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Failed asylum seeker
Naseh Jabar Ghafor lies dying on a floor in
Burngreave - his lips crudely stitched together in a
last desperate protest. Jade Beecroft reports on
what has driven the 20-year-old to embark on a
drastic hunger strike
FOR magician David Blaine it was a publicity stunt,
but for Naseh Ghafor his hunger strike is now a
matter of life or death.
And a tragic end must surely be near for the Iraqi
Kurd refugee who has now endured 42 days without
food - which almost equals Blaine's 44-day-fast
above the River Thames last year.
But while the illusionist had a team of medics on
hand to rescue him if the controversial stunt went
wrong, Naseh is alone in a strange country without
the security of benefits or housing, and apparently
traumatised by life in Iraq.
"Naseh has been through a horrific ordeal," said Sue
Taylor, Secretary of the Sheffield Committee to
Defend Asylum Seekers.
"He was a shepherd in the hills of Iraq and smuggled
himself here at the age of 18 after seeing his
family murdered by Saddam Hussein's regime.
"I don't think we can even begin to imagine the
horrors that have driven him to mutilate himself
like this and face death from starvation rather than
go back."
The UK's asylum system is run by the Immigration and
Nationality Directorate - part of the Home Office -
and when Naseh arrived in Britain he began his claim
by declaring himself to the authorities.
Under British law each asylum claim is considered on
its own merit, and every applicant is given an
interview to plead his or her case to a Home Office
caseworker.
Under the European Convention of Human Rights the
Government has an obligation to grant refugee status
to any person who is at real risk of torture, death
or inhuman treatment if they return to their home
country - but pressure groups claim this system is
flawed.
"When refugees arrive here they are often suffering
from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after seeing
loved ones killed and spending hours in the back of
a truck," said Sue.
"But they are only given five hours legal support,
often without an interpreter.
"The decision to grant asylum is in the hands of
civil servants so there is no benchmark - it's a
real humanitarian crisis."
The National Asylum Support Service supports asylum
seekers whose claims are being processed, and if the
Government grants refugee status then they have
access to medical treatment, housing, education and
employment.
But if the claim is rejected then all support is
removed.
"Many asylum seekers don't tell their caseworkers
the full extent of their troubles because they are
too traumatised by their past, so their claim is
rejected," said Robert Spooner, of Assist Sheffield,
a local charity to support destitute asylum seekers.
"They are left homeless, penniless and unable to
work while they await deportation or try to appeal.
In the eyes of the public this makes them seem lazy
- but they only hang around in the streets because
there's nothing else to do.
"It's ironic really because it takes bravery and
determination to flee your home country and they
desperately want to work and build a new life."
But public opinion in Sheffield still seems firmly
stacked against asylum seekers.
"There are definitely too many of them in Britain,
and they take all our money and houses," said
unemployed 21-year-old Emma Glossop.
"I live in Hyde Park and they are always hanging
around, more often than not causing trouble and
shouting things at me as I walk past."
Many people also feel that there is a veil of
Government secrecy and biased media coverage
surrounding the issue.
"I only know what I read in the papers, but the
system appears to be a shambles, with detention
centres set on fire and official figures being
fiddled," said Brian Revill, a 52-year-old Royal
Mail worker from Millhouses.
"We should protect genuine asylum seekers but we
can't keep accepting immigrants at the present
rate."
Sue Taylor believes changing the attitudes of both
the public and the politicians is the only way to
work towards a better system. Asylum seekers have
been criminalised by the Government and the tabloid
press," she said.
"But Polish, Irish and Afro Caribbean people who
came to the UK were once asylum seekers too and they
have culturally enriched our society.
"At the moment we have an absurd situation where the
NHS is desperately short of doctors and nurses, yet
highly skilled Iraqi medics are being denied the
right to work and help us out. It's crazy."
But even a radical change in public and Government
opinion may be too late to save Naseh, who grows
weaker by the hour.
"Doctors have warned he may only have a few days
left," said Sue. "He has been getting severe
headaches, the wounds on his lips where he stitched
them together are now infected and his pulse is very
weak.
"He must be in a huge amount of pain but he never
cries out. He's endured a lot of hardship in his
life so I suppose he's learnt to deal with it with
dignity and courage."
Home Secretary and Sheffield Brightside MP David
Blunkett - whose constituency Naseh is in - has
previously said of the protest: "I am greatly
saddened by reports of the condition of Mr Ghafor.
But I cannot agree that he should be treated any
differently to anyone else whose asylum claim has
failed."
Pressure groups supporting the stricken asylum
seeker have expressed disgust over Mr Blunkett's vow
not to give in to his protest.
"Naseh's future is in the hands of Sheffield's very
own David Blunkett," said Sue. "But it appears the
Home Secretary is not prepared to show any
compassion."
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