39. Memorandum submitted by
Louise Massamba (Brides Without Borders)
Andre and I married on 24 May 2004 at Birkenhead
Registry Office and then had our marriage blessed in St Bernard's
Catholic Church Kingsley Road, Liverpool 8. Our best man was
the Parish Priest. The wedding was attended by over 150 people
and was very multi cultural. We got married because we are in
love with each other.
My personal circumstances are I am registered
disabled having suffered two strokes in 1997 whilst pregnant with
my daughter Binky. I also suffer form Psoriatic Arthropathy requiring
daily medication, weekly medication and monthly Liver Function
Tests as one of the medications is a Cytotoxic drug which can
have serious sides effects "Liver Failure"!
I have elderly parents aged 76 and 80 yrs respectfully.
My Mother is very disabled. She is totally dependant on crutches
and a wheel chair for her mobility having had her leg pinned in
five places, two hip replacements, one knee replacement and her
whole left foot arthrodeased (all the bones in the foot fused
together). My Father has had two strokes and is also disabled.
I am there only relative living within 300 miles of them. They
rely upon me for shopping, house hold help, help with bathing,
trips to hospital etc.
I also have a eight year old daughter who I
have shared parental responsibility for with her father. She is
in full time education at a local school and spends four days
a week with me and four with her father on a sliding scale.
Our solicitors put in an application for Andre
to be granted discretional Leave to remain on the ground of our
marriage (FLR (m) ) which was received by the IND on 14 June 2004. I
also wrote to them on 12 June 2004 with supporting information.
We received a reply on 13 January 2005 which refused the application.
It advised us that " it would be reasonable to expect me
to return to DRC with my husband" and that it would not interfere
with my "family life" to do so!
Following this my father had a stroke and it
was imperative that I was here to help look after my mother. I
was also being investigated for loss of sensation and power in
my left arm again! We were all dependant on the support we received
from Andre.
We then found a Barrister in London who was
prepared to make an application for a reconsideration in light
of the personal circumstances. This cost us £800 and again
it was not considered that we had exceptional circumstances. Andre
had been offered work as an administrator/accountant full time
for £20,500 per annum. He was not able to take up the offer
of employment. We would not have needed to access state support,
we would have been self sufficient. But again it was deemed not
to be appropriate to grant leave to remain.
My MP Ben Chapman has made numerous representations
on our behalf supporting our claim but to no avail.
Andre has not received any support from the
Government except for three weeks NASS. We have paid for Andre
to return to DRC in March of this year in order to gain Entry
Clearance. When he went to the Embassy he was not allowed to put
in his application to return until June which meant that all the
documentation he had taken with him in support of his application
would have been out of date. There for requiring fresh documents
which it is neigh on impossible to get to him.
I the received an appointment at Walton Centre
of Neurology to go in as a day case on 20 4 06 for investigations?
another stroke! Hardly surprising under the circumstances!
I went to see my MP again and asked if he could
contact the FCO on my behalf to see if the interview date could
be brought forward so Andre can be here with me for this. The
Arch Bishop of Liverpool Patrick Kelly also contacted the Ambassador
in DRC to try and intervene as he knows us both personally through
the voluntary work which we do in Liverpool. I also wrote to the
FCO and complained about the waiting time for the appoinment for
the interview and the health issues I was experiencing and the
uncompassionate way in which the case is being dealt with.
The whole time that Andre is in the DRC his
life is in danger especially in light of the World Service report
on Failed Asylum Seekers being targeted specifically on return
to Kinshsasa which has lead to fresh Asylum Applications from
DRC nationals.
We were advised that Andre could put in a fresh
claim for Asylum but we decided that the best way forward for
us was for him to return and get entry clearance. This we have
done at no expense to the government as we paid for the ticket.
Before he left the country I made arrangement
for him to see an Immigration Officer whom I have links with in
order for his profile with the IND be updated to reflect his voluntary
return and the dates of the flights etc. H e was asked to leave
his passport with the IND and it would be returned to him at the
airport. He refused to do this and we took advice from Counsel
who agreed that this was the right thing to do as there was no
guarantee the Immigration would be at the airport and he would
miss his flight which we had paid for! We got a solicitor to take
a legal undertaking to keep the passport until his flight and
took this to Relaince House in Liverpool. Andre was told to be
at Manchester Airport at 4 am to meet with Immigration Officers.
We were there but there was no one there from IND! We asked to
an Immigration Officer as soon as we arrived and on three separate
occasions. Eventually when flight check in opened the flight officer
for British Airways managed to speak with an Immigration Officer
and eventually they spoke with Andre and said that he would have
to go to terminal 1. We were in Terminal 3, which is miles away
from Terminal 1. They had asked us to meet them there at 4
am, which we did so they had plenty of warning of the flight (one
week). Andre flew without seeing an Immigration Officer, as we
did not have the money to loose on missing the flight and the
flight was at 6 05 am. Immigration should have been there at the
time they said.
It's a good job we didn't give them the passport
isn't it? It's a good job I have a wealth of experience in the
immigration and asylum process and have had women who have availed
them selves of the IOM and got to the airport for voluntary return
and not been met by the officers of IOM. They have had to find
accommodation until they were booked on another flight. They were
not able to get in touch with any representatives of IOM even
on the emergency 24hr phone line!! So even when the Government
have paid for flights they are wasted because there own employees
are not doing what they are paid to do.
We as a couple have cost the IND nothing and
still we are being denied the basic right of living as man and
wife. I could understand this if it was a marriage of convenience
but to have to endure all this is an absolute disgrace. Our marriage
is genuine and we do have compelling Human Rights grounds.
My MP asked the IND why they wanted Andre's
Passport and the reply clearly states that Andre had not been
forthcoming with any documentation during his Asylum Claim, which
is not true. He provided them with his DRC identity card, which
was the only documentation he had with him on his arrival in the
UK. His father brought his passport to him when he visited here
last year. Andre was not asked for any further documents and had
he been he would have taken them into Reliance House. This response
could lead people to believe Andre is not a law-abiding citizen
who is uncooperative. He never missed his signing at Reliance
House. To confirm this his Identity Card and all our documents
pertaining to our marriage was eventually returned to me after
four requests from our solicitors and also MP. One wonders who
are purposely being reluctant where documents are concerned!!
This whole situation has been a night mare for
all my family and has lead to a serious decline in my health and
also my aged parents who should not have this stress and worry
at their time in life.
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