A Syrian grandmother, Sooad Al Shawa, will spend her final days with her grandchildren in the UK after a U-turn by the Home Office allowed her to travel.
Sooad Al Shawa, a 75-year-old Syrian grandmother, was given permission by the Home Office to come to the UK, allowing her to spend her final days with her grandchildren she has never met.
The decision comes after a U-turn by the government, which had initially sought to bar her from traveling.
Al Shawa was diagnosed with liver cancer towards the end of last year and given just weeks to live by doctors. Her family, who fled Syria in 2015, had lost their baby after a bombing at their home in Damascus and were unable to take Al Hamwi’s mother with them. The family has been separated from Al Shawa for years, with only video calls being able to bridge the distance.
The Home Office rejected an application for a refugee family reunion made after Al Shawa’s terminal diagnosis. However, the family appealed, and a judge in the first-tier tribunal of the immigration court agreed in April. The family was overjoyed but devastated when the Home Office sought permission to appeal against the judge’s ruling.
The refugee family reunion process involves the reunification of a refugee with their family members who are already settled in another country.
According to UNHCR, over 25 million refugees worldwide are separated from their families due to conflict or persecution.
In 2020, over 140,000 refugees were reunited with their families through government-sponsored programs.
The process typically involves sponsorship by a family member, medical and background checks, and approval from the relevant immigration authorities.
The Home Office has now told the family’s lawyer that it is withdrawing its application, allowing Al Shawa to come to the UK. The decision will expedite the issuing of a visa, with the family hoping it will be processed at a centre in neighbouring Jordan this weekend. This will enable Amonajid to collect Al Shawa from there and bring her back to Glasgow.
The family is overjoyed by the news, with Al Hamwi saying that her mother ‘really perked up‘ when she heard the news and started to eat more. The children are excited to finally meet their grandmother, who will be sleeping in their bedroom. The family’s solicitor welcomed the Home Office decision, stating that refugees have lives, families, and dignity.
Refugees are individuals who have fled their home country due to war, persecution, or natural disasters.
According to the UNHCR, there were over 82 million forcibly displaced people worldwide in 2020.
Refugees have the right to seek asylum and protection from violence.
The 1951 Refugee Convention established the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states from returning refugees to a country where they would face persecution.
In addition, refugees have access to basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare.
Sooad Al Shawa has only been able to communicate with her grandchildren on video calls. Now, she will get to spend her final days with them, bringing closure to a family torn apart by war and displacement.
- theguardian.com | Dying Syrian grandmother allowed to come to UK in Home Office U turn
