IWW officers stand against Osime’s deportation.
IWW Regional Secretary William Sharkey:
Fellow Workers,
I would like to take this opportunity to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the plan to deport Osime Brown to Jamaica; a country he has not set foot in since he was four years old.
Such a move by our Home Office not only seems to betray a complete lack of compassion and care for a young man who knows only this country as his home, but also a complete lack of proportionality, fairness, and sense of justice. Such a move would set an extremely concerning precedent that would destabilise the comfort and safety of all those who have migrated to the UK, including those who have moved here many years ago. If we have learned little from the Windrush Scandal, we have hopefully learned the cruelty of such a mechanism.
I would like to publicly condemn the Home Office in their treatment of Osime, not only in relation to their intended punishment, but also the conditions in which Osime has been kept up to this point. Osime has had his humanity completely disregarded and he has suffered enormously both mentally and physically as a consequence of the cruelty meted out. I was relieved to read that Osime had been allowed to return home to his family, but, of course, the story of Osime’s plight is not yet over as the deportation order still stands.
I, for one, would like to expose the Home Office for its active part in this story, and their further complicity in his planned deportation. The Home Office clearly hopes Osime will leave quietly, without a public fuss. Those who know this story have a moral duty to draw public attention to the perpetration of this absolute abnegation of justice. As such, on the 23rd of December we will be raising awareness of this case by tweeting at Osime’s local MP (@MarcoLonghiMP), encouraging him to register his condemnation of the Home Office’s decision to deport Osime, and intervene if possible. People will be using the hashtag #NotHisLastChristmas and #StopTheDeportation. If you can, I would encourage you to do the same.
Sincerely,
William Sharkey
Secretary for the IWW (WISE-RA)
IWW Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic officer Andrea Gilbert:
I condemn the Home office decision to deport Osime Brown to Jamaica. Osime has been in the UK from the age of 4. It is extremely disturbing the Home office would deport a man who is Autistic and intellectually disabled to a country where he has no family or support networks.
I support the public raising awareness of this case on the 23rd December calling for Osime MP @MarcolonghiMP to support Osime by condemning the Home offices decision to deport and to put a stop to the deportation once and for all.