85,000 reasons why asylum brothers MUST stay
School friends and church supporters unite to deliver 85,000 signatures to officials in support of Bakhsh family’s fight
SCHOOL friends of two boys who are seeking asylum have joined with church leaders to hand in a petition to stop them being sent to Pakistan.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and MP Paul Sweeney handed over the petition at the Home Office centre in Govan.
A busload of supporters from churches in Possilpark and Springburn along with pupils from Springburn Academy travelled to the centre to show their backing for Somer and Areeb Umeed and their parents Maqsood and Parveen Bakhsh.
The petition, which includes almost 85,000 signatures, calls for the family to be allowed to remain in Scotland.
The family are seeking asylum, claiming if they were sent back to Pakistan their lives would be in danger as Christians are being persecuted under strict blasphemy laws.
It had the backing of school friends, church leaders and congregations in the north of Glasgow.
Rt Rev Susan Brown, the Church Moderator, said: “We are showing our solidarity with the Bakhsh family.
“The boys are every bit as Scottish as my kids.”
She said the situation that would face them in Pakistan was “life and death”.
She added: “For the UK Government to suggest they go to a different part of the country is ridiculous. It is the same no matter where you go.”
Dozens of friends and fellow pupils from their school turned up with hand-made banners showing their support.
A separate petition by one of the boys’ fellow pupils has also gathered more than 2000 signatures.
Amy Brown, 17, said she was shocked by the boys’ situation and wanted to help.
She said: “We felt the need to act. It shows he whole of Springburn Academy is behind them.
“We want to let everyone know this is how we feel. We don’t want to sit back and watch this happen.”
Initially, Home Office officials refused to accept the petition.
Finally, after a conversation, a police officer was sent out to the main gate and he took the petition inside.
Paul Sweeney, Labour’s Glasgow North East MP, joined supporters at the gates of the office in Brand Street, Govan.
He said he would take the petition to UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid in Westminster if it was refused in Glasgow.
Mr Sweeney said: “The Home Office react to political and public pressure. This will make them aware there is a committed group in Glasgow that will do all they can to protect the family and I am part of that.
“The actions of the church and school friends show we won’t go down without a fight.”
The brothers were delighted with the show of support from their school.
When the family left Pakistan to seek safety and peace in Scotland, Somer was aged nine and his brother Areeb six.
Somer, now 15, appealed to Home Office officials, saying: Please look at our petition and how many people support us.
“I can’t imagine having to go back there. It would be cruel because we know nothing about the culture. It is alien to us.”
Areeb, now aged 13, said: “I don’t know anywhere else. This is my home and the people have been so friendly. I don’t know any of the language in Pakistan. I don’t even know the alphabet.”
Mr Bakhsh previously told of his fears for his family if they are sent back to Pakistan following their asylum application being rejected by the Home Office in April.
He said his uncle was murdered in Pakistan for his Christian beliefs despite having been out of the country in the US for 17 years.
He said when he returned he was
followed by a religious extremist and killed in his home.
He also said his nephew had been kidnapped.
There has been several reports of bombing and killing of Christians.
In April this year, four people from the same family were killed in the south-western city of Quetta. They were celebrating Easter when they were shot dead.
In December, in the same city, two suicide bombers attacked a church, killing nine people at a Christmas service. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for he attack.
In another attack this April, two Christians were shot dead outside a church. There are an estimated 2.5 million Christians in Pakistan – around 2.6 per cent of the total population, which is predominantly Muslim.
Shiite Muslims and Ahmadiyya Muslims have also been targeted by religious extremists who want to impose a strict, hardline Islamic law in the country.
We are showing our solidarity with the Bakhsh family... The boys are every bit as Scottish as my kids