Q. What have Radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri and a growing number of British soldiers got in common?
A. They are asylum seekers!
Confused? You should be! Thanks to seemingly ad hoc application of immigration laws men and women who have served in this country’s Armed Forces are being treated as ‘foreign criminals’ by UKBA.
As a series of increasingly bizarre cases come to light it is evident that theso-called ‘Military Covenant’ (work in progress?) has even less to offer than many of its critics believed.
It states that members of the Armed Forces deserve “respect and support, and fair treatment”.
And it goes even further; ‘Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved.’
It’s evident from recent reports that ‘special consideration’ is exactly what some veterans are getting from the UKBA. Those singled out for the ‘privilege’ are Foreign and Commonwealth (F&C) service personnel and some are experiencing levels of distress that beggar not only belief, but the children, partners and families of those involved.
There are more than 7,000 of them in the British Armed Forces. Those earmarked for deportation (denied Leave to Remain or Citizenship) are unable to work, claim benefits or access the NHS for medical treatment. Covenant notwithstanding, it seems that the main lifeline for these people is a London-based charity, for veterans in crisis, Veterans Aid, that is paying for accommodation, transport, legal help – and, in one case, school meals.
Paradoxically, they would be better of as prisoners of war.
Isimeli ‘Bale’ Baleiwai served for 13 years, earned five medals and did operational tours of Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is married to a British University graduate and has two British children. Because of a military offence that was dealt with summarily by his CO he was refused citizenship and faced with deportation to Fiji.
Poloko Hiri, from Botswana, left the Army with a glowing report and an ‘unspent’ speeding fine. He expected to start a university course; instead he was earmarked for deportation. Hiri is one of those in double jeopardy. Botswana has a Foreign Enlistment Act that will guarantee his arrest if he goes back.
A letter from UKBA dated 29 June said: “We would not normally naturalise a person with an unspent conviction unless it was a one off” minor offence (e.g. contravention of a motoring regulation).”
It goes on, “You were convicted on 17 November 2011 for speeding and fined £100”. (It would have been half that but Hiri was on an Army exercise in Canada with his unit and didn’t get the notification). “We do not consider this offence to be minor and could find no grounds to disregard it exceptionally outside out normal policy.” The extent of the problem came to light when Veterans Aid was approached for help. The charity has no political agenda and didn’t go public with its experiences until the scale and complexity of the issue became apparent.
Its CEO, Dr Hugh Milroy – a former military officer, academic and expert in social exclusion among veterans – is angry and frustrated. He’s said, “We’re not in the blame game, and this is not the Army’s fault, but I am appalled at what we are seeing. Real long-term human suffering is being caused to people who have fallen foul of a system so complex and poorly policed that even those responsible for administering it are giving conflicting advice. This whole sorry mess exposes and makes a mockery of any so called ‘Military Covenant’ and shows it to be empty political rhetoric. If it wasn’t designed to protect people like this then what is it for?
“I suggest that the Prime Minister, whom I believe really cares about veterans, intervenes with this issue. We need an amnesty to enable those applying to have benefits or seek work, a review of the rules and a new committee at the UKBA which includes a military element to apply some common sense. As it stands, and until this happens, as a nation, we should hang our heads in shame at the treatment of these veterans and their families. I have been involved in this area for nearly 17 years and never come across such scandalous treatment of those who have served. You can’t help but draw the conclusion that no one cares; it’s an inconvenient truth, but although lip service is paid, nothing happens.:
At first only F&C veterans sought VA’s help; but, as the publicity spread, serving soldiers, sailors and airmen started asking for advice. In Fiji, from where many are recruited, the phrase ‘military slavery’ has been used.
Veterans Aid has had more than 80 appeals for help since January, from families and individuals. With few exceptions they are so afraid of deportation that they insist on anonymity. One family where husband and wife both served face being parted because a passport took too long to arrive from their homeland. The wife, now a veteran, faces deportation and separation from her (soldier) husband and two (British) children.
A Caribbean soldier disciplined by the Army for going AWOL but with no other civil, criminal or military offences, decided to apply for voluntary redundancy after nine years service. Panicked by what he was hearing he took the precautionary measure of applying to the Reserve Forces so that the day after his regular service ended, he could start with the Territorial Army. He told Veterans Aid, “As a precautionary measure I decided to contact the Home Office and enquire about a possible application for naturalisation. They said my application would be denied. I have recently engaged the services of an immigration solicitor and his quoted fees are upward of £2,000!
His partner is British. The have been together since 2006 and are expecting their second child.
Is this ‘special consideration’? Or is it racism? Few of these service personnel and veterans are white; few have been promoted, despite being decorated and acquiring exemplary service records. One man seeking help with his citizenship application from a senior officer was told to complete his service and ‘f**k off back to St Vincent’.
It is certainly discriminatory to migrate ‘military’ offences to civilian life when they have no counterpart and are not relevant to those with British nationality. It is certainly discriminatory to deny an F&C soldier residency for a ‘one-off motoring offence’, regardless of what fate awaits him in his country of origin.
Britain actively recruited these men and women when it needed to make up numbers of ‘boots on the ground’ and reach ethnic target. Now, when it wants redundancies they make easy targets. Many are currently serving in Germany – how will UKBA view their applications for Leave to Remain or Citizenship?
If this country is still recruiting F&C soldiers they have a right to know what their long term ‘rewards’ are. If not, one can only ask why!
ENDS
20 Feb 2013
