Picket of British Airways Travel Shop in Manchester

Leonard R and AN Other - Removal Directions stopped!

About 25 of us picketed the British Airways Travel Shop in Manchester on Friday 28 January to encourage them to stand up to the Home Office about Zimbabwe deportations - in particular Leonard R and AN Other (who is too frightened to let us use his name or even his initials), who were due to be deported on a British Airways on Saturday 29 Jan.

Our message to British Airways was to follow UNHCR directive to stop all Zimbabwean removals. When British Airways get pressure from the Home Office, we would back them, as would possibly UNHCR and some British Airways customers.

We distributed about 500 leaflets and had lots of banners, including one that said "Honk to Stop British Airways Deporting Zimbabweans" - we got quite a few honks from passing traffic !

Doing the demo made me realise that most people on the street have no idea what deportation means at all - some could not make a connection between "deportation" and "British Airways" - they didn't understand that asylum seekers are deported on planes, and that commercial airlines are involved. I still don't know how they think asylum seekers are deported. We have much awareness raising to do !

Local TV and radio interviewed Leonard's wife, which is significant as voice of asylum seekers and their families are rarely heard.

The great news is that Removal Directions for both Leonard and AN Other have been stopped.

Further information about Leonard R and AN Other

Emma Ginn, National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC) (0161 740 8206, ncadc-nw@ncadc.org.uk - ncadc-north-west@ncadc.org.uk)