An asylum seeker living in Perth says it would “mean everything” to remain in the UK amid fears he could be among thousands of people deported to Rwanda.
Ari Husseini, from Iran, joined about 30 people at a protest in the Fair City on Monday.
The gathering was arranged after rumours spread that asylum seekers living at the Best Western Queens Hotel or Station Hotel could be taken away as the UK Government ramps up its plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The group held up signs saying: “No no no Rwanda.”
Perth asylum seeker ‘does not want to go to Rwanda’
Ari has been living in the Station Hotel for five months after fleeing his country due to conflict.
He said: “It would mean everything to me to live in the UK.
“We do not want to go to Rwanda, we came to the UK to feel safe.
“I just want to live a life here in the UK.
“I’m so pleased that so many came out today.”
Linda El-Miligy, senior tutor at the English language-teaching charity Esolperth, also joined the protest.
She said it was organised around noon on Monday after speculation that the Home Office was set to target one of the hotels.
She said: “We have students from Sudan, Ethiopia, Iran and Iraq who have been living in these hotels for nearly two years.
“People have fled war and some are seeking political asylum.
“We’re spending every day with these guys.
“The morale of these students is low and they’re doubled up in these hotel rooms.”
The Home Office has refused to confirm whether anyone was detained in Perth on Monday, but it has previously said the detention of asylum seekers was “inevitable” as part of its Rwandan plans.
A spokesperson told The Courier: “It would be inappropriate to comment on operational activity.”
However, a source told The Courier that Mears, the agency tasked by the UK Government with providing accommodation for asylum seekers, had not been informed of any plans to remove any Perth asylum seekers on Monday.
‘Major operation’ to detain asylum seekers
It comes after The Guardian reported that a major operation was getting under way on Monday to detain asylum seekers across the UK in preparation for their deportation.
Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar also said he expected to see “explosions” of similar incidents to Kenmure Street in Glasgow, where hundreds of people blocked the detention of a man during an immigration raid in 2021.
SNP MP Pete Wishart previously criticised plans to house asylum seekers in the Perth hotels, claiming the size of the accommodation was “insufficient”.
A Perth street pastor also lifted the lid on the struggles faced by asylum seekers at the hotels.
