(not satire – it’s the UK today)
This has been taken from Harley Miller’s Facebook page, an Australian who has been living in the UK for the last 9 years:
Hello my friends,
You may have noticed that recently I have been posting up lots of political articles, some of which you may agree with, others not. Many of those articles have been about immigration. Some of you may even know why I’ve been putting those posts up – out of protest.
You see, as an Australian living in the UK, I am an immigrant. In recent times, I have seen how there has been an increasing political campaign by a particular party which very much scapegoats immigrants for what is going on n this country. Sadly, the other parties, afraid of losing votes, have followed suit.
The point of this post is not to get into a political debate with you. Quite frankly, I’m not interested in a debate. The reason why? It’s very simple. It has affected me directly.
I have been in this country for 9 years. In the whole of that time I have worked for the NHS, in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health sector, helping young people of this country through sometimes quite severe mental health problems. Some of those young people still contact me to this day, to let me know of their achievements and well-being.
I have also contributed in taxes that whole time. I have never been unemployed, I don’t have children and I don’t have a disability. In other words, I have paid my taxes but have never required, thankfully, to draw on benefits for anything. Ever.
I am considered as “highly skilled”. Without going into my CV, suffice to say, I have two Masters degrees and various lesser qualifications.
I own my own property.
I do not have a criminal record.
Yet, with all of that, on Friday UKBA/Home Office decided not to renew my visa and I have no right to appeal. As of Friday, I was given just 28 days to pack up my house, my home, my life and leave.
As of Friday, I am no longer allowed to work. Yesterday, I was formally dismissed from my job without notice or severance pay, after 9 years dedicated to the UK National Health Service, reaching a senior position in which I was held in high esteem. I should also point out that that meeting was called a “hearing”, in which there were “allegations” and an “investigation”, as though having my visa renewal rejected was a crime. (Admittedly, they later apologised for this but only after I made it clear that it was a disgrace).
Ironically, I am no longer entitled to health care. The very same health care that I have contributed to in terms of work and taxes.
In fact, as of Friday, I have no rights in the UK whatsoever, despite owning properties and my years of contribution here.
The only way around this for me now is to demand my removal papers (and risk arrest), which then grants me right to appeal. A day in court with legal representation costs several thousands of pounds.
I wanted to tell you all this because I want you to know, as UK citizens, what the REALITY of the immigration situation is.
So when you read in the papers or hear in the media that the government has reduced the number of immigrants in this country, think of me and say to yourself “now I know how they do it!”
Thanks for your time
.
Please feel free to comment. And please share.
.
Jane Leach said:
I am so very sorry to hear this it is shaming and unfair, I can’t help wondering if they know that you write this blog could this have gone against you or is it the same for everyone. I hope that you can find some kind of solution and I wish you the very best.
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nearlydead said:
Reblogged this on nearlydead.
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Judith Haire (@JudithHaire) said:
I am genuinely sorry to read this and send you my best wishes
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judithhaire said:
Reblogged this on Far be it from me –.
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Anne Selby Author said:
This is very unfair of course and it makes me wonder whether people from other countries such as yourself will now have to apply for citizenship after they have been here five years, unless of course dual citizenship is allowed. My brother in law is coming here to the UK on a spousal visa, my sister is a British citizen and has come home to the UK to live out her years. After five years he has to apply for citizenship.
Did they give no reason for denying the extension of your visa?
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Freda Satow said:
SO sorry to hear all this. You are being punished for speaking out. 1984 has arrived. I think your blog is brilliant. Fight back if you can.
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Stephen said:
This sounds like beaurocracy gone mad. I’m sure the law wasnt meant for people like you, but its the way the beaucrats intrepret it. Fight it tooth and nail!
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Mike Sivier said:
Reblogged this on Vox Political.
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julieanneda said:
I have no adequate words to
i) give comfort;
ii) show enough loathing
Thank you for all you have done
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mcwnorris said:
This is awful. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I can recommend Gryk Law, a firm of immigration solicitors in London. My family and I have been their clients several times in the past year and I can vouch for their excellence, kindness and humanity.
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mcwnorris said:
Reblogged this on Humans and Aliens and commented:
Appaling. Please read. And Please Share.
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Leoni Al-ajeel said:
Absolutely appalling. Shared.
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leonc1963 said:
As bad as this is it is happening to UK nationals too?:
A Vile Vile man
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Jane Canning said:
Fascist Tory pigs. It is them that should be leaving. I have very much enjoyed your blog Tom. Wishing you well.
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msharmila2013 said:
I see nothing wrong with any of that.
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Martin said:
Can you please state what visa status you have had for the past 9 years include any gaps as well. Once we have the whole story we should be able to make sense of it. Obviously there are rules in place. Bear in mind many people have multiple degrees, but that alone does not entitle you to stay in the UK
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Jeffrey Davies said:
yet another sly dog tory libdem trick
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Tony said:
Good luck mate. If you fancy hiding out in Yorkshire just give me a shout.
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Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard said:
Retweeted this. I’d fight your corner mate, though I have no clue whether that’s feasible financially for you.
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Tom Pride said:
It’s not me who is being deported guys. It’s Harley Miller.
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Anni Selby said:
This is taken from someone else’s blog, not Tom Pride’s blog. At the top of this post you can see it was taken from Harley Miller’s facebook page
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Anni Selby said:
It isn’t Tom Pride’s visa status, it’s the status of Harley Miller, the lady who is in this predicament, the link to her page is at the top of this blog
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Darren said:
Harley has been putting up political posts, and now his visa’s been revoked? Doesn’t really take a mathematician to add two two’s up to five, does it? What’s in store for us other bloggers, letter-writers and armchair protesters – House Arrest?
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Freda Satow said:
Sorry! Misunderstood your blog. Thought it was you. Even so. Disgusting, whoever it might be.
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Robert Fillies said:
Dear Harley
Having just read about your predicament on Vox Political, i would like to say to you that you have been treated abominably by the authorities of this country, and i offer my apology to you on their behalf.How misguided they are in following this populist view on immigration for purely political reasons.
I wish you good fortune in your pursuit of justice
Kind Regards
Robert Fillies
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Michael Igoe said:
I can only say, ‘sorry’, Harley, for the behaviour of a country’s government, one which was never even elected and has lived since on a diet of denigration of minorities and rampant xenophobia, all this disguised as putting the country to rights. Putting it to rights by taking away rights is an obvious paradox, but that’s the modern UK. Have a good journey home, as far as is possible. I’ve just a trace of an idea of your present difficulties. Even a year or two after 1945, servicemen and women, with their children (including me then) found life anything but what they’d fought to defend.
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rainbowwarriorlizzie said:
Reblogged this on HUMAN RIGHTS & THE SIEGE OF BRITAIN POLITICAL JOURNAL.
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rainbowwarriorlizzie said:
Reblogged this on HUMAN RIGHTS & THE SIEGE OF BRITAIN POLITICAL JOURNAL.
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Jonathan Cairns said:
That fucking sucks. I haven’t read any of the other comments yet but I wonder if it’s a pathetic and subversive effort by the current UK administration to physically ‘eliminate’ any leftish opposition. Viz: Glenn Greenwald and his partner’s recent inept harassment at LHR.
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Anonyme said:
Tnx for sharing that with the world. Situations like that are happening in Canada too (UK’s little sister). You are in my thoughts Harley
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Nico said:
“I’m sure the law wasnt meant for people like you” right, only the “bad ones”. Jesus. It is an attack on human beings plain and simple, stop fooling yourself please.
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Geoff Kerr said:
nothing like picking on easy targets
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guy fawkes said:
This is nothing like picking easy targets, this is an over the top agenda in order to get the public outraged enough to drop immigration as an electable issue, even though it clearly is an issue which needs to be addressed, why have these working migrants not applied for UK citizenship if they want to stay here?
There is more to this than meets the eye.
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NW3 said:
I am very sorry to read of Harley Miller’s predicament; effectively, I think she was probably advised improperly by UKBA: they seem to tell everyone else rather unequivocally that a spousal visa should be considered curtailed if the marriage is no longer subsisting, so what were they thinking when they wrote to her to tell her she could stay so long as her spousal visa were valid ? Had they advised her appropriately, and outlined her options in 2008, she would likely by now be at least settled; instead, she missed out on a number of options to retain her permission to stay. My view is that if the UKBA can’t provide accurate advice through their own labyrinthine system, they can hardly behave as though it is wholly the applicant’s fault that it’s gone awry. Common decency suggests that they should put it right somehow, but I’m not altogether sure their practice is guided by a moral compass.
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Jane Leach said:
I misunderstood I thought you were speaking about yourself but that doesn’t alter my opinion it can’t be right to rip someone anyone out of their lives.
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Mg Massey said:
what worries me is ..willl I be bale to go and live with my love as we planned , or will I too be kept from it by this mess?I am gonna take down my page today..may a swell folks listen to the net before they trust their own inner voice anyway and that is EXACTLY what the powers that be wanted.. time ot go offline I think
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beastrabban said:
Disgusting. Unfortunately, Harley Miller is not alone in such treatment. It’s increasingly common, and ultimately dates back to Tony ‘I am Tory Plan B’ Blair.
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beastrabban said:
Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog and commented:
Tom Pride here reposts a piece by Harley Miller, an Australian who has been working for 9 years here in the UK. Except for her nationality, Miller’s a model citizen. She worked in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Section of the NHS, which must surely be an extremely demanding job dealing with some disturbed and vulnerable young people. She has paid her taxes and never been unemployed. However, as she is a foreigner, she has been told that her employment contract will not be removed, and been given 28 days to sell her house and leave the UK. It’s disgusting treatment of a conscientious worker, who has contributed to our society. On it’s own, this would be shocking enough, but I’ve heard of many other similar cases. A friend told me of how his mother, who was a union member in the hospital where she worked, organised industrial action on behalf of the Phillipino nurses there. They had similarly been dismissed and told to leave the country. Such treatment of foreign workers also shows the double standards of the Coalition towards immigration. Cameron and Osborne in their visit to China have announced that they are putting in place legislation to fast track Chinese citizens so that they can enter and live in the UK. One suspects, however, that these new, Chinese residents won’t be members of the Middle Kingdom’s hoi polloi, but the very rich. The luxury apartment blocks now being built in London are aimed at the super-rich from the Far East, who wish to buy them as an investment rather than a home. So, fat cats are welcome here in Britain, while hard-working proles are treated as criminals and kicked out with very short notice.
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John said:
You can see from this story why immigration is at the heart of the struggle for socialism. Britain has been at the forefront of this struggle and when Labour is re-elected will reverse these rules. See http://antiracistfront.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/heroes-of-anti-racism-british.html for an account of the struggle in Britain.
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Aliyah said:
I am disgusted to say the least. I am very sorry to hear that this is happening to you.
It is an understatement to say that people like you are paying for their huge mistakes.
If it helps to minimise their consequences then I don’t think they’ll be stopping here.
It’s an utter disgrace and I can only apologise that you are being treated lesser than a human being. 😦
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Bobbi White said:
Harley Miller’s Facebook page has not been updated since 4 March 2014 – do you have any info as to whether she has been deported?
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Tom Pride said:
Harley’s still in the UK bravely awaiting her fate. You can follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarleyM65
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Aneesa said:
Dear Friend,
Having read your blog we were hoping you would be interested in our video, “Don’t stop me now: The Calais ‘jungle’ and No Borders Camp”. It reveals the hell that was the Calais ‘jungle’ and the incredible journeys migrants staying there had made.
We have uploaded the film on the Citizen TV talent site in the hope that it may receive sufficient 5 star votes to make it a video with an award winning message which will help spread the word.
The film is available to watch and vote for here: http://www.citizen.tv/competition#!tab=top-talent&week=week-18-2014&month=&boc_month=&vo=%2Fdon-t-stop-me-now-the-calais-jungle-and-no-borders-camp-rvmp9Jeovj.html
We would be delighted if you would watch the video, vote for it and share it.
Many thanks,
Aneesa Syed
WORLDbytes Volunteer
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Abigail Appiah said:
Hello
I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but I think you may be interested in our filmed programme ‘Rania’s story’. Immigration is again at the top of the agenda in the UK as the main political parties all try to sound tough and let migrants take the blame for their failures. But for Rania Hafez, who moved across the world, aeroplanes were like taxis. She hopes with cheaper flights more people will see more of the world and that, she points out, requires ending visa restrictions.
We have released the film on Citizen.TV, a new talent site, in the hope that it may receive sufficient votes and viewings to win an award. If you would like to encourage us in making similar programmes please vote 5 stars for our video as this would raise debate about ‘open borders’ and raise much needed funds for our charity.
The film is available to watch and vote here: http://www.citizen.tv/WORLDwrite#!vo=%2Frania-s-story-0ulrz4ke05.html
We would be delighted to read your comments on our video and hope you vote for us. Do feel free to embed, share, copy and pass on this programme to anyone else who may be interested. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Best wishes,
Abigail Appiah
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