Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Teenage refugee looked after by villagers may face deportation
A teenage refugee who was found dazed and wandering the streets of a village after a year travelling on foot to escape a dictatorship in Africa, may now face deportation.
He was seen looking confused on the High Street in Bridge on Friday night as temperatures plummeted.
Bar worker Louis Presland, together with friend Rhys Wilkinson and local Tim Lampert, spotted the youngster before taking him to the local pub to warm up.
“He approached us but all he could say was ‘police, get the police’,” Mr Presland said.
“We tried to explain the journey to the nearest station but it was hopeless as he could not understand.”
The shaken young man was taken into the White Horse Inn to warm by the fire and was given food and water while a regular called police at around 6.30pm.
Mr Presland, a 21-year-old graduate and budding film-maker says the man, who they called Michael, was well behaved and grateful for the help – although communication proved challeng- ing. He said: “Through lots of hand gesturing we managed to work out he had travelled from Eritrea to Sudan before boarding a boat to Italy. From there he made his way to Calais. I think he probably got on a lorry from there. We did try and use Google translate but it didn’t really work.
“We hear a lot about immigration in the media today and what happened that evening quite literally brought it home. We looked after the young man by feeding and sitting him next to the fire. It was the right thing to do and I’d hope to be treated the same way if I was in a less fortunate position.”
Thousands have fled the dictatorship in Eritrea in recent years – many escaping the compulsory conscription which in many cases extends from 18 months to indefinite periods.
Mr Presland of Railway Hill, Barham, says the teenager claimed he was 15, but authorities later discovered identification which put him at 18.
As a consequence, he could now face deportation. When contacted, the Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
Normal procedure sees those who are believed to have entered the country illegally to be taken to a detention centre where their circumstances are assessed.
Razia Shariff, CEO of the Kent Refugee Action Network, said: “Young unaccompanied asylum seekers have endured terrible experiences both in their home countries and on the journey and have had to grow up fast. Many of them come from countries where births are not routinely recorded so may not have any idea exactly how old they are.”