Davit Khutsishvili If there was an annual award for the asylum seeker that went the furthest they possibly could to gain permission to stay in the UK, it would have to go to Davit Khutsishvili. It could be called ‘Asylum Seeker of the Year’ and the winner would have to demonstrate the extreme lengths that they went to, to be allowed to stay in Britain.
The usual strategy for asylum seekers is to invent a story of persecution in their own country, usually by their oppressive Government or its secret police. This story will have to involve a clear and present danger of arrest, torture, imprisonment, or death from which the claimant had no option but to flee the country. Of course the story has to be airtight and detailed enough to be credible, so a fair amount of thought has to go into it. The story has to be able to withstand scrutiny by Britain’s immigration officers who will then give a decision on whether refugee status is to be granted or not.
Mr K did all this, (he arrived in Britain in early 2002) and then while his case was being decided he used his skills as a footballer to set up a youth football team for other asylum seekers in the town he had been sent to – Barnsley. He must have calculated that if his asylum application was not granted for some reason, (possibly because it was a complete fabrication) then he would have done so much good work in his new country that he would have other grounds for being allowed to stay. He launched his new team in October 2004 and named it the ‘Barnsley International Football Club’ (BIFC). Immediately the idea was seized upon the by local Labour Party politicians and the do-gooder type groups that had been set up to help all the new immigrants arriving in Britain. Here was the ideal opportunity to show that the new arrivals were not all useless, idle freeloaders, but were a positive asset to the community. Sport cuts across all barriers of race and culture – what could be better to promote the ‘one world’ agenda of the Labour Party. The team was backed by all three of Barnsley’s MP’s who became honorary members, and local businessmen also contributed facilities and funding. A comprehensive website was developed which can be visited at – http://www.bifc2004.org.uk/
The usual strategy for asylum seekers is to invent a story of persecution in their own country, usually by their oppressive Government or its secret police. This story will have to involve a clear and present danger of arrest, torture, imprisonment, or death from which the claimant had no option but to flee the country. Of course the story has to be airtight and detailed enough to be credible, so a fair amount of thought has to go into it. The story has to be able to withstand scrutiny by Britain’s immigration officers who will then give a decision on whether refugee status is to be granted or not.
Mr K did all this, (he arrived in Britain in early 2002) and then while his case was being decided he used his skills as a footballer to set up a youth football team for other asylum seekers in the town he had been sent to – Barnsley. He must have calculated that if his asylum application was not granted for some reason, (possibly because it was a complete fabrication) then he would have done so much good work in his new country that he would have other grounds for being allowed to stay. He launched his new team in October 2004 and named it the ‘Barnsley International Football Club’ (BIFC). Immediately the idea was seized upon the by local Labour Party politicians and the do-gooder type groups that had been set up to help all the new immigrants arriving in Britain. Here was the ideal opportunity to show that the new arrivals were not all useless, idle freeloaders, but were a positive asset to the community. Sport cuts across all barriers of race and culture – what could be better to promote the ‘one world’ agenda of the Labour Party. The team was backed by all three of Barnsley’s MP’s who became honorary members, and local businessmen also contributed facilities and funding. A comprehensive website was developed which can be visited at – http://www.bifc2004.org.uk/
Mr K and his multicultural team also became involved in the ‘Kick Racism Out of Football’ campaign. Many people did a great deal of work promoting the club and sorting out it’s facilities, far more than had been done for any other club in the league in which it was playing. These people include staff from Barnsley Council Asylum Support Team, the BBEMI, Barnsley Football Club (BFC), and other Barnsley Council officials. There was comprehensive local and national press coverage of the team including reports on new sponsorship deals and competitions which it entered. Mr K was now a high profile public figure and was even awarded an honorary MBE by the Queen.
Unfortunately for Mr K the immigration service found for some reason that his story of persecution in Georgia did not merit the granting of refugee status. Of course Mr K appealed, but this was also rejected. The local politicians and do-gooder groups were horrified. Their hero would have to go home. This could not be. A petition was raised and appeals were made on many levels, stating how public spirited Mr K was, and how much good work he had done in Barnsley. Mr K was a well known figure in Barnsley but his status was now of an illegal immigrant.
The story gets a bit confused here. Mr K apparently left Barnsley and spent some time as a fugitive living on the streets. But then somehow by hook or by crook he did get leave to remain in Britain, or he gained some other similar status that meant he wasn’t under immediate threat of deportation. He was given a house in Barnsley town centre, and continued with his role as coach and manager of BIFC.
However the story takes another twist here. His daughter Nina, 25 years old, who was also claiming asylum, was arrested by immigration officers in March 2007. Nina’s claim was that as a journalist she was in danger of being imprisoned or even executed by the Georgian Government. Unfortunately for her the immigration authorities did not believe her story either. Even when she made the following statement printed in the Barnsley Star of 26th April 2007 - “I am very very frightened. I have made many friends in Barnsley, I consider it my home and I genuinely believe if I lose this appeal and they force me onto a plane to go back to Georgia my life will be at risk” – they were unmoved. She was scheduled to be sent back to Georgia as soon as possible.
Mr Khutsishvili then made the startling announcement, printed in the Barnsley Chronicle of Friday 20th July 2007, that he was voluntarily going back to Georgia so that his daughter would not be alone when she was deported. But wait a minute. She would not be alone. According to an interview he gave to the Observer in November 2006 he left his wife and parents behind when he left Georgia in 2001. In the same interview Mr K had stated that for him Georgia was a very dangerous place indeed run by a Government of ‘crazy people’, and that he could not possibly return. So why is Mr K going to risk his life unnecessarily? Could it be that he knows very well that this ‘danger’ that he faces is not real but is just a convenient story that he invented to get permission to stay in Britain?
The supporters of Mr K and his daughter Nina say that they should both be allowed to stay in Britain because they are decent, hardworking people. But this would mean that we would have an open ended commitment to accept all the countless millions of decent, hard working people in all the poor countries around the world. Here’s a message for all these supporters. Britain is only a small country – we don’t have room for all these millions of extra people – we are full up already.
Unfortunately for Mr K the immigration service found for some reason that his story of persecution in Georgia did not merit the granting of refugee status. Of course Mr K appealed, but this was also rejected. The local politicians and do-gooder groups were horrified. Their hero would have to go home. This could not be. A petition was raised and appeals were made on many levels, stating how public spirited Mr K was, and how much good work he had done in Barnsley. Mr K was a well known figure in Barnsley but his status was now of an illegal immigrant.
The story gets a bit confused here. Mr K apparently left Barnsley and spent some time as a fugitive living on the streets. But then somehow by hook or by crook he did get leave to remain in Britain, or he gained some other similar status that meant he wasn’t under immediate threat of deportation. He was given a house in Barnsley town centre, and continued with his role as coach and manager of BIFC.
However the story takes another twist here. His daughter Nina, 25 years old, who was also claiming asylum, was arrested by immigration officers in March 2007. Nina’s claim was that as a journalist she was in danger of being imprisoned or even executed by the Georgian Government. Unfortunately for her the immigration authorities did not believe her story either. Even when she made the following statement printed in the Barnsley Star of 26th April 2007 - “I am very very frightened. I have made many friends in Barnsley, I consider it my home and I genuinely believe if I lose this appeal and they force me onto a plane to go back to Georgia my life will be at risk” – they were unmoved. She was scheduled to be sent back to Georgia as soon as possible.
Mr Khutsishvili then made the startling announcement, printed in the Barnsley Chronicle of Friday 20th July 2007, that he was voluntarily going back to Georgia so that his daughter would not be alone when she was deported. But wait a minute. She would not be alone. According to an interview he gave to the Observer in November 2006 he left his wife and parents behind when he left Georgia in 2001. In the same interview Mr K had stated that for him Georgia was a very dangerous place indeed run by a Government of ‘crazy people’, and that he could not possibly return. So why is Mr K going to risk his life unnecessarily? Could it be that he knows very well that this ‘danger’ that he faces is not real but is just a convenient story that he invented to get permission to stay in Britain?
The supporters of Mr K and his daughter Nina say that they should both be allowed to stay in Britain because they are decent, hardworking people. But this would mean that we would have an open ended commitment to accept all the countless millions of decent, hard working people in all the poor countries around the world. Here’s a message for all these supporters. Britain is only a small country – we don’t have room for all these millions of extra people – we are full up already.
0 comments:
Post a Comment