A MOTHER and daughter whose lives were ripped apart by war have had an emotional reunion in Scotland after being separated for 10 years.
The National exclusively revealed a year ago how a Glasgow immigration lawyer had taken the case of the two women – whom we are calling Samja, 54, and her 39-year-old daughter Jalila to protect their identities – to the First-tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
Jalila is a Syrian national, and she, her husband and her child lived with the widowed Samja in Syria.
However, when the civil war flared up in 2011, they fled to Lebanon, but Samja could not enter that country because she is a Palestinian national.
Her home was destroyed in the conflict, and she had spent 10 years living in refugee camps while her daughter had to cope with the death of her own husband and separation from her mother.
Jalila avoided repatriation to a war zone when she was chosen for UK resettlement and, on arriving in Scotland, set about navigating the notoriously difficult UK family reunion rules.
After a string of disappointments, Aslam managed to get the case before the First Tier Tribunal.
When that body decided the mother and daughter could be reunited in Scotland, Jalila told The National: “I honestly cannot describe how great a moment this is in my life – it is one of the greatest moments in my life.”
Her main concerns then centred on the time it would take for her mother’s documentation to be processed in her war-ravaged homeland.
We illustrated our first story with an image of Samja sitting outside the tin hut she called home in a Syrian refugee camp.
One year on, both women were virtually dumbstruck when they were reunited for the first time in a decade.
Aslam, a senior solicitor with Mukhtar & Co in Glasgow, told The National: “What voters and taxpayers ought to be entitled to is the truth when it comes to immigration matters.
“The truth is that it was the Conservative government who said they wanted to create a safe passage for people fearing persecution or war – a non-existent, ludicrous proposition we all know about.
“It was they who said that family reunion is a safe passage. Yet it is the same government that, despite opposition, continues to make it increasingly harder for family members to be reunited.”
He added: “In this particular case, a mother and daughter were separated for years unnecessarily. This elderly mother was living in a ripped-up tent, unsure if she could eat every day, and surrounded by warfare.
“What if that was your mother? Would you be happy with it taking years and wondering whether a good enough case was presented to court?
“This video portrays the meaning of being reunited with family. It should remind us that refugees are human like you and me. The video should tell us not to give in to right-wing agendas.
“If there is a safe passage to the UK, it is a family reunion. Mukhtar & Co are delighted with this outcome and continue the fight for refugees.”
