Mike. This is the real version of the matrix film. Hope people would
understand. Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Higgins" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 3:48 PM
Subject: Claude, in his own words
> "My family consists of myself, Claude Ndeh; Majolie my wife; my eldest
> child
> Cyril Jason Yiah who was born on 18/03/2005, he has sickle cell anaemia;
> and
> my youngest two children who are twins, Tchos Michel Kirsty who also has
> sickle cell anaemia; and Atchom Lionel Gael, both of whom were born on
> 23/10/2006.
>
>
>
> I will tell you firstly how we were arrested. There was a loud knock at
> the
> door at 6 O'clock on Sunday morning, 11th May. The door would have been
> broken if we hadn't opened it quickly. Majolie saw from a window that it
> was immigration and police officers. I said that there was no point in
> hiding.
>
>
>
> Majolie opened the door to ten or eleven of them. All 5 members of the
> family were in the house at the time. We were ordered to sit on the sofa
> in
> the living room, then Majolie was told to follow officers upstairs to pack
> some belongings. Majolie followed, but was then told to return downstairs
> as she wasn't allowed to take anything. An officer said "It's a waste of
> time." Instead one of the officers went upstairs to pack some things.
>
>
>
> I asked for my phone so that I could call my solicitor. I already had a
> letter from her agreeing to a meeting on the 19th May to make a fresh
> claim.
> The officers asked where my phone was and I told them, thinking that they
> wanted to help phone my solicitor. After that, I saw nothing.
>
>
>
> One of the officers told another to take the bags outside. The bags only
> contained clothes for Majolie and the twins. Then there was an order to
> Majolie for her to come outside. I asked "can I bring anything from
> upstairs?" I couldn't find my phone. I wanted to call my solicitor. An
> officer said "I have the phones (mine and Majolie's). You aren't allowed
> to
> call anybody until you're at Yarl's Wood."
>
>
>
> I didn't get my phone back. When we got here I got a phone but it wasn't
> the same phone, though, because my phone had a camera in it. I got my SIM
> card inside a different phone.
>
>
>
> The whole family was put into two prison vans. I was on my own and
> Majolie
> was with the children in a different van. We were taken to a police
> station
> near the Don Valley Stadium.
>
>
>
> I asked an officer if the medicine for the children was in the bag. The
> officer said yes.
>
>
>
> We stayed in the two vans at the police station waiting for many hours.
> We
> didn't have any changes of clothes and there were no nappies for the
> children. We were allowed to use the toilet once.
>
>
>
> At the police station an officer filled in an arrest form in front of me.
> He didn't explain anything or why the arrest had happened. Neither I nor
> Majolie had a clear view of the form and we didn't understand what it was
> about.
>
>
>
> I asked the officer "where are you taking us?" The officer said "I don't
> know, but it's somewhere near Norwich."
>
>
>
> The Police Officer filling in the form was asked why he was only filling
> the
> form in now. He said "we keep postponing this."
>
>
>
> I was told by my friend Fred that the search [or arrest?] warrant only
> appeared in my house after we were taken. He discovered this when he
> called
> around after we had gone. Whilst I was in the Police Station with Majolie
> filling in forms, our children were still out in the van.
>
>
>
> We left the Police Station at about 1pm. This time we were all in one van
> with two officers - a male driver and a female officer. The children were
> given some biscuits and juice before leaving. Majolie and I were offered
> something, but we didn't want anything to eat because we didn't have any
> appetite.
>
>
>
> We arrived at Yarl's Wood at about 4pm, but we stayed in the van for
> nearly
> an hour after that. It was very hot in the van so I asked if the windows
> could be opened. The driver did so.
>
>
>
> After getting out of the van, we stayed in reception for around 2 hours.
> They searched our bags and took photographs of us all. They went through
> the protocol, which involved an intimate body search.
>
>
>
> Majolie told the medical staff about sickle cell and they filled this in
> on
> a form to inform the authorities. Majolie asked for the children's
> medication and the medical staff said they would see if they could get it.
>
>
>
> The medication the officers took in the morning is still being held and we
> have never seen it since we left the house. This includes cosmetics. The
> medication has been here all the time, but they say they have been
> "checking
> it" before they will give it out.
>
>
>
> I put pressure on staff to bring the medication, but when they did bring
> it
> eventually on Wednesday,it was no good as it was warm. It should have
> been
> kept in a fridge. The medicine also only lasts for 5 days, so by now
> [Thursday] it is no good. Now [Thursday] there is no evidence that there
> is
> new medicine. They are simply trying to give us the old medicine which
> they
> have now started to keep in a fridge, again after pressure from us.
>
>
>
> We asked for a doctor to come and see our two disabled children on Monday.
> He did call on Monday to make sure that the medicine he'd prescribed was
> being taken. He was told that it wasn't being given to us and he became
> upset. He prescribed more medicine on Monday, but this hasn't turned up
> yet. Today [Thursday] is the first day that any medicine at all has been
> given (in the morning).
>
>
>
> Staff here promise that the medicine will be kept in a fridge and given
> regularly. This remains to be seen. We need to administer the medication
> to Kirsty with a syringe, but they won't give us one.
>
>
>
> We would like our visitors to be allowed to take Jason to the hospital
> today
> in Sheffield under the direction of Jenny Welch. She has told us in the
> passed that if anything goes wrong with the children, take them straight
> to
> hospital.
>
>
>
> I can't trust the medical staff here as they have never done a blood or
> urine test on Jason, which is always done at the hospital.
>
>
>
> Jason isn't eating or drinking and has lost weight. This is dangerous
> because of his sickle cell anaemia. We are very worried that he might not
> survive. The medicine controls the sickle cell, it cannot be cured. He
> has
> a high temperature and is shivering a lot, especially at night.
>
>
>
> The other children aren't eating or drinking properly either. They are
> all
> fatigued and lethargic. Kirsty also has sickle cell anaemia, but it
> hasn't
> manifested itself like it has in Jason.
>
>
>
> The medical centre is about 100m away from our cell and up some stairs.
> Jason can't walk at all at the moment because he is so tired and has no
> energy. He doesn't make any noise at all, which is very unusual for him.
>
>
>
> Our room here has 2 single beds. It is about 4m by 5m. I mostly sleep
> on
> the floor with Kirsty and Gael. Now because he is so ill, Jason has a bed
> and Majolie has the other bed.
>
>
>
> We can't drink the water in our room because the water from the tap is
> dirty. We have been given no towels. Nothing. We have one towel meant
> for
> one of the babies, which we brought with us. This is all we have.
>
>
>
> There is no soap and no hot water. This means that the risk of infection
> is
> high - especially for the children.
>
>
>
> It gets too cold to sleep at night. We have no blankets. We were given
> two
> sheets which are made of nylon. They are very thin and you can see
> through
> them if you hold them up. 2 days ago I said that this wasn't enough and
> explained that the children needed to be warm. They brought two more of
> the
> same blankets. Jason has only been able to where the twins clothes up
> until
> now (Thursday) as we didn't have any of his or a change of clothes for me.
> Our visitors brought these today.
>
>
>
> There is a canteen here. There is milk available from the shop, which is
> all Kirsty is having. It costs 50p for half a litre and is always past
> its
> use-by date.
>
>
>
> There is hard rice and cooked potato available from the canteen. The food
> here is unacceptable. It doesn't taste nice and people only eat because
> they have to. The bins are full of food because people don't want to eat
> it.
>
>
>
> Majolie and I are under a lot of stress and haven't eaten much at all.
> This
> is a prison and people are ordered back to their rooms for a head-count
> regularly.
>
>
>
> I am not even allowed to call my solicitor. I have credit on my phone,
> but
> it is being controlled. If I try to phone my solicitor the answer comes
> "you cannot call this number." My phone has been blocked. I gave the
> number for my solicitor to a nurse when I came here and I think this may
> be
> how they know which is my solicitor's number.
>
>
>
> I came over to the UK on a boat in 2002. Majolie came on the 1st October
> 2004. She made an asylum claim when she came over, but she could produce
> no
> evidence that she was being persecuted because of my political activity,
> so
> her claim was rejected.
>
>
>
> Majolie faced problems in Cameroon because of her relationship with me.
> She
> was persecuted because of this. The authorities here didn't believe her.
> The solicitor said that this didn't matter as my claim was good and that
> Majolie could stay as my spouse.
>
>
>
> I was the secretary and tract writer for the demonstration against the
> state
> killing of 9 children in Cameroon. I also dispatched the leaflet in the
> city. The chairperson of the campaign was called Bethuel Kouatou. His
> claim for asylum in the UK because of his persecution for organising this
> demonstration has been accepted yet mine hasn't. He has got refugee
> status.
> It's not normal. It's not fair. I don't know why they are treating me
> differently. I have all the evidence, the newspapers and have given it to
> the Home Office.
>
>
>
> When I came here on the 20th January 2002 I was in contact with the
> British
> Red Cross. They brought the evidence here. Still nobody believes me.
> The
> Home office has all the evidence.
>
>
>
> Majolie remembers that in the first claim, the judge believed everything I
> said, but nothing of what she said. I am frightened of being deported.
>
>
>
> Before I escaped from Cameroon, I was in prison - as was Majolie. If I am
> deported, as soon as I land back in Cameroon, I will be put straight back
> in
> prison, as will we all.
>
>
>
> We don't know exactly what would happen to the children. They would most
> likely end up in prison with us. They would most certainly die. We would
> all end up in the same room. There is a high risk of infection
> (especially
> malaria) and this risk is heightened by sickle cell anaemia. Prisons in
> Cameroon are dirty and over-crowded. In prison in Cameroon inmates get
> beatings for breakfast!
>
>
>
> We want help to get out of here [Yarl's Wood]. We also need urgent help
> to
> get the two disabled children into hospital as soon as possible. They
> randomly fall asleep and urgently need blood and urine tests."
>
> ________________End of message________________
>
> This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for
> Disability Studies at the University of Leeds
> (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
> Enquiries about list administration should be sent to
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Archives and tools are located at:
> www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
> You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web
> page.
>
________________End of message________________
This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask]
Archives and tools are located at:
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page.
|
