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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/03/bangor-university-student-back-on-campus-as-deportation-threat-still-looms
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| Bangor University student back on campus as deportation threat still looms | Bangor University student back on campus as deportation threat still looms |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A student who came within hours of being removed from the UK has spoken of her shock at being detained and concern that her future remains uncertain. | |
| Shiromini Satkunarajah, 20, who was about to be put on a plane to her country of birth, Sri Lanka, is back in Bangor, north Wales, where she is expected to achieve a first class degree at the city’s university. | Shiromini Satkunarajah, 20, who was about to be put on a plane to her country of birth, Sri Lanka, is back in Bangor, north Wales, where she is expected to achieve a first class degree at the city’s university. |
| She said on Friday: “Being detained came as a big shock, and being taken away from friends and family to a strange place was quite traumatic. Of course, there are still a lot of uncertainties, and that is worrying for me and my family, but now I want to concentrate on my studies and do well in my degree. The support I’ve had from everyone has been amazing, and I’m so grateful for the help I’ve received.” | She said on Friday: “Being detained came as a big shock, and being taken away from friends and family to a strange place was quite traumatic. Of course, there are still a lot of uncertainties, and that is worrying for me and my family, but now I want to concentrate on my studies and do well in my degree. The support I’ve had from everyone has been amazing, and I’m so grateful for the help I’ve received.” |
| Satkunarajah, who has been in the UK since she was 12, and her mother, Roshani, were arrested last week after being told their application for asylum had been turned down. They were held at a police station before being taken to Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire and were braced to be put on a plane leaving from Manchester on Tuesday evening. | Satkunarajah, who has been in the UK since she was 12, and her mother, Roshani, were arrested last week after being told their application for asylum had been turned down. They were held at a police station before being taken to Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire and were braced to be put on a plane leaving from Manchester on Tuesday evening. |
| Hours before the flight was due to leave, the Home Office’s command and control unit confirmed the removal had been deferred and Satkunarajah, who studies electrical engineering at Bangor University, and her mother were freed. | Hours before the flight was due to leave, the Home Office’s command and control unit confirmed the removal had been deferred and Satkunarajah, who studies electrical engineering at Bangor University, and her mother were freed. |
| Tens of thousands of people signed a petition calling for Satkunarajah and her mother to be allowed to stay. Students, church leaders, academics and Satkunarajah’s MP, Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams, campaigned for her to stay. Satkunarajah extended her thanks to Williams, the university and her fellow students, and many others who supported her. | |
| “I am now delighted to be back at Bangor University and I very much hope I can complete my course.” | “I am now delighted to be back at Bangor University and I very much hope I can complete my course.” |
| She told the Guardian earlier this week that she had got behind in her studies. “The only thing in my head now is to get back to uni as soon as possible and do my assignments,” she said. “I haven’t finished the practical side of my dissertation yet and my deadlines are coming up pretty soon. I have to catch up with loads of work. My priority is to get back.” | |
| It remains unclear what happens next for Satkunarajah, who is due to graduate in three months. Her legal team has written to the Home Office setting out why it believes she and her mother should be allowed to stay. The government will have 14 days to decide whether to press ahead and remove both women. If that happens, her lawyers are likely to seek a judicial review. | |
| She said she had not thought about her long-term future. “My priority is to stay until I finish my degree. I haven’t had a chance to think about anything yet. I would not like to comment on what happens after I’ve studied.” | She said she had not thought about her long-term future. “My priority is to stay until I finish my degree. I haven’t had a chance to think about anything yet. I would not like to comment on what happens after I’ve studied.” |
| MP Hywel Williams, who met Satkunarajah on the campus at Bangor, said: “She’s completely astonished by the level of support and completely grateful for the help she has received. She and her cousin set up the petition and thought they might get 5,000 people to sign it. She’s overwhelmed by the response. | |
| “She’s a very shy person. There was huge pressure on her. She was held in the cells at the police station at Caernarfon for three days. I’m sure they did their best for her. Being in the police cells is bad enough. Then being taken off to Yarl’s Wood five or six hours away. | |
| “While she was there she wanted to scan some documents to help her case. They didn’t have a scanner she could use. I phoned and they said: ‘Oh we’ve got a fax’. When did anyone last use a fax?” | |
| Williams said it was at first hard for her to get any legal help. “She couldn’t work effectively on her case.” | |
| The MP will submit questions to the government on how many students are being deported. “I want to make sure the government does not act like this again.” | |
| Williams also aims to find out why Satkunarajah was targeted. “There are lots of over-stayers. Why her? She was being conscientious, she was signing in on time. What guidelines do they apply when deciding who to pick up?” | |
| Satkunarajah has lived in the UK since her parents fled the Sri Lankan civil war eight years ago. Her father, who had a student visa, died in 2011. She was given leave to complete her secondary education, but an application by her and her mother for asylum was denied, triggering the removal process. | Satkunarajah has lived in the UK since her parents fled the Sri Lankan civil war eight years ago. Her father, who had a student visa, died in 2011. She was given leave to complete her secondary education, but an application by her and her mother for asylum was denied, triggering the removal process. |
| Among those who urged the Home Office to let her stay was Bangor University’s vice-chancellor, John Hughes. He said: “We will continue to support Shiromini on her return to the university, and very much hope that she will be allowed to remain to complete her degree.” | Among those who urged the Home Office to let her stay was Bangor University’s vice-chancellor, John Hughes. He said: “We will continue to support Shiromini on her return to the university, and very much hope that she will be allowed to remain to complete her degree.” |