Update: 15 June 2021:
Guardian: Home Office abandons plans to deport Osime Brown to Jamaica
Family celebrate success of campaign to halt deportation of 22-year-old, who has autism
A 22-year-old man who has autism and his family are celebrating after the Home Office abandoned plans to deport him to Jamaica.
Osime Brown, who left Jamaica aged four to settle in the UK with his mother, Joan Martin, was facing deportation after being released from prison where he had been serving a sentence for stealing a friend’s mobile phone, though he and others said he did not do it.
Martin has been fighting to halt her son’s deportation and a campaign against it had been gathering momentum, with demonstrations held in London and Glasgow at the weekend.
On Tuesday the Home Office abandoned its plans to deport him.
26 February 2021: The Canary: Here’s how you can support the campaign to stop the deportation of Osime Brown
Update on ideas about how to get involved here
also Change.org: Emma Dalmayne started this petition to Priti Patel and 1 other
Osime Brown is 22 years old, he is profoundly autistic and developmentally younger than his peers. Osime is also learning disabled, dyslexic and due to his time in care has since been diagnosed with PTSD, and suffers with depression.
Osime was jailed in 2018 over the theft of a phone in a street robbery, despite a witness for the defence stating Osime had not taken the phone and had in fact asked the other teens carrying out the robbery to stop. He got 5 year’s in prison under the Joint Enterprise Law, it was also ordered that upon his release he be taken to a detention centre and be deported to Jamaica.
As a result of this campaign and an appeal by his solicitor’s Osime was not taken to the detention centre upon his release due to his ill health, he is now home, yet still awaits deportation.
I am autistic myself and I’m a mother to six children, five of whom are autistic. When I heard about Osime’s case I reached out to his mother to try and help because I know that this could be my son in his position. Everyday Osime’s mum Joan goes to bed thinking her son is one step closer to getting deported. The family are living in limbo, every waking day filled with uncertainty.
Osime is extremely stressed, suffering meltdowns, self injuring, has developed a heart condition which has meant he has had to endure two operations, resulting in a recording device being placed into his heart. He is extremely worried about the possible deportation to Jamaica – a country he left at age 4. He has no family network there and is vulnerable to negative influences, peer pressure and bullying. If sent there, he will arrive at the airport on the other side with nothing and no one and he is highly vulnerable.
Osime has asked his mother Joan which bus he would take to see her if he is deported. She lives in Dudley, Birmingham.
We ask that you do not send Osime back, that you allow him to stay in the UK where he can get support and assisted living.
Osime was in 28 care home placements, he has been repeatedly failed by the social care and education system.
Please do not fail him and his family by sending him to a country he knows nothing of, this could be potentially lethal. Please support this appeal by signing and sharing this petition.
Please donate to the Go Fund Me here: https://uk.gofundme.com/f/stop-deportation-of-vulnerable-man-osime-brown
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