The right to stay: Interview with Innocent Empi
Article published: Sunday, February 22nd 2009
On 7 February, hundreds marched through the streets of Manchester to oppose deportations of refused asylum seekers to the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here, Mule caught up with the inspirational Congo Support Project founder Innocent Empi, who won his own battle against deportation after a long campaign and has subsequently devoted his energies to helping other Congolese asylum seekers do the same.
Q: The government is talking about deporting thousands of refused Congolese asylum seekers, why is this?
In a recent asylum case a court looked at the risk of return for DRC refused asylum seekers and ruled that there is ‘no risk’. So the Home Office have resumed deportations to the Congo. But we Congolese refugees and asylum seekers feel that there still is a risk, and we have lots of evidence to prove this.
Q: What are conditions like in DRC at the moment?
Most people who are claiming asylum in the UK are political dissidents, most of them have been opponents of the regime there. Asylum seekers, especially from the UK are disliked by the authorities there. They have even sent people to attack them in the UK, physically attack even.
We think that DRC want failed asylum seekers to be sent back, so that they can be ‘corrected’. We are sure that people sent back will be arrested, detained and possibly killed. Opponents of the regime are currently being arbitrarily arrested and detained, and Member of Parliament was recently killed by the presidential guard. All this has been in Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports. There is enough evidence to prove the risk.
Q: What kind of British involvement is there in DRC?
In 2001 there was a UN report accusing more than 20 UK companies of illegally exporting Congolese minerals. Blair promised to look into it and bring them to justice, but so far only two have been prosecuted. The others are not being followed up.
These big corporations are buying weapons from here, distributing them to rebel groups, and these armed groups are fighting each other in the mineral rich areas. While people are fighting, these big companies can illegally exploit and export our minerals through Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. This is the main issue. And we all know that the main reason for this war in the Congo is economic. These companies have made billions of pounds from the war. As a result, we are here, claiming asylum, because we have been persecuted by those dictators that have been supported by the UK government, the EU and the US.
Q: What kind of response is being planned by the Congo Support Project?
We will campaign against deportations. The Congo Support Project and the Congo Action Group and other community groups especially in Manchester we are going to fight against it. We have petitions and will be doing more marches in the coming days. We will picket Dallas Court [the immigration reporting centre], because 80 per cent of Congolese living in Manchester have to report there on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of every month.
You can contact Congolese Support Project at csp_manchester@yahoo.co.uk
More: Manchester, News
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