A dad-of-four who first arrived in the UK aged 10 is fighting back against his deportation flight to Jamaica which is scheduled to leave in a matter of hours.
Akeem Finlay, from Brixton, has been detained at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow Airport for more than two weeks.
The 31-year-old is one of 19 Jamaican nationals who will be deported at around 1am on Wednesday (August 11), My London understands.
Akeem told My London he fears for his life if he is deported.
READ MORE:Croydon man, 26, ‘on the brink of ripping his head off’ as he faces deportation to Ghana in 3 days despite having no family there
Movement for Justice has criticised the government’s handling of the #Jamaica50 flight
(Image: MfJ)
Akeem said: ” I’ve spent two decades in this country, all I know is this country. I don’t know anything else, I came here as a little child.
“All my family are here, for me to go back I’m just going to be living on the streets. My life will be in danger.”
Akeem first arrived in the UK aged 10 after he was the victim of a gang attack in Jamaica aged 9. He was then looked after as a ‘dependent minor’ by his grandparents, who arrived in the UK during Windrush.
He is being deported on the grounds of being a risk to the public following a 2014 conviction for grievous bodily harm with intent where he was sentenced to prison for six years.
The charter flight to Jamaica is expected to take off at 1am on Wednesday (August 11)
(Image: MfJ)
After he was released in 2016, Akeem passed his probation and is a low risk of reoffending again, he says. Unable to work due to his conviction, Akeem looks after his children while his partner works and is a voluntary football coach for children aged eight and under.
Akeem says since leaving prison, he hasn’t reoffended again and ‘has stayed out of trouble’.
“It’s so sad, this is tearing me apart. I’m being ripped away from my family for something I did 10 years ago. Now I’m grown, I’ve tried to change my life around but I’m still being punished for it.
“I feel like I’m being double punished for something I did 10 years ago. It happened 10 years ago, since then I’ve haven’t committed another offence.”
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This is the fifth attempt to deport Akeem, he tells My London. According to Akeem, the first was in 2016 while he was still in prison.
Akeem has described his experience in Colnbrook as ‘like a prison’ and he says he has been struggling with his mental health.
At previous detention centres, Akeem was able to see his family for up to four hours – but at Colnbrook, Akeem has only seen his partner and one of his four kids twice – which lasted an hour each on both occasions.
Akeem last saw his partner and daughter on Saturday (August 7) but fears he won’t be able to see his loved ones again before he is deported on Wednesday.
He said: “I feel like I’m back in prison again. I’m being treated like a prisoner but I’m not a prisoner – I’ve rehabilitated back into the community but I just feel broken at the moment.
“I’m being deprived of my kids, I can’t see them. My family bring joy to my life and they’re taking me away from them, so let me see them before I go.”
‘These are all people from working class families, a lot of them have partners who are key workers, cleaners, carers or nurses’, says Karen
(Image: MfJ)
Movement for Justice (MfJ), a civil rights and immigration rights movement, has criticised the Home Office’s handling of the #Jamaica50 charter flight and says Akeem is one of five Jamaican nationals who first arrived in the UK as a child.
MfJ National Organiser, Karen Doyle, said: “The Jamaica chartered flight is unique because of the Windrush scandal. The government thought the only way this could work was if they made sure everyone had criminal offences.
“A number of the people have been out for five, six or seven years and have not reoffended. A number of people were groomed into criminal activity in childhood. A number of people grew up in care and social services should have had the responsibility to make them British citizens.
“The government like to put out the headline ‘crimes’ but the truth is way more complex, these are all people from working class families, a lot of them have partners who are key workers, cleaners, carers or nurses.”
Five of the Jamaican nationals being deported first arrived in the UK as children
(Image: MfJ)
Karen told My London the conditions of the detention centres are a ‘breeding ground’ for Covid-19, and claims there have been two confirmed cases of detainees catching Covid-19 inside Colnbrook – despite testing negative beforehand.
According to Karen, one detainee with mental health issues was denied medication for four days. While several others, including a 66-year-old and a man with asthma, are particularly vulnerable to catching Covid-19.
More than half of the 50 Jamaican detainees have had their tickets cancelled, but remain in Colnbrook as they need to apply for bail to leave the premises.
Karen believes the Home Office will try to keep the remaining Jamaican nationals inside Colnbrook in an attempt to deport them again.
Akeem is yet to have his ticket cancelled, and would have begun heading to the airport from 2pm today (Tuesday, August 10) – the exact airport where the charter flight will take off from remains unclear.
He added: ” I’m feeling stressed, but I’m trying to stay strong for my family. I just hope I’m off of the flight tomorrow.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We make no apology for seeking to remove those with no right to remain in the UK and dangerous foreign criminals, including those who have been sentenced to six years in prison for grievous bodily harm.
“We regularly operate charter flights to countries around the world – to remove foreign offenders, and those who have no right to be in the country.
“This flight is not linked to the Windrush Review or the wrongs that the Windrush Generation faced, none of those on the flight are British Citizens, British Nationals or members of the Windrush generation.”
If you know of someone in London facing deportation, let us know their story by emailing Ruby at ruby.gregory@reach plc.com
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