Zimbabwean woman escapes UK deportation

A grandmother facing deportation to Zimbabwe has spoken of her delight after being released, a day before she was set to be deported from the UK.

Evenia Mawongera, a critic of the Mugabe regime, had been due to be deported yesterday. However, the day before her planned removal she was released - to the delight of her supporters - from the detention centre where she was being held.

The mother-of-two, who has four grandchildren, must report to the Border Agency on Friday, and does not know what will happen to her. She is hoping an 11th-hour appeal will enable her to remain in Leicester with her two daughters.

Speaking after her release, Evenia, 55, said: "If I go back, that's the end. The moment I get off that plane, no-one will ever see me again. For my family, if I leave them and I say goodbye, it will be goodbye forever. I know I will die."

She said many people did not believe her when she told them what would happen if she returned to Zimbabwe.

"I'm fighting because I know what's there," said Evenia. "You don't say anything, you do whatever they want."

Evenia joined her two daughters, who both live in Leicester, 10 years ago after fleeing persecution. She has made a number of unsuccessful applications for leave to remain in this country.

On July 5, Evenia reported to the UK Border Agency in Loughborough, as she had done every three months – but on this occasion she was taken to a detention centre in Bedfordshire. She spent 11 days in the centre before being released on Tuesday afternoon. Evenia said she did not know what would happen to her when she reported to the Border Agency on Friday.

"I don't know what they're going to do. When they released me, they didn't specify anything. All I want is them to release me forever," she said.

Evenia's daughters, who arrived in this country in 1999, were given permission to stay in the UK after completing their studies.

Daughter Loreen Mawongera, 33, said: "I don't know what to say about how I'm feeling, it's unreal. I feel excited at the moment but it's only temporary. We don't know for how long she will be here. It feels like they're teasing us."

Loreen said of her mother's possible deportation to Zimbabwe: "To us, as family, it's a death sentence in front of our eyes and we're having to watch it happen. We don't have the power to stop it, we're just praying for sympathy and waiting for somebody to listen."

Liz Kendall MP has backed her case and on Monday her office was told by the Home Office it was deferring the deportation.

Zimbabwe Action in Solidarity (ZAS), which is supporting Evenia, welcomed her back to Leicester with a performance by its choir at the Town Hall Square in the city yesterday.

Christina Ndlovu, secretary of ZAS, said: "Evenia has lived in the UK for 10 years and her children and grandchildren are all British citizens. It is not fair. We will never stop, until everything is all sorted." More than 1,000 people have signed a petition imploring Home Secretary Theresa May to quash the deportation order. - See more at: http://harare24.com/index-id-news-zk-15439.html#sthash.XOlFalOs.38OgxF0M.dpuf