Scotland: asylum-seekers and deportation
Two teenage asylum-seekers have won their battle to escape deportation to Pakistan. Brothers Somer Bakhsh and Areeb have spent most of their lives fearing that they could be forced to leave Glasgow and sent back to the country of their birth where Christians are persecuted. They now have some certainty in their lives, but they have only been granted ‘limited leave to remain’ until February 2022. Somer, who got four As and a B in his Highers and aspires to be an astrophysicist, said, ‘Scotland is my home. I have grown up here, all my friends are here, and I feel like a Scottish boy.’ First minister Nicola Sturgeon described the brothers as a ‘credit’ to Scotland, and Jeremy Corbyn urged the Home Office to grant the family leave to remain.
Homeless children in shipping containers
More than 210,000 children are estimated to be homeless. The Children's Commissioner for England says that, as well as the 124,000 children officially classed as homeless, a further 90,000 are estimated to be ‘sofa-surfing’. Her report tells of families housed in repurposed shipping containers and office blocks, and whole families living in tiny spaces. Councils blamed a £159m funding gap. The report, entitled Bleak Houses, found office-block conversions in Harlow in which over 1,000 whole families live in single rooms barely bigger than a parking space, and shipping containers which are blisteringly hot in summer and freezing in the winter months being used in Bristol, Cardiff and London. The report warns that a further 375,000 children in England are in households that have fallen behind on rent or mortgage payments. This means that thousands more are at financial risk of becoming homeless in the future.
Farming: five facts
1) The fatal accident rate on farms is higher than any other sector. 2) Theft from British farmers hit a seven-year high of £50m in 2018, with a 26% rise in stolen farm vehicles and a 3.7% rise in animal theft. 3) As a result of the crimes, farmers are reporting increased levels of anxiety and isolation. 4) Farmers fear they could go out of business following the post-Brexit trade deal with the USA that is being publicised as a way to boost the UK economy. They need reassurance that their high standards will not drop to compete with US chlorinated chicken, gamma radiation to eliminate microorganisms, and genetically modified crops. 5) Suicide rates in farming are reported to be among the highest of any occupational group, with more than one farmer a week in the UK taking their own life. See also
Saving lives against all odds
Jennie Powell was 22 weeks pregnant when she went into labour while on holiday. She was taken to a specialist neonatal unit 190 miles away. Despite being given tiny chances of survival, Ruben and Jenson Powell were born, and cared for extensively, and are alive today - a wonderful example of protecting the most vulnerable in our society. The inspiring story demonstrates the humanity of very young children - before they even have meaningful protection in law - at least within England and Wales. Last year, thousands of children were aborted after 20 weeks of pregnancy in England and Wales alone. Nearly 1 in 4 pregnancies ended in abortion (excluding miscarriages and stillbirths). All these children didn't get a chance. Pro-life advocacy has fought against the culture of abortion for over 50 years in the UK, and now the culture of death could spread to Northern Ireland.
