Scottish children’s commissioner reiterates asylum fears

The children’s commissioner for Scotland has reiterated
concerns over the treatment of asylum seeker children who face
deportation following a dawn raid on family in Glasgow,
writes Maria Ahmed.

Kosovar asylum seekers Isen and Nexhi Vucaj, and their three
children aged 13, 16 and 18-years-old, were taken from their
home this week after their asylum application was turned down.

The family, who came to Britain in 2000, were said to be still
fearful of reprisals if returned to Kosovo.

Kathleen Marshall called on the government to stop dawn raids
and to give “urgent” consideration to alternatives to
detention.

“I find it difficult to contemplate that anyone could
justify allowing uniformed strangers to wake children in their
beds, handcuff their parents in front of them and remove them in a
manner that shuts off any possibility of gathering treasured
belongings and saying good-bye to their friends,” she
said.

Marshall suggested there should be an “amnesty” for
asylum-seeker families that had been in the UK for a
“considerable” time, and argued that no children should
be removed from their parents because of destitution.

“Whatever is done to address this must respect the human
rights and dignity of everyone involved, and international
commitments such as the refugee conventions, the European
Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child,” Marshall added.

Marshall is currently leading a joint campaign on the rights of
young asylum seekers with the three other UK children’s
commissioners.