Hi! Please take a few minutes to read this shocking story about our friend James. James Okenyang is 34 years old and has been a resident of Bath for 25 years. James is local.....James IS a Bathonian. James is also originally from Sudan where he was born in1981. Soon after his birth in the year of 1983 a second civil war erupted between the north and the south of Sudan .... James was just 2 years old. The Okenyang family endured war for 7 hard years but the bombing and killing got closer and the dangers continued to increase. The fear of famine, disease, murder and slavery plus the displacement of thousands of Sudanese, forced Mr and Mrs Okenyang, for the sake of their children, to leave Sudan and find refuge in a safe place. That place was Bath in Somerset. James and his family fled Sudan and were fortunate enough to arrive safely in Bath in 1990 when James was just 9 years old. I first became aware of the Okenyang family sometime in 1991when his sisters began attending my school, St Gregorys RC in Bath, and I then met James a year or 2 later. I remember meeting the young African boy who always had a smile on his face, no matter what stick he took for being the new kid in town... Over the coming years the Okenyangs settled in Bath and the family, especially the children, made many, many friends, establishing themselves firmly as residents of Bath and accepted as such. Meanwhile, in Sudan the civil war raged on, becoming the longest civil war in history, the Okenyangs former African home has long since been destroyed, and what family they had left have been either displaced or killed. Last year James received a letter from UK Immigration Services informing him that he has been living in the UK illegally, and that he must leave the country. In the years since the Okenyangs arrival in the UK, James father, mother and sisters have all been granted UK citizenship, yet James application has always been refused. The civil war in Sudan ended in 2005, resulting in the country being split into Northern and Southern Territories. As a result, there has been a struggle for power amongst the Southern regions many different tribes. This is another civil war in all but name. James was advised to seek asylum this year, but this application has recently been refused! The Immigration official reviewing his case has claimed that, according to the BBC, parts of southern Sudan are safe, and that it is safe for James to return there. Having done only a little research myself it is clearly apparent that South Sudan is far from safe and more civil war is an impending threat. These dangers alone are too much for a resident of Bath to even imagine, yet UK immigration deems it acceptable to threaten James with deportation. James is an innocent victim of circumstance who no longer speaks the Sudanese language, has no home in Sudan and has no way of knowing if any of his relatives are alive, let alone where they might be. Should James have to return to Sudan he would have little chance of survival in this foreign environment. James has lived his whole life with uncertainty and struggled against all kinds of discriminations and social expectations. All he wants is to stay here in his hometown of Bath with his beloved Mother and Father, his sisters, niece, nephews and his friends! James and his family are loved and respected members of the Bath community and they really need our support at this difficult time....please show your support for fairness, freedom and our friend James by signing this petition! Many thanks, Jake Harewood/Myowny Gordon With support from City Of Bath residents lm.facebook/l.php?d=AQE4laaeTPRTxrV8bWW14Q2_36V-0JFifu25AliEF_S8WkgOHLrDT4Zoo88&u=http%3A%2F%2Fchn.ge%2F1rY0ann%3Frecruiter%3D191220341&h=WAQGKpO3e&s=1
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 20:39:00 +0000
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