Nicoye Belongs Here, Let's Bring Him Home!
Nicoye's Story
Nicoye moved to England when he was 5 years old in 1993: his family moved over here for a better quality of life. They moved to Moss Side in Manchester and lived there for two years until his mum left her husband and moved out due to domestic violence. In 1995 Nicoye’s family moved to Ardwick, where they lived for the next 15 years.
Nicoye’s family are his mum, two younger brothers and cousin. Nicoye’s dad left when he was two years old and moved to America. Nicoye started school at Plymouth Grove Primary School; afterwards he went to Cedar Mount High School; then to Mancat College for two years studying accident & repair bodywork, which he passed. In his third and last year he was arrested for street robbery, where he served 3 months in a young offenders institute.
When Nicoye got out he started back at College, but 3 months later Nicoye was caught with drugs, which was an immediate breach of his license and was recalled to prison. He served 10 months and then was deported. Nicoye is now 24 and in Jamaica; in a country he wasn’t raised in and knows nothing about. He has no close family or friends; he’s suffering over there and struggling to fend for himself, he’s not used to the lifestyle, and hasn’t adapted to it. He misses his family, close friends and the community he grew up in. Nicoye cannot get a job over there, as he speaks in an English accent and is often asked why is he over there which means he has to explain about his past which leads employers to not want to employ him due to his criminal past. He is basically treated like an outsider. Nobody is willing to help him over there and he has to rely on his mum to send him money or he does not get fed. He feels lonely, and frustrated with stress, which is slowly deteriorating his mental health. We are Nicoyes’ family and friends and we are here to make a stand against his unfair deportation. We will campaign for as long as it takes to bring Nicoye home! Please sign the petition here to help bring Nicoye home and if you want to get involved with this campaign or help in any way please send an E-Mail to [email protected] NICOYE BELONGS HERE! |
Background IssuesNicoye's situation has not developed in isolation. As his campaign group, being young people and our parents who have lived in inner city Manchester most or all our lives, we understand and recognise that the following influences have contributed to Nicoye having been criminalised and then deported to Jamaica:
- About a quarter of the young people in the UK who are under 25 are unemployed. With too few jobs for young working class people; poverty is being enforced where people are turning to crime... to eat ... to meet basic needs. - Racism; black people are more likely to be unemployed and there are powerful stereotypes circulating in society all the time about young black men being involved with drugs and gangs. - Criminalisation and Policing; we are aware that some young people are describing being systemically singled out for harassment. There are almost daily searches including strip searches, on the estates Longsight/Ardwick. - Test how far they can abuse of the asylum system by the state – no right to legal representation, it seems to us that the state keeps breaking our law. |