The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) is appealing for funds to send the body of Mohammad Hussain home to Iraq to be buried after he died from cancer on 3 August 2008.
According to the IFIR, for the eight years Mohammad was in the UK he was a constant and fierce defender of refugee and human rights. As well as being an active member of the IFIR, Mohammad worked with refugee charities and organisations. He was the treasurer of the Doncaster Focus Group (a co-ordinating group of refugee and migrant volunteers) and he was an active member of the South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group. In October 2007, he marched 40 miles from Sheffield to Lindholme removal centre to protest at the conditions there. He was one of the best known and loved members of the Kurdish community in South Yorkshire. In the last weeks of his life, his bedside was crowded with friends and well-wishers.
Mohammad left Erbil and sought refuge in the UK in March 2000, following threats from the Kurdish Democratic Party because of his political campaigning. Earlier this year, on 14 May 2008, he narrowly avoided deportation after an order was successfully challenged by his lawyer.
If you can help towards the cost of returning Mohammad home to be buried, please send a cheque to the address below, donate online or pay directly into the bank account (details below).
Asylum seeker disappears on return to Kurdistan
The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) is highlighting the case of 44-year-old Kadir Salih Abdullah, who was kidnapped in front of his home in Kurdistan and has not been seen since.
Kadir returned to Kurdistan after agreeing to be ‘voluntarily’ returned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Kadir arrived in the UK on 29 October 2000 and returned to Kurdistan after five years of fighting his asylum claim, during which time he was unable to work and forced to rely on the charity of friends.
Shortly after returning to Kurdistan, Kadir was kidnapped from in front of his home in an area under the control of Patriotic of Union Kurdistan (PUK). His daughter was so distressed at his disappearance that she committed suicide. His five remaining sons and family have contacted the IFIR to report his disappearance and ask for its support. The IFIR is calling for the UK government to put pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government to find Kadir and to stop the deportation of Kurdish asylum seekers from the UK.
Related links
Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq
Download the press IFIR release on Kadir Salih Abdullah (pdf file, 119kb)
Download the financial appeal for Mohammad Hussain (pdf file, 221kb)