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

[Ichorus]

great to see the support going strong.

[fish]

Just want to wish you good luck Sakchai for next Friday. We will all be thinking of you and praying for a quick resolution to your situation and

Hope you will back home on Saturday free.

 

Could not make it to the Clickamin on Saturday I had to work.

[derick]

had some MP's e-mails bounce back. Apologies for errors in original list - it was late.

 

These are corrected - will also pm to the Polar Bear for amending on the list on page 30.

 

John Denham office@johhdenham.org.uk

 

Hywel Francis francish@parliament.uk

 

Mike Hall hallm@parliament.uk

 

Kelvin Hopkins hopkinsp@parliament.uk

 

Janet Dean deanj@parliament.uk

 

Brian Jenkins jenkinsb@parliament.uk

 

Fraser Kemp kempf@parliament.uk

 

Humfrey Malins malinsh@parliament.uk

 

Paul Murphy hunta@parliament.uk

 

Madeline Moon moonm@parliament.uk

 

Gordon Prentice prenticeg@parliament.uk

 

Phyllis Starky starkeyp@miltonkeynes-sw.demon.co.uk

 

Howard Stoate hstoate@hotmail.com

 

Oh - the 50p race was a great idea. 3,500 50p coins must have needed a wheelbarrow!

 

Derick

[LizH]

Just wanted to wish Sakchai all the best for this week, keep your chin up and keep smiling.

 

I also wanted to thank Davie for all he has done to help wir boy over the last few weeks, I didn't know Davie before all this kicked off but have known his wife for a long time and I have to tell you that I am proud to say that I know you both.

Davie has stood out to me as someone who has the courage to say how he feels without hiding behind a nickname and has been spot on.

good on you davie.

 

I have also known most of the T-shirt boys for a long time (my own son being one of them) and I have to say you are a credit to your parents and your community.

Shetlands' future lies in your hands and you are doing her proud.

 

Sakchai I have also known you for a long time and I need to tell you how proud I am of the way you have handled the media and the local interest that you have been thrown into this last few weeks. You did not ask for nor did you want to be in the limelight however you are coping so well. Paul and I wish you all the best for Friday and we both agree with "Shetlandshaun" we would trust you as much as our own bairns.

 

 

To all the "Shetland for Sakchai" campaigners out there keep up the good work and we will see you on Tuesday

[Polarbear]

had some MP's e-mails bounce back. Apologies for errors in original list - it was late.

 

These are corrected - will also pm to the Polar Bear for amending on the list on page 30.

 

Derick

 

List on page 30 duly amended. Thanks, Derick!

 

Best wishes,

[peeriebryan]

Here's an email sent to Shetlink

hi i ahve not got much tiem so i cant register but i read your letter about the guy they are tring to deport. Coudl i just make a comment regarding how to get more poeple to send the letter. Get the letter on the uks writers web sites so other writers can copy it and send ti to there local mps. Try http://www.abctales.com/ and ukauthors. and have the lettr typed on to the there discussion forums so it can be copied off.

 

good luck

[chrisjam]

Hia,

 

We colllected another 150 signatures in Glasgow today, well Pete and David did most of the work, cheers guys! Does anyone know where best to send the petitions at this time? The falkirk ones were getting faxed to their lawer, is she the best person to give them too? Is there a fax number up in the isles?

 

Also we made up a standard letter for people to send off to their MP asking if they would sign the EDM for Sakchai and about a dozen folks took one of those. Here it is:

 

 

Dear

 

I wish to raise the matter of the threatened deportation of Mr Sakchai

Makao, aged 23 years, from the Shetland Islands who has been in the UK for 13 years legally and who has an indefinite visa. He came to this country with his family when he was 10 and is threatened with deportation to Thailand – a country he knows little about and where he has no family.

 

The only justification for this action appears to be that he served a short prison sentence in 2004 for arson, following an incident that occurred four years ago when Sakchai was a still a teenager. Mr Makao has been an active member of the Shetland community and has proved himself to be an asset to the British Isles rather than any kind of danger. This is reflected by the overwhelming support the people of Shetland have shown for him over the past weeks.

 

Although Sakchai has recently been granted bail he was originally detained in Durham high security prison after being moved between several detention centers making it almost impossible for either his friends, family or more importantly his lawyers to reach him.

 

There is currently an early day motion, number 2373, in Parliament, brought by the MP for Shetland and Orkney, Alistair Carmicheal, noting the inhuman way Sakchai has been treated and asking the Home Office to rescind the deportation order on him. As my Member in Parliament, I urge you to put your name to this motion. If you would like more information about his case then please look at www.shetlink.com.

 

Thank you in advance for you support in this matter

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Also there is a gig on Wednesday in Medina in Edinburgh to raise money for Sakchai. I think it starts about 7:30 and is £4 so do come along it sounds like a good night and a good way to raise some money for the appeal.

 

Cheers,

Chris.

[shetlandshaun]

hey chris just a wee amendment there doors are opening at 8pm, but thanks for the plug the more people the better!!

[Grace Tait]

hey chris just a wee amendment there doors are opening at 8pm, but thanks for the plug the more people the better!!

Shaun,

 

Where exactly is Medina? Is it Lothian Road?

[Ally]

Lothian St mate, just near negotiants, opposite from potterrow.

[derick]

Message of support received today by e-mail from Jeremy Corbyn MP

 

CJ> Dear Derik,

CJ> Thank you for writing; I have spoken to Alistair Carmichael and signed the EDM at his request and am very happy to do so.

CJ> I have followed the case in the media and feel that Sakchai has been very badly treated indeed. In a sense he is a victim of the media hysteria about immigration and prison.

 

CJ> Well done on the work of all his supporters in Shetland - it is very impressive and heartening.

 

CJ> Jeremy Corbyn

CJ> MP Islington North

 

A thoroughly decent fellow, Mr Corbyn.

 

Derick

[BlackEagle]

Please forgive the long post...

I finally found the article from the Daily Mail on Saturday 17 June.

I don't know if the Shetland library has access to this resource, but Aberdeenshire library members can get into this site.

If we still need it, is there any way we can get it down to his lawyer?

http://www.newsuk.co.uk/newsuk/issueGotoPublicationDisplayRecord.do?ID=37101&day=17&month=06&year=16&pageSize=25&index=7

A MOST UNLIKELY HERO ; This is the tale of an amazing battle between a Scots island and the Home Office over a young migrant

Daily Mail (London); Jun 17, 2006; JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK; p. 12

 

Full Text:

(Copyright Associated Newspapers Ltd. Jun 17, 2006)

 

THE five uniformed officers came for him without warning. Woken in the early morning, he was ordered out of bed and told to get dressed. The officers waited as he stuffed a few items into an overnight bag, then marched him to a car and drove off.

 

That was the last any of his neighbours saw of Sakchai Makao.

 

They would later learn the 23-year-old was being held in a high- security detention centre, awaiting deportation.

 

It would seem like a rare case of clinical efficiency among those responsible for rounding up foreignborn criminals judged to be a threat to our society.

 

It is the kind of treatment which should have been meted out long ago to those such as Jamaican paedophile Courtney Burry still living free in Scotland despite a judge ordering his deportation following a four-year jail sentence.

 

But although he does have a criminal record, the man unceremoniously bundled into custody in Shetland this month is no Burry.

 

And Makao, a Thai national, has now united islanders in an unprecedented display of support for his case.

 

They are determined the convicted fire-raiser should be sent back where he belongs to his home in Lerwick, where he will be welcomed with open arms.

 

So far, more than a third of Shetland's 22,000 inhabitants have signed a petition demanding his release.

 

His boss, James Johnston, has even travelled hundreds of miles to visit him in prison and meet his lawyer, who is planning an appeal. Countless banners reading 'Shetland for Sakchai' have been printed.

 

The local newspaper runs daily stories backing him to the hilt, while the Home Office stung by a recent barrage of criticism for its failure to deport foreign criminals coming out of jail has been inundated with protest.

 

Makao, the protesters insist, is a soft target, cynically pounced upon by immigration authorities for political expediency.

 

But what makes him different, and why should a close-knit community care so passionately about the fate of a foreign national convicted of crimes on their soil?

 

On paper, there is little about Makao's offences to inspire compassion.

 

Tanked up on drink, he embarked on a destructive rampage which resulted in damage said to amount to Pounds 40,600.

 

ANYONE who saw the burnt-out car and portable building he left in his wake would reasonably conclude it was the work of a mindless yob. Yet few believed Makao truly fitted that description, then or now.

 

It was in 1991, when he was just eight years old, that he arrived in Scotland with his mother Kesorn and sister Uthai.

 

Kesorn had married a Scottish taxi driver, Archie Jack, and the family settled first in Glasgow, then moved to Shetland.

 

Brae High School teacher Gordon Stove remembers the new arrival in the classroom as a 'wee lost soul'. Makao had moved to one of the most remote parts of the country and knew hardly any English. But he learned fast, incorporating Shetland dialect into his vocabulary as he went along.

 

As his confidence grew, he became a highly popular pupil. Mr Stove recalls: 'He just grew on everybody, because he was so happy.' On the sports field, he was a revelation. Several times he represented his home island at international athletic events. When Makao left school, it was little surprise that he landed a job as a lifeguard at a local leisure centre.

 

Then, in 2001, his stepfather Archie died and the teenager seemed to go off the rails. His erratic behaviour culminated one night in early 2002 with events which now threaten to cast a massive shadow over the rest of his life.

 

In the early hours of February 2, Makao and a friend were walking home through the streets of Lerwick after a heavy drinking session. Passing an unlocked car, they climbed in and the friend looked for items to steal. Makao set the vehicle alight and they fled, leaving it ablaze.

 

Then they broke into a portable building used as an office for a fishmonger.

 

The friend again looked for items to steal and Makao started another fire.

 

The office was completely destroyed.

 

In what was described by his defence lawyer as 'two moments of madness', Makao had disgraced himself, and he knew it. For two years, as his case progressed through the court system, he bore his shame in silence, never mentioning the case to friends.

 

His flatmate and friend, Jamie Henderson, said: 'I think he was embarrassed by what he had done.' Then, in January 2002, Sheriff Craig McSherry sentenced the now 21- year- old Makao to 15 months in prison. He told him that if he had not pled guilty to the two charges of fire-raising, it would have been two years.

 

There could be no suggestion that Makao got off lightly. He was a first offender whose behaviour on the night in question had been completely out of character. The procurator fiscal accepted it was a 'one off ' incident involving a young man who had previously been known to the community only for winning medals for the islands' athletics team.

 

Makao served a total of eight months, behaving impeccably.

 

Then, on his release, he returned to Shetland to face the community he had let down.

 

DAVIE Gardner, one of Makao's supporters, said: ' He was very nervous about coming back. This is a small community and it can be very judgmental, but everyone wanted to give him a second chance because he was such a nice lad and the whole thing had been so out of character.

 

'He got his old job back as a lifeguard at the local pool and really seemed to have learned his lesson.' Makao had accepted responsibility for his actions and served his sentence without complaint. It is a measure of the Shetlanders' benevolent nature that they were prepared to look beyond an isolated night of mindlessness and see in him a young man who could prove an asset to their islands.

 

Even Bill Leiper, the owner of the fishmonger's business whose Shetland branch was burned to a cinder, has forgiven him, saying: 'There are a lot of UK-born people who do a lot worse than this young man did. I don't think he should be deported, because he seems to be a respectable member of the community.' For nearly two years, Makao rebuilt his life in Lerwick and worked to redeem himself. He moved into a flat with Mr Henderson and the two played football in the same team. He became a model employee at the Clickimin swimming pool and an enthusiastic participant in Shetland's Up Helly Aa festival.

 

Then, on Tuesday, June 6, he was wrenched from the community.

 

Around lunchtime, Mr Henderson received a farewell phone text: 'Miss you always. Luv and cheers for being good mates.' His life in Lerwick apparently over, Makao also called a manager at the swimming pool to say he would be unable to come to work.

 

Moments later, his phone was taken by the police and his number became unobtainable. By 2pm he was on a plane leaving Shetland, perhaps forever.

 

Three policemen and two immigration officers had arrived at his door unannounced shortly after 8am. They knew where to find him because Makao had just applied for British citizenship after 15 years in the country on an unlimited permit.

 

Indeed, the application is widely suspected to have been the trigger for his immediate removal.

 

Makao was driven first to Lerwick police station, then to the airport, for a flight to Aberdeen.

 

From there, the officers drove him to a police station in Glasgow's Govan, where he spent a night in the cells before being transferred to prison in Durham. He will remain there until a decision on his bail application is reached.

 

He faces deportation to a land he no longer knows, where he has no family or friends and where the language and culture are no longer his own. His only option, he believes, will be to join the Thai army.

 

When Shetland islanders heard the news, they were stunned.

 

Makao was certainly not the kind of foreign national they considered a danger to society. To them, he was not even a foreign national. He was a Shetlander.

 

Then, as details of the early morning raid emerged, shock turned to outrage.

 

When the sheriff had jailed Makao, he never mentioned anything about deportation. The boy had arrived in the UK as a child.

 

Any comparisons with adult immigrants who flout the laws of their chosen country of residence were therefore inappropriate.

 

BUT his failure to formalise his residency by becoming a British citizen made him vulnerable particularly when Home Secretary John Reid was reeling from criticism over his department's lax attitude to foreign criminals who have outstayed their welcome.

 

The difference is Makao remains welcome in the Shetlands more so now than ever. The islands' Lib-Dem MP, Alistair Carmichael, said: 'Mr Makao was a first offender and the Crown accepted at the time that it was out of character. I think he has been treated very badly.

 

' It is the hallmark of banana republics in South America that you are taken from your house by forces of the state and no one knows where you are. You have to conclude that the Home Office has seen him as an easy target to make up numbers in order to cover its own political embarrassment.' This week, Makao's mother and sister, who now live in London, were permitted a brief visit at Durham Prison. They found a very frightened young man.

 

His sister said: 'It was very, very rough in prison. He said they do let them out to get fresh air but he doesn't go out because he's too scared, as he might get into trouble with other prisoners.

 

'I told him about all the support and what they are doing for him while he is inside. I think he is a wee bit positive, but also scared.' Now mother and daughter have returned to Shetland to join the campaign for his release.

 

Everyone from Shetland Isles Council convener Sandy Cluness to Makao's former head teacher Joe Irvine is involved. Mr Irvine said: 'He was an absolutely excellent pupil, so enthusiastic about everything he did. He is the very opposite of what you consider a foreign criminal.' The Home Office is unlikely ever to have seen such an outpouring of support from any community about a supposed immigrant criminal in its midst. But a spokesman for the department said it could not comment on individual cases.

 

It said the same thing about Burry, pictured in the Scottish Daily Mail at his home in Dumbarton this week after years of successfully dodging deportation.

 

That was an order to protect the public Burry had subjected a nine-year-old girl to a grossly indecent attack. Yet he remains at large, while a youngster who has become a credit to his community lies in jail, awaiting expulsion.

 

And the Home Office does not want to talk about either of them.

 

In that, at least, it shows some consistency.

 

j.brocklebank@dailymail.co.uk

[Polarbear]

EDM DAILY UPDATE

 

6 more registered supporters. Total now 83

 

Thanks are due to:

 

Robertson, Angus

Kennedy, Charles

Galloway, George

Burt, Lorely

Rogerson, Daniel

Williams, Stephen

 

1 SNP, 4 Lib Dems and 1 Respect

 

List on Page 30 updated

 

Best wishes to all for tonight

and most of to Sakchai for Friday's appeal hearing

- you'll be in all your thoughts,

[shetlandshaun]

hey chris just a wee amendment there doors are opening at 8pm, but thanks for the plug the more people the better!!

Shaun,

 

Where exactly is Medina? Is it Lothian Road?

 

its just across the road from potterow, 45 -47 lothian street, opposite edinburgh uni!!!

[Grace Tait]

hey chris just a wee amendment there doors are opening at 8pm, but thanks for the plug the more people the better!!

Shaun,

 

Where exactly is Medina? Is it Lothian Road?

 

its just across the road from potterow, 45 -47 lothian street, opposite edinburgh uni!!!

 

Thanks Guys, See you there tomorrow night.