BRITAIN: Saved at the last minute

On June 30, after five days without water and 11 without food, Iranian Seyed agreed to end his hunger strike because the local Social Services department agreed to give him emergency housing, money for food, and legal assistance to appeal the rejection of his asylum claim. Seyed had been living on the steps of Kirklees Friends and Refugees Together (Kraft), vowing that if he were deported to Iran he would be killed. Kraft director Pam Bye told the Huddersfield Examiner that she had begged for help for Sayed, but, "I don't think anyone took it seriously at first. As soon as the second article in the Examiner [about Sayed's protest] came out, Kirklees [authorities] got worried."

From Green Left Weekly, July 6, 2005.

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From GLW issue 632