More than a number

Figures were published last week which indicate that net migration into the UK increased by more than 38% to 243,000 in 2013-14.   Commentators were quick to point out the significant margin by which the Government are likely to miss their stated targets to reduce immigration.  The reality is that any UK Government can do little or nothing to prevent EU citizens arriving on these shores.  What this means, of course, is that if the Government wants to reduce immigration figures, the only way to do so is to by cutting the number of people coming to the UK from outside the EU.

Politicians and other public figures have, in recent times, felt the need to speak out on the immigration issue, and all sorts of numbers are bandied about.  It is vital to realise, however, that we are not speaking about an anonymous group, or impersonal numbers, we are speaking about individual people and families.  This has been brought home to me in a personal way in the past couple of weeks.

Rev Robert Kasema recently arrived to work as a Methodist Minister in the Leicester West Circuit.  He brought with him his four younger children, the youngest of whom is Hannah, aged just 3.  Tragically, Robert’s wife died shortly after giving birth to Hannah.  The two older children of the family, Kenny and Nancy, were important in helping Robert and the younger children through this time of great sadness.  Nancy has been the person who has stood in for her mother to look after Hannah and the rest of the family.

Because Kenny and Nancy are aged over 18, they have had to apply for their own visas to travel to the UK.  Very sadly, the Home Office in the UK has rejected their visa applications.  This has caused great distress to the whole family, not least because Nancy was to planning to continue her role has carer for the younger children.

I have little doubt that when decisions was being made about Kenny’s and Nancy’s visa applications, the officials concerned had in the back of their mind the fact that the Government is determined to reduce immigration figures.  Any feeling of compassion for the Kasema family, and any dose of common sense, was probably crushed under the weight of impossible Government targets.  We are not talking here about numbers, we are talking about a real family in need.

Our hope and prayer is that the Home Office will see sense and overturn the decision.  In the meantime, we will do what we can to support this family who have been divided by an uncaring bureaucracy.