Brand Street immigration office is where asylum seekers go to report weekly with their children and where dawn raid victims are taken to be finger printed, photographed before being transferred to removal centres such as Yarl's Wood and Dungavel.
At the same time protesters were occupying the building. Another group of protesters went round to the back of the building where the entrance to the 'enforcement Unit' vehicle compound for the 'snatch squads' is and chained and padlocked the gates
Join the protesters:
UK Immigration Service
Festival Court
200 Brand Street
Glasgow
G1 1DH
" "Frankly I'm not surprised at the occupation and lock out. We are acutely aware of the growing unease about the inhumanities perpetrated by the Home Office under the 'reserved' issue of asylum. . The more people find out about what is happening, the more they feel ashamed of what's going on in our name. We have consistently made these views known to the First Minister since the removal of Saida Vucaj and her family on 13 September. But there was considerable disbelief and anger when the Kupeli family were removed on October 14, three weeks after the Scottish Parliament itself condemned dawn raids. And of course on 16 October, Tony McNulty, immigration minister then defended the raids and denied they were inhumane. What he miscalculated is that Scotland has a long tradition of welcoming strangers."
"The Home Office's practices on Scottish soil are now causing international embarrassment. If people feel their views are not being properly reflected by the Parliament to Westminster then you have a Braveheart situation and it is no wonder that Scottish people now feel compelled to take matters into their own hands and stand up to Westminster. What's clear right now is that things can't go on as they are and we need for our First Minister to end the shame and dis-gust (the bleeper did not like this word!?) right now and tell Westminster where to go with its constant undermining of One Scotland Many cultures, the fresh Talent Initiative and of course law abiding asylum seeker families who Scottish people want as friends and neighbours" Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing:
Peter Mullan & Robina Qureshi are making their way to Brand Street to meet protestors. It is understood a statement will be made to the press from there.
Messages of support for the occupation: home@paih.org, gillana@parliament.uk, strangg@parliament.uk, susan.deacon.msp@scottish.parliament.co.uk, scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Further information, call Robina Qureshi on 07773321727.
Positive Action in Housing Ltd
98 West George Street
Glasgow G2 1PJ
Tel: 0141 353 2220 Fax: 0141 353 3882
Email: home@paih.org
Web: www.paih.org
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in this email and any attachments are not necessarily those of Positive Action in Housing Ltd.
*Paddy Joe Hill - was wrongfully jailed along with 5 other men for 16 years
End of Bulletin: