Deportation of Sakchai Makao (Mark II) - ** News Thread **

[hellsbells]

my faith in politicians has been upheld by all the good work that alaister carmichael is doing to help sakchai. if i'm ever in need of help i now know where to go. keep up the good work alaister you now will have a few more folk who'll seriously think twice of how they vote in the future. after reading the posts fae davie as well i would like to say he can fight for me anytime. keep up the good work guys. some of us really appreciate it.

[DavieG]

Hia,

 

Well done everybody for the hard work you are doing so far to help Sakchai! I'm currently based in Edinburgh at the moment and I am trying to do what I can to help Sakchai. I went to Brae High school with him and as many people can attest, he was one of the nicest people I knew there. I'm revolted by how badly this country is now treating him based on a single break of the law and his ethnic origin - he must be going through hell.

 

Is there anyone in or around Edinburgh who wants to do something to try and help him? Although immagration is not a devolved matter, I thought it might be an idea to hold some kind of peaceful protest outside the Holyrood parliment on Tuesday in tandem with the public meeting in Shetland to raise awareness to his campaign to the MSPs. They could at least start the debate against the Dawn Raids again and might be able to pass a message on to Westminster. I know there were some of his friends of his in Glasgow and Aberdeen, it wouldn't be possible to come down with some banners and tell his story?

 

Let me know if you are interested or if there are any other plans for something similar. My e-mail address is:

chrisjam82@gmail.com

 

Thanks everybody, I really hope we can get this put to rights. This has been a real wake up call to how intollerant this country has become.

 

Cheers,

Chris Jamieson.

 

Chris thanks for this something like that would be fantastic. We all know the red tape reasons why Jack McC etc cannot say anything but at least lets try and get them to appear in public and explain why.

 

Cheers again for this

[breeksy]

Chrisjam

 

I have copied your post, via email, to my brother. I hope this is ok.

 

He isn't there any more, but he used to live in Edinburgh and was very involved in political protests etc. He may well still have contacts there, both Shetland and people with political interests, that might be interested.

 

breeksy

[mary doll]

Have just spoken with James. Utai, Andrew and her mum have just got in to see Sakchai on a "reception visit". Not without hiccup but they're in now and that's the important thing.

 

James will see them when they come out and find out if there's anything Sakchai needs which he can take back later. He is very hopeful of a visit this afternoon. Alistair's relentless push is much appreciated.

 

Alexandra seems to be pretty taken with Sakchai - what's not to love!

 

Cheers guys,

 

Shona

[hjt]

Hi, all; Just joined too. I am outraged at what has happened to Sakchai. My children lived next door to him in Mossbank, and our families got to know each other. My sons were best friends with him, and Sakchai spend a lot of time in our home. There is no way Sakchai fits into the category of person the national press tells us the Home Office should be after. Like everyone else, I believe they are after the "soft target" to get numbers up in an attempt to save face.

In the opinion of the home office, Sakchai is a target for deportation regardless of his character. Shetland is an out-of-the-way community which to a Londoner, is somewhere near the North Pole, so Sakchai can't possibly cause too much problem...at least not the fiasco the London raid has created. SO THEY THINK... Can we show them differently? Shetland Really does count, and we are as important as Central Belt Scotland or London....

 

Alistair Carmichael wrote,

"Given that Sakchai has lived in Shetland since he was ten how can the IND state as a supporting reason for his deportation that he spent "his childhood and formative years in Thailand" so can expect to re-adjust to living there again?

The Director with the IND responsible for reviewing Sakchai's case told me at 8am that as far as the second of these two questions is concerned it is their policy to detain everyone is Sakchai's position unless there are compelling reasons not to. Not quite guilty until proven innocent but not a kick in the pants off it.

She offered no explanation at all in the morning with regard to the first question but she clearly spent the whole day working on one because at 10pm she told me that the view they had reached was that nought to ten were your formative years.

What can you say about people like that?"

 

Does this mean that the home office thinks we stop developing once we reach 10? If so does this also mean we have a home office with the mental development of 10 year olds?

 

Black Eagle

[Polarbear]

Like others, I am very disappointed by the First Minister's hiding behind the Scotland Act - it discredits him greatly.

 

I know that almost everyone casually overlooks that our devolution was in fact retricted to relatively few areas of policy, but...we DO still have a Secretary of State for Scotland, although the post is kept very low-profile and filled by the new SoS for Trade, Douglas Alexander.

 

From the Scotland Office website:

 

In July 1999 the Scottish Executive and First Minister took responsibility for areas such as health, education, crime, housing and economic development. The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP) continues to represent Scottish interests in reserved matters within the UK Government, advising colleagues about any distinctive Scottish aspects that arise for reasons other than the impact on devolved matters and supporting them in presenting Government policies in Scotland.

Reserved matters include:

The Constitution

Foreign affairs

Defence

International development

The Civil Service

Financial and economic matters

National security

Immigration and nationality

Misuse of drugs

Trade & Industry

Various aspects of energy regulation (e.g. electricity; coal, oil and gas; nuclear energy)

Various aspects of transport (e.g. regulation of air services, rail and international shipping)

Social security

Employment

Abortion, genetics, surrogacy, medicines

Broadcasting

Equal opportunities

 

You can email the Secretary of State (Scottish.secretary@scotland.gov.uk)

 

Mr Alexander may try taking the line that this is a personal issue unique to Sakchai's individual circumstances and not a "distinctive Scottish matter" and so he cannot intervene with IND…but I'd e-mail him anyway!

 

Dr Reid will hide begind his junior minister for now. If he is forced to break cover - e.g if Liam Byrne proves intransigent – he may assert that, with the deportation notice now served, the matter is sub judice and that due process must be followed ; justice must now take its course, etc. I hope that Alexandra Bartrope's expressed hopes on Radio Shetland this evening on the web that this case may yet be killed off before a hearing are borne out. (Couldn’t post this last night; just seen Liam Byrne has agreed to “brief†your MP on Monday. Civil Service-speak for essentially one-way communication, but Alistair Carmichael will no doubt have other ideas about that!

 

Perhaps Dr. Reid feels quite secure that the general public are broadly begind 'his' round-up and so few tears will be shed by the majority of the population over any collateral damage caused. He may be correct in that. (Had a simple Yes/No poll on his new tack on deportation been run in Shetland the day before Sakchai was so cruelly seized, the result might have been one of broad support. We have to be honest with ourselves; that's what we are up against).

 

Sakchai's current plight and recent treatment ought to matter to more than Shetland, though, and deserves a wider hearing in the UK national press and radio if wider influential support is to be mobilised..

 

I am NOT accusing the campaign of being parochial - far from it, I am lost in admiration for the many people working themselves into the ground on it, and the solidaridy of the community has been startling. That fact speaks volumes about the very "good character" that Sakchai will have to prove to be naturalised when the current crisis is resolved. (Note the positive thinking!) Most of Shetland will countersign his application! Some folk may even want to experience living in a community of such evident closeness for themselves!

 

The impact of the campaign surely now has to cascade outwards and upwards. Shetland is won.

 

The problem is that bluntly the Shetland community will understandably only/mainly see the human injustice of Sakchai's situation (AS I DO, BELIEVE ME) and the immigration appeal tribunal (if it gets that far) may be reluctant to let the very strong arguments (resident there since the age of 10, well-integrated; well-rehabilitated, much-loved, tax-payer etc.) be anything other than 'mitigation' rather than 'defence' when they are under intense pressure to - as others have pointed out - remove those not legally rpt legally of UK Citizenship ( for whatever reason) who have committed crimes. Period. i.e they may be very reluctant to set any precedents and determined to press ahead with deportation. The issue as to where the letter of current immigration law / practice (not necessarily the same thing) diverges from recent ministerial rhetoric is what this whole matter may end up turning upon...that is of course for Alexandra Bartrope (and a Barrister if ones becomes needed) to counsel upon.

 

Time is of the essence, so – meantime - lets try (again?) for e.g. James Naughtie, Eddie Mair, Paddy O’Connell on R4; the Guardian's Scottish Correspondent etc. I KNOW that is not easy... but the national politics shows DO like to prove that they are inclusive, and Shetland stories and accents don’t often feature. They are VERY widely listened to.

 

Lets sound out now high-profile pro-bono human rights QC's (Ms. Cherie Booth, perchance? Seriously; Matrix Chambers have a large team barristers in this area, and she is a senior member of their Immigration, Asylum and Free Movement Group… I am happy to help with any lobbying and/or research behind the scenes IF the campaign want. I am well aware that, like an iceberg, the vast bulk of the inordinate amount of hard work to date in this campaign is being conducted 'below the waterline' so please forgive any unintended offence caused by my ignorance. [i'd debate these issues via Davie G’s private e-mail if I had it – though I doubt if he has time to read it at the moment!]

 

I'd humbly suggest keeping the party politics off the new thread(s), hard though it must be at times (!) - we need all the support we can get and cannot afford to alienate some who might chose not to promote / cascade the campaign upon seeing partisan comments irrelevant to our core aim - to get Sakchai set free ASAP and keep him that way.

 

This forum is a window to Shetland for the world at the moment, as well as a mutual support mechanism. (Spleens can always be vented later - after Sakchai is home and free for good!)

 

Finally - a possibly crazy idea but see what you think... The indefatigable Davie G spoke of lighting a bonfire under certain politicians. Why not have a limited chain of small beacons (braziers if health and safety issue arises) around Lerwick / Shetland - Sakchai's mum and sister could light the first of them late on Tuesday night. That is an activity that Shetland has some worlf-famous expertise in, of course, and it would be visually very striking after dark (or what passes for dark in midsummer) and potentially very newsworthy for national TV's late new bulletins / next day's front pages with some planning / lobbying. You have to play the PR game. It could also be the Shetland equivalent of keeping an Amnesty International lit candle for those unfairly in custody. I am sure you can bounce this idea off your media contacts IF it is remotely practical...

 

ONLY a suggestion and I would not want to dilute or divert from the main efforts re petitions etc. but it could involve folk on the periphery who might want to make very visible their support and the media DO want fresh angles to keep Sakchai's story highly prominent in amongst far bigger national and international stories. We're running out of those now...though of course the rally is a really great idea and will I'm sure help Sakchai's family and friends - as well as consolidate support further.

 

What a fine MP you have…and as for Davie G...!

 

Thinking of you all. I hope Sakchai enjoyed some football on TV last night! Superb news that his family have been allowed in to see him now.

 

With very best wishes from a concerned (mere) soothmoother who'll do anything that he can to help. Happy to take offline...

[AnnaB]

Hia,

 

Well done everybody for the hard work you are doing so far to help Sakchai! I'm currently based in Edinburgh at the moment and I am trying to do what I can to help Sakchai. I went to Brae High school with him and as many people can attest, he was one of the nicest people I knew there. I'm revolted by how badly this country is now treating him based on a single break of the law and his ethnic origin - he must be going through hell.

 

Is there anyone in or around Edinburgh who wants to do something to try and help him? Although immagration is not a devolved matter, I thought it might be an idea to hold some kind of peaceful protest outside the Holyrood parliment on Tuesday in tandem with the public meeting in Shetland to raise awareness to his campaign to the MSPs. They could at least start the debate against the Dawn Raids again and might be able to pass a message on to Westminster. I know there were some of his friends of his in Glasgow and Aberdeen, it wouldn't be possible to come down with some banners and tell his story?

 

Let me know if you are interested or if there are any other plans for something similar. My e-mail address is:

chrisjam82@gmail.com

 

Thanks everybody, I really hope we can get this put to rights. This has been a real wake up call to how intollerant this country has become.

 

Cheers,

Chris Jamieson.

 

Chris, I have emailed you. I worked as a lifeguard with Sakchai at Clickimin and will do all I can to help you for Tuesday. Have a few Shetland pals here that would attend on Tuesday too. Give me a shout.

 

Anna

[chrisjam]

Hia,

 

Thanks for passing on my details waterbaby & breeksy, the more help I can get the better! I'm going to look into getting flyers printed up and making copies of the Shetland for Sakchai posters for Tuesday for placars, etc... If the Shetland for Sakchai group have any messages they would like us to deliver please let me know.

 

I'll keep you posted about when we should meet & where and any other details as it comes together.

 

Cheers everybody, keep up the good work!

 

Chris.

 

chrisjam82@gmail.com

[peeriebryan]

Link

 

Home Office won't set Sakchai free - from http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/pages/latest_news.htm

[Muppet]

I've just sent this off in an email to Jack McConnell. Thought I'd share it with you.

 

Dear First Minister

 

I write to congratulate you on your excellent ‘OneScotland’ campaign. This is the sort of campaign which makes me feel proud to be Scottish.

 

I would like to bring your attention to a shining example of how foreign nationals can integrate into the community and how well they can be accepted by the community they choose to make their home.

 

23 year old Sakchai Makao arrived in Shetland as a child with his family and was brought up here. Sakchai went through the school system and took an active interest in sport and athletics, something which he was to excel at and carried on to compete for Shetland and Scotland. You may even have brushed shoulders with him yourself at the opening of the Island Games in Lerwick last year.

 

Sakchai’s family left Shetland to live in London following the death of his stepfather. Sakchai chose to remain in the community of which he was so fond. He had a good job at the local leisure centre, paid his taxes like any model citizen should, and had many close friends here.

 

Sakchai had one blemish to his life though. As a teenager on an alcohol fuelled night out with others, he acted completely out of character and set fire to a vehicle and portable cabin. He accepted his punishment and went through the judicial system coming out of it a stronger person. Having paid his penance for his misdemeanour, he was quickly re-instated into his job and integrated back into the community he cared so much for.

 

Sakchai should be held up as a shining example of how people can and do integrate into society in Scotland and I would like to formally nominate this young man to become the public face of your ‘OneScotland’ campaign.

 

If I may quote from your website “The Scottish Executive is committed to tackling racism and discrimination, and encouraging respect for the diversity of the people of Scotland.†A very noble principle indeed and beautifully illustrated by the example of Sakchai.

 

You can contact Sakchai at Durham High security jail where he is being held by officers of your Government awaiting deportation, following a dawn raid on his home by a group of eight police officers flown in especially for this operation.

 

‘OneScotland’ is not a reserved matter for the Westminster Government, so I, and indeed an entire Scottish community and beyond, eagerly await your comments on this.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Name witheld from this forum, cos i'm shy

 

I shall of course post his reply to it.

[LittleMissGiggles]

Joan Ryan - Under-Secretary for immigration

 

Joan Ryan MP was appointed as Under-Secretary of State for nationality, citizenship and immigration on 5 May 2006.

 

ryanj@parliament.uk

 

I have e-mailed her and Number 10. I am not the kind of person who normally would get involved in this kind of thing, but I am so appauled. Especially, as even though they know how much support he is getting they have issued an order for deportation.

[Michael]

I am so astounded at the way the government is handling this, they are squirming in their own polotical filth.

[DavieG]

Hi again everbody

 

Thanks for all the utterly amazing and very focused work now going on, especially the politically related stuff. Thanks especially to Hambone for his links etc and to Chris for the Edinburgh approach. How good is that!!!! Chris if you want to give me a call I'm on 07867-654509 or 07748-153574 and we can look at how best to do this if you want.

 

As has been said the Sakchai Support Rally will be held in the Clickimin Centre (thanks again to them) on Tuesday at 7pm. We are hoping for a big crowd and lots of press coverage. There will be some music too and Alistair Carmichael is almost certain to the there and hopefully Tavish will too. Equally importantly Utai and her and Satch's mum will be there. More of them in a minute. Please tell everyone about this rally and lets make it a real Shetland show of strength for Sakchai.

 

Can you also collect ALL copies of the paper petitions that are currently all round Shetland and bring them to the rally. We want to have the statistical evidence to present at that time. New sheets can always be circulated again later.

 

For petitions outside Shetland - if you could let me or any of the petition guys and girls in the Shetland for Sakchai team know how many signatures you have collected that would be great.

 

The on line petition is gathering names (and addresses of course) very quickly and lets keep that one going. Its a fantastic resource and statistic in itself so well done again the Shetlink guys for that.

 

If we cannot get everyone into the bowls hall for any reason we will relay the event to outside the complex so please come in large numbers if you can.

 

I have today started the process of setting up an appeal fund in the Bank of Scotland (thanks to them too) to cover certain costs. This would be for the follwing purposes:

 

To cover any costs for Sakchai not, or not possible, to be covered by Shetland Recreational Trust.

 

To cover any family costs for Utai and his mum.

 

To cover any bail costs. More of this in a minute.

 

And, perhaps most importantly in the longer term, to take and fight legal action against ANYONE, from the highest to the lowest level of this whole dispicable affair, who has stepped even one inch outwith legal perametres and violated Sakchai's human rights. We now firmly believe that we have a VERY strong case in this respect. More of this particular issue will become apparent in the not too distant future.

 

In terms of any possible bail for Sakchai. In legal terms we believe that Sakchai should have "a presumption in favour of bail". His lawyer hopes to have this effected by Wednesday next week at the latest - so fingers crossed. It may not have monetary implications, but if it does then we think it would be a great idea if the Shetland community were to put up any money and have him released back into our 'care' and make the whole community responsible for him and in turn, him to us. See how they view that approach.

 

News Update

 

Utail and his mum and Andrew Bennett are seeing him as we speak so this is great news and I will update you all soon on that one.

 

James Johnston of SRT may well be able to see him this afternoon. James whole approach to this has been WAY over what you would expect from any employer and says as much about Sackchai as a person as it does about James himself. Amazing and it should never be forgotten.

 

The appeal against the deportation order is, I believe, ready to be served so breathe easy on that one for the time being at least. Dont let up the pressure though.

 

Alistair is at home in Orkney this weekend and still working fevourishly on this whole issue. As you can imagine much of it is very complex so seeing as he is now also posting on this site (a very welcome development) I will leave that to him to ensure you all get the most accurate and up to date political and legal perspectives (if he has time that is). Well done to him again. (understatement of the year)

 

I am glad to see many of you reconginse his value both as a very astute politician and amazing dedication to this cause. Again this should not be forgotten. Thanks Alistair (another understatement)

 

There is still a great deal of media interest (thanks to them all for that) and we are working hard to ensure the story stays in the spotlight. I suspect there will be a lot of real developments and news over the next few days so stand by for that.

 

I think that's about it for now folks. Thanks again for the amazing and sustained support. Sakchai will have heard all about it in GREAT detail this morning.

 

Keep the petitions going and the e-mails to John Reid and now to Mr Liam Byrne - the Home Office Minister who is dealing with this case. See my one below.

 

Also please keep the letters of support coming to nodeportationfromshetland@yahoo.co.uk

 

The first batch of well over 200 were forwarded to John Reid Home Secretary yesterday afternoon. He will have had a very busy mailbox. Can we arrange the same pleasure and welcome for Mr Byrne please when he returns from his well deserved weekend sabatical.

 

Finally my thanks also go to Alice Summers for the 'tastefully' decorated house at Grantfield. Du's a jewel.

 

Cheers for now

 

Davie and the S for S team.

 

 

 

Mr Byrne

 

I am one of the literally thousands of protestors in Shetland and beyond deeply concerned with the treatment of Shetlander Sakchai Makao who was ‘detained’ and transported from his rightful home in Shetland on Tuesday 6th June and who is now being held in Durham prison under the powers of your UK Immigration Act.

 

Equally I am currently the focal point for the official ‘Shetland for Sakchai’ campaign and a family friend, and beseech you to release Mr Makao back into the community where he belongs and has lived for the greater part of his young life. Ours is a small and very tight-knit community who dearly wants him back home in Shetland again where he and we believe he belongs. He sees himself as a 'Shetlander' and we more than agree with that perspective.

 

No-one here is playing down the fact that Mr Makao has a ‘criminal’ record. We all know of it, accept it and perhaps more importantly none of us condone or seek to play down what he did at the time. However up until the time that he ‘blemished’ his personal copy book he had been a model citizen and young person. The crime was deemed “totally out of character†even by our Procurator Fiscal and indeed Mr Makao did have very serious and highly stressful personal problems at the time. However, he accepted his guilt and subsequent sentence with great dignity, to the point of choosing not to appeal against it.

 

Throughout his jail term the authorites considered him to be a model prisoner and since his release and reintegration into the Shetland community has proved himself to be a totally reformed character (highly remorseful of his previous misdemeanour), a pillar of that community and a shining example of how a young person quite simply should act and behave.

 

If indeed prison is a ‘corrective institution’ and a prison sentence is one aimed at encouraging wayward individuals to mend their ways, in addition to protecting our communities from ‘dangerous individuals’, then Mr Makao should be held as a shining example of what can be achieved through this process and not persecuted further - there is no need. What does this say about the aims of the system in the first place and what message does it send to those who will, in the future, have to serve a sentence? That having completed this you will still not have paid your debt to society? There would not be much incentive to change your ways through this process I would suggest.

 

At no time during the legal process related to his crime, throughout his prison term, or indeed since, has deportation been muted as a possibility to Mr Makao, or his legal team at the time. If he were to be considered for deportation, should this not have been done at the time of his conviction and not now? Brutal as this would have been in itself it would at lease seem to be more logical and, to be somewhat trite on the issue, have at least saved 8 months of tax payer’s money, in addition to addressing your ‘immigration and crime’ related problems at a more mildly acceptable juncture.

 

In addition, given that the Home Office, through his current detention, still presumably view Mr Makao as a potential or serious ‘criminal’, it is surprising that, having served and completed his sentence, he was set free (?) and returned to our community for a period of almost two years, rather than the said authorities 'protecting' us still further from him by whatever means available to you at that time.

 

In short none of this makes sense either legally, logically or humanitarianly. On behalf of the 'Shetland for Sakchai' campaign and the many hundreds, indeed thousands of people supporting it all over the world, can I issue a plea to you to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and return Mr Makao to his rightful home in Shetland and the community who quite clearly loves him and desire more than anything else to have him back in our midst again.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration

 

David Gardner and the ‘Shetland for Sakchai’ team.

[Brian]

Excellent letter, Davy. You are doing well.

 

Brian

[DavieG]

One thing I would like to flag up in this respect.

 

I hope that at no time during this debate that we have tried to play down, ignore or seek to condone in any way the one crime that Sakchai was sentenced for. None of us, including Sakchai and his family, wish this to be the case.

 

It was a stupid, immature (well he was very young at the time) and dangerous act which we all recognise put the lives of fire and policemen at risk if nothing else, in addition to the damage and upset it caused, and we should not forget them or their feelings in this respect.

 

However I would hope that everyone, including the local fire service, would also recognise that Sakchai was under incredible personal stress for a young man at that time and this had a significant role to play in his misdemeanour, although we do not seek to use this as a full excuse for his behaviour.

 

I would hope that they also recognised that he took full responsiblity for his actions at the time and accepted his guilt and served the sentence handed down to him with great dignity and humility. He did not even lodge an appeal against it.

 

I hope that everyone who has strong feelings in this respect also recognises the quality of his reintegration into our community and his impeccable record of behaviour since his return and that he has proved, through this, that all of us should be worthy of a second chance.

 

I also hope that they would recognise that he does not deserve to pay this ultimate, inhuman and additional price for his actions at that time, especially now so long after the actual event.

 

I post this just in case the members of our local emergency services think that we have forgotten their involvment, role or partucularly their feelings in this particular case.

 

Davie Gardner

'Shetland for Sakchai'