The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Concerns orphan will be in danger if deported
Grandmother tells of fears for 10-year-old if he is returned to Georgia
A 10-year-old asylum seeker would be in serious danger if he is deported back to the country of his birth just months after the death of his mother, it has been claimed.
Ketino Baikhadze said she fears her orphaned grandson Giorgi would be under threat in Georgia.
Mrs Baikhadze’s daughter Sopio fled to Scotland seven years ago after her late husband allegedly owed money to gangsters.
Sopio, known as Sophie, was awaiting the outcome of an appeal for asylum in the UK when she died in February after a long illness.
That left Mrs Baikhadze as the legal guardian of her grandson, who has lived in Glasgow since he was three. The pair are waiting for an initial decision on their applications for asylum.
Mrs Baikhadze, who has lived illegally in Glasgow for 14 years, said she always intended to return to Georgia but decided to stay after her daughter, who was a freelance translator and spoke four languages, fell ill.
Ms Baikhadze’s funeral was held in Springburn Parish Church in Glasgow, led by minister Brian Casey.
He said: “Giorgi is, by all intents and purposes, a Scottish boy and I would appeal to the Home Office to examine this case with love and compassion”.
It comes as the Sunday Mail reported a student nurse who served in the Scottish Youth Parliament and carried the Commonwealth Games baton in the lead up to Glasgow 2014 is also facing deportation.
Denzel Darku, who moved to the UK from Ghana nine years ago as a 14-yearold, is fighting to stay in Scotland having seen two appeals rejected.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and every case is assessed on its individual merits.”