A SYRIAN refugee living in Glasgow has spoken of his anguish after his parents and a young niece and nephew were evacuated from Syria into Lebanon, which has been under extensive bombardment from Israeli forces.
Now, thanks to a Scottish lawyer, the family can be reunited in Scotland once the UK Home Office processes their visas.
A judge at the First-Tier Immigration Tribunal in Glasgow allowed an appeal from lawyer Usman Aslam against the Home Office’s refusal to grant the parents visas.
Because of the danger they face in the Lebanese capital Beirut, he also put in place an anonymity order preventing the identification of any of the family members.
The Glasgow-based Syrian, who we’re calling Khalid, said he was terrified for his mother and father, who are 58 and 67, his nephew, who is 16, and his 13-year-old niece.
He said: “In recent days, they’ve had no power, and the area they’re in was bombarded. I’m feeling very sick just thinking about them.
“The situation is really bad. Since the situation changed in Lebanon, I can’t sleep because I’m always just thinking about them and I’m on medication just to calm me.”
Khalid, who has lived in Glasgow for eight years, becomes upset when he talks about their plight: “They’re not bearing up in the situation they’re in – they are very scared every single minute. Every time I speak to my mother, she always pleads with me, ‘please help us. Please let us be out of here’.
“My mother’s mental health is bad. She is really suffering. [Both of my parents are] supposed to be taking medications but because of the situation, they can’t get hold of it, it’s not available for them.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is long-standing government policy that we do not comment on individual cases.”
Aslam, a senior associate at Mukhtar & Co in Glasgow, was “over the moon” at the result. He said: “We used the precedent set by our firm recently on refugee family reunions, which judges are now bound by, in this case.
“I urge immigration firms to also use that to make it easier to succeed in these kinds of cases, especially where there is a war, for example, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, or anywhere where Syrian families face refoulement.
“This result means our Syrian client can be reunited with his parents, niece and nephew. It also means getting them out of Lebanon which is a war zone. It is another outstanding success story where lives have been saved.”
Khalid added: “I could not believe it when our solicitor told us the news. My children burst into happy tears in his office at the thought of seeing their grandparents again.
“Many firms and people told us we couldn’t make an application of this kind. The Syrian community told me to find Usman Aslam who fights in these kinds of cases.
“We have asked our MP to ask the Home Office to expedite the visas because of the war in Lebanon. We are worried sick in case they are hit with bombs.
“The children, as well as my parents, have been living in what can only be described as a cage, worried that any day might be their last.”
