Armenian family back home in Bristol after 'draconian' detention
An Armenian family seized from their Bristol home and taken to a detention centre to be deported have been released by the UK Border Agency.
Anna Vardanyan, 33, and her three children – Mariam, 16; Norik, 12; and Gayana, eight – have spent the past two weeks at the Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire.
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But last night they arrived back at Temple Meads railway station, their ordeal over after they were given leave to stay at home in St George while an appeal to keep them in the country is heard.
Paulette North, a teacher at the City Academy and a member of Bristol Defend The Asylum Seekers Campaign, has long championed the family's case.
She said: "We were so overjoyed to hear the news because it has been a harrowing time for them.
"I spoke to them several times before they got back and they were ecstatic they were out, but at the same time they were very distressed.
"They are not in good physical or mental health and have suffered immensely from this ordeal.
"Mariam contracted salmonella food poisoning and was in hospital for a day and a half, and she is still very weak.
"Anna is very distressed. When they seized them two weeks ago they threw their belongings in the back of a people carrier.
"When they released them yesterday they put everything in tiny bags and just thrust a ticket into Anna's hand, with no help to get back. They didn't even know if they were on a coach or a train."
The Vardanyans have lived in St George for seven years.
Mariam and Norik attend City Academy in Lawrence Hill, while Gayana goes to Summerhill Junior School in St George.
They were removed on October 5 when 10 police officers and immigration officials raided their home and were due to be deported on October 9.
But at 5.55pm that evening their solicitor rang supporters who were demonstrating outside Trinity Road police station to say an injunction had been granted.
Ms North said that their release yesterday was down to pressure put on the government and the detention centre by the family's friends, unions and pupils at the City Academy, who gathered a petition to take to the Prime Minister and wrote to the children's commission calling for them to be freed.
She said: "It was also because there is a judicial review. The family are now in the legal loop, and we are waiting for the results of the review, which could take a few months.
"It will prove that the Government has not examined the new evidence enough, showing that if Anna went back to Armenia she would face further abuse.
"When the news was relayed to the staff and pupils at the City Academy all Mariam's friends went wild and cheered, with Anna on the other end of the phone thanking them.
"It is barbaric and draconian of this country to lock children up, and we will be having a big open meeting in the middle of November to highlight the issue."
The UK Border Agency said that the Vardanyans were living in the country illegally after their claim for asylum was turned down and appeals failed.
The family's solicitor has applied for a judicial review of the case, which will be heard in the High Court.
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by SJB, Clifton
Tuesday, October 20 2009, 10:12PM
“@ Paul
Apologies for offending you but I find views like the one you published (to the tune of "You can't keep giving people appeal after appeal, if they are here illegally which they were found to be ,then sorry they have to be deported,") hard to stomach. I did not mean to personally attack you but rather the prevalence of views like yours and the related ignorance (that you, yourself have admitted to) regarding current UK policy determining entry into the country and the subsequent treatment for different foreign national groups.
Basically my fundamental point is that if you are not familiar with the requirements asked of asylum seekers by the UK governments then how can you be of the opinion that if they are denied access to the country then they should be deported? Surely this requires knowledge of the grounds on which their plea could be dismissed? For example, even if a particular asylum seekers claim is looked into by the Border agency and found to be legitimate, as in it is accepted that the return to their home country would put them at high risk of death or injury or other harms, that they could still be detained and even deported simply for not having the necessary identification documentation such as a valid passport or for even missing or being late to a check-up appointment? So my point is that the reason why an appeal can be denied can have absolutely nothing to do with the validity of an individual's claim of the need for asylum.
So going back to your original comment Paul, do you still think if people"are here illegally...then sorry they have to be deported" when the way in which our Home Office defines illegality is based on such arbitrary principles?”
by bablon, USA
Tuesday, October 20 2009, 6:50PM
“Yes, deport all the Christian's asylum seekers out of UK, keep those from Somalia, Albania, Pakistan. Let's see within 30 years, more Muslims will born in UK then Christians, then you will have an Islamic law in 50 years!”
by bablon, USA
Tuesday, October 20 2009, 6:49PM
“Yes, deport all the Christian's asylum seekers out of UK, keep those from Somalia, Albania, Pakistan. Let's see within 30 years, more Muslims will born in UK then Christians, then you will have an Islamic law in 50 years!”
by Paul, bristol
Tuesday, October 20 2009, 4:03PM
“@ SJB
I haven't mentioned anything about asylum seekers being bad or send them all home. There are indeed many people in the world who aren't as comfortable as us in the UK., and there's no need to start patronising people with comments like "it may be a little heavy for you, Paul". Talking down to people is not a good trait! and not a way to win an argument, or should i say, get a point of view across. Anyway i was purely commenting on this one article which states that 1 family who have had successive appeals denied are once again appealing.”
by Laura, Bristol
Tuesday, October 20 2009, 3:55PM
“SJB excellent post.”