Young UK man with no firm roots in Ghana faces deportation to Ghana

The media in the UK is carrying an interesting but sad story about a young Ghanaian man, Joseph Bediako, who faces deportation to Ghana despite not having any family or home in Ghana.

According to the reports, the matter has left the 26-year-old feeling suicidal.

“Joseph Bediako was originally meant to be sent to Ghana tomorrow (June 2, 2021) from Heathrow at 2 pm, but ongoing legal proceedings mean this has not gone ahead. However, he is still left in the dark about what might happen in the future.

“Joseph has been detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, at Gatwick Airport, since early May and was issued a deportation notice to Ghana for tomorrow,” reports a local UK news outlet, My London.

Joseph’s girlfriend, Amoura Curry, is currently leading a social media campaign to stop Joseph’s deportation.

Read the full story as reported by My London below.

A Croydon man has been left feeling "suicidal" as he's facing deportation to Ghana despite having no family, home or bank account in the country.

Joseph Bediako was originally meant to be sent to Ghana tomorrow (June 2, 2021) from Heathrow at 2pm, but ongoing legal proceedings mean this has not gone ahead.

However, he is still left in the dark about what might happen in the future.

Joseph has been detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, at Gatwick Airport, since early May and was issued a deportation notice to Ghana for tomorrow.

Speaking to My London today (June 1), Joseph explained how he is eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and the Home Office has received proof of his parents’ Italian nationality.

He said: “[The Home Office] already have their passports and everything, I sent it to them, I don’t understand why they are lying?”

He added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no place, no home, nobody [in Ghana.]

“I don’t want anybody to experience this, it's very terrible.”

Joseph’s girlfriend, Amoura Curry, has been pleading to stop Joseph’s deportation as he is feeling ‘suicidal'.

She said Joseph is “on the brink of ripping his head off” in the detention centre and is “frightened” of deportation as he has no “family, home or bank account in Ghana".

Amoura is raising awareness of Joseph’s situation on Twitter with the hashtag #FreeingJoey.

Amoura claimed on Twitter: “@British_Airways REFUSE to carry Joseph Bediako to Ghana on the 2/6/2021 at 2pm from Heathrow.

"His deportation is unlawful, he has been unlawfully detained before his removal tomorrow and is traumatised as a result. He is suicidal and he is not fit to fly.”

According to British Airways’ General Conditions of Carriage, the airline can refuse to carry a passenger(s) ‘If your mental or physical state or health is considered a danger or risk to you, the aircraft or any person in it, or you have failed to meet government, public health body, or other government enforcement body, health requirements applicable for the country you are travelling to.’

Amoura said that Joseph was born in Ghana but came to the UK in 2017. She said his mother, father and sister are EU citizens.

Joseph explained his mother and father are Italian nationals and his dad has worked and lived in the UK since 2016.

As his parents are Italian nationals, Joseph should be eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

The scheme is designed to give EU citizens - who entered the UK under the EU's freedom of movement principle - the right to remain in the country.

Amoura is urging the Home Office to allow him to apply before he is deported.

Joseph was detained at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre on May 5 this year without warning before later being relocated to Brook House.

Amoura said her boyfriend has “deteriorated” while at Brook House.

She said: “The person I knew on May 4 is not the person I see going forward, it’s almost like I’ve met somebody else.

“Some days I see him and he’s completely unresponsive and it's really hard to communicate with him.

“Some days he’s really terrified - if a door slams, he jumps out of his skin. This is somebody who does things for thrills… who is now shaking.”

Amoura, 22, also claimed on Twitter: "Joey has had guards come into his cell in the middle of the night whilst he’s on suicide watch and verbally abuse and taunt him to the point he’s so panicked he cannot verbalise his thoughts or feelings.

"He has been subject to inhumane treatment in Brook House.”

A Home Office spokesperson said yesterday (May 31): “The public rightly expects us to remove those who have no right to be in the UK. We expect people to leave the country voluntarily but, where they do not, Immigration Enforcement will seek to enforce their departure.

“We take our responsibilities towards detained individuals’ health and welfare very seriously. The provision of 24-hour, seven-days-a-week healthcare in all IRCs ensures that detained individuals have ready access to medical professionals and levels of primary care in line with individuals in the community.

"The Home Office has not received an application from Mr Bediako to the EU Settlement Scheme.”

According to Joseph, he is unable to complete the EU Settlement Scheme application as the Home Office has his passport.

He said he could not complete the application last year as his father had to go to Italy for a family emergency. The father, who returned to the UK yesterday, was reportedly unable to fly back earlier due to the coronavirus situation.

The Home Office says it has not received proof of Joseph’s parents’ nationality, although Joseph and his girlfriend dispute this.

The Home Office spokesperson said the department has responded to Joseph’s legal representatives with the information that they have requested.

They added: "The dignity and welfare of detained individuals are of the utmost importance – we will accept nothing but the highest standards from those who manage the detention estate on the Home Office’s behalf."

According to Aké Achi, founder and director of Migrants at Work, a community organisation, Joseph is eligible to apply to the settlement scheme.

He said: “From what we have gathered so far, [Joseph’s] parents are Italian nationals, and he is eligible to apply to the settlement scheme. So, the Home Office has been detaining an EU citizen who should not be where he is now, because of some administrative matters.

“I fail to see the immigration offence committed. This kind of unlawful detention has been a standard practice for a very long time.

“The Home Office is sending a clear to all migrants, not only EU. And that message is ‘it does not matter what your statutory rights are, we are willing and keen to rob you of your life, destroy it, and ship you back to where we think you belong to, just because we can.’”

Before his scheduled deportation was cancelled, Joseph spoke to My London about leaving the UK.

Amoura said: “I love him to bits, there is nobody on earth I’d rather be with.

“I don’t think there is anybody on Earth who is made for me or understands me in the way Joey does.”

The Home Office could not comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.