By Alice Greenlees Stand Up To Racism Swansea
Anti racists in Wales are celebrating the decision to give Otis Bolamu refugee status.
Otis was seized from his flat on Christmas Eve 2018 , he was taken to a cell in a detention centre next to an airport where it was likely he was to be put on a plane back to a country he was petrified of and where he was likely to be persecuted.
Otis was broken, he stopped eating and was put on suicide watch.
However his spirits were lifted when word reached him that a campaign had taken off to stop the deportation.
Stand Up To Racism coordinated an immediate protest. Anti racists and friends of Otis gathered by the Council’s Christmas tree carrying photos of Otis.
Pictures were shared across social media and politicians were asked for supporting statements.
Our local MPs and Assembly Members all wrote to the Home Office office and its ministers.
A petition was launched by the Hay and Talgarth refugee support group , it was shared around Britain and it started to attract attention.
The attempted deportation of a Christian socialist who was a volunteer at an Oxfam bookshop, on Christmas Eve just looked awful .
Very quickly word got out that Otis would not be deported over Christmas, in fact Otis was allowed to leave detention. He returned to Swansea and the next day joined the transport to an anti austerity demo in London where he joined the Stand Up To Racism contingent and spoke to the crowd at Trafalgar Square.
His legal team has battled ever since to keep Otis in Britain . There have been occasional moments of worry in the year but today we have found out that he has been given refugee status.
Otis told Stand Up to Racism :
“I just want to say thank you. I am so excited. I just want to stop and say thank you for the power of people. People were so kind, campaigning for me to come out of detention. And when I came back, they did not stop. Still they helped me and supported me. They said we will not rest. We will not celebrate until he has refugee status. Now I have it. Now we can party!”