Scottish lawmaker protest detention of Malawian pair
Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) from Glasgow has complained to the UK Immigration Minister over the forced detention of a Malawian mother and daughter at the Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire.
Florence Mhango (pictured) and daughter Precious Mhango were transported to the controversial Scottish detention centre after attending a routine immigration meeting.
The Malawian pair had been residing in Britain for the past six years and is set to be deported to Malawi next Monday.
Anne McLaughlin MSP said the child faced harm if she returned to Malawi and has written to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas with an impassioned plea to release the pair on humanitarian grounds.
The SNP member has argued that the pair will likely be separated upon their return home to Malawi and the girl more than likely being placed in the care of her father, will be at risk of potential female genital mutilation.
Precious Mhango is a pupil at St Maria Goretti Primary in Glasgow and she and her mother were actively involved in the Cranhilll Community Project.
“This is not just a case of stopping the detention of a child in Dungavel, it is a case of stopping the deportation of a child to a situation where she may be at risk of harm,” the Scottish lawmaker told BBC.
McLaughlin pointed out that the Malawian girl knows no other culture than that she has learned in Scotland and England.
The pair had earlier been placed in detention following their failed asylum bid.
The UK Border Agency acknowledged the pair’s situation but added that they would have preferred if the mother and daughter has returned home voluntarily after the court ruled that they do not qualify for asylum or for humanitarian protection.
“The decision to detain a family before removal only happens as a last resort, because the parents refuse to take the opportunity to go home under their own steam with assistance from the Home Office and the International Organisation for Migration,” Linda Dempster, deputy director of the UK Border Agency in Scotland and Northern Ireland told BBC.
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