Will the Home Office ever show any compassion?
The depths to which the UK Home Office will stoop never fail to amaze me.
This case, which I wrote about back in March, is a prime example of their disgraceful attitude.
Obada Eid, a Syrian student in Glasgow, beat the Home Office’s hostile environment and succeeded with his appeal to be reunited in Scotland with Hoda, his terminally ill mother.
The Home Office had knocked back his application for his mum and his two siblings under family reunion rules. People granted protection under these regulations cannot usually reunite with parents or siblings, unless they can show exceptional circumstances, for which the courts have set a very high threshold.
Obada came to Scotland to study almost five years ago as more than half of Syria’s population of 24 million were displaced by civil war which has ravaged the country for more than a decade.
His mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer late last year, wanted to see her son one last time and for him to be reunited with his brother and sister before it was too late.
She struggled to make her way to the Lebanese capital Beirut in November to deliver paperwork to the nearest UK consular office to enable her to come to Scotland, but the documents became caught up in a Home Office logjam before they rejected the application.
However, the family won their case on appeal.
Obada told me: “I do feel excited and happy but unfortunately, my mum’s situation is getting worse.
“I am not sure yet when they’ll arrive as we are waiting for the Home Office to expedite the visa process.”
Obada had been planning to do a master’s degree followed by a PhD, but he had to delay his studies because of stress.
Usman Aslam, a senior associate with Mukhtar & Co, who has pursued the case for the family, said: “It is regrettable that this kind of case took this long to get through the system.
“I am grateful to the court to having initially expedited the case, however disappointed that the Home Office failed to review it on time despite the court directing them to.
“This is yet another case of ours that should reiterate to the public that safe routes to come to the UK are being made increasingly difficult.
“However, our firm have recently overturned a big previous decision to hopefully make it slightly easier for families to be reunited.
“The next hurdle is to try to get our client’s mother to Scotland before it is too late. We hope that a mother and son can see each other before the end of life.”
admin