Blunkett’s real shame
In all the sycophancy and hot air generated by David Blunkett’s resignation,
the most incisive comment came from Rose Boycott, one-time editor of the Daily
Express.
Passing judgment on the former Home Secretary’s private life during
a late night talk show, she said: “If this is how David treats the ones
he loves, God help the immigrants.”
God help them indeed.
This month PN highlights the case of Annie Temba, a committed UKC volunteer
guidance worker and woman living with HIV, who at the end of last year was
abruptly and inhumanely deported to Zambia, where barely 800 women have access
to antiretrovrials.
Of course Annie is not the only asylum seeker with HIV kicked out of the UK
and sent back to countries where the chances of accessing ARVs are close to
zero. But in this case, PN and UKC had a depressingly close-up view of the
whole uncivilized process.
We heard first-hand from Annie how, during her detention, she was denied access
to her HIV therapy, incarcerated in a cell with blocked drains and spoken
to with contempt. We also heard how officials refused her bail on the grounds
that her health made her a ‘danger to herself and others’.
The injustice of Annie’s deportation was thrown into even sharper focus
when it emerged that the then Home Secretary David Blunkett may have abused
his office to fast-track a visa application for the nanny of his former lover.
The Home Office’s response to our inquiries about Annie makes it clear
it is taking an increasingly harsh line on asylum seekers with HIV or Aids.
According to the Home Office, sending someone with HIV back to a country where
she will be unable to access ARVs, where life expectancy thanks to Aids is
37 years, where TB is rife and where just one in three have access to safe
water is “insufficient grounds” for compassionate treatment under
the European Convention of Human Rights.
In short, the Home Office thinks these circumstances just aren’t inhumane
enough. We beg to differ.
Inside we publish an open letter from UKC chief executive Stephen Bitti to
new Home Secretary Charles Clark. In the letter Stephen calls for a moratorium
on all deportations of people with HIV or Aids until they can be guaranteed
cheap and speedy access to antiretrovirals in their home countries. He also
calls for an immediate review of the treatment asylum seekers with HIV or
Aids detained in the UK.
PN wholly supports these demands and fervently hopes the new Home Secretary
will see beyond the tabloid headlines and institute an asylum policy worthy
of a truly civilised nation.
PN readership increases by one
We are delighted to announce that PN columnist Susan Cole (featured on last
month’s front cover) gave birth to baby Benjamin on 13 December. Baby
Ben weighed in at 6lbs 7ozs. Mum and baby are doing well.
Amanda Elliot, managing editor
