Ngwenya's death: we all should take responsibility

Ngwenya's death: we all should take responsibility

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By Brighton Chireka

IT IS sad that we have lost a Zimbabwean by suicide in the same week the British government pledged to cut down the number of suicides.
The death of Edmore Ngwenya in Manchester last week magnifies the long held view that the asylum determination process is little more than a lottery.

I have been working with asylum seekers for years, having founded one of the refugee support groups. I have realized that no-one seems to be listening to the voices of asylum seekers. This includes the United Kingdom government and in particular the Zimbabwean community in the UK. There is negative vibe about Zimbabwean asylum seekers. There is a clear lack of understanding or appreciation of the stress involved in leaving your country and seeking sanctuary in a foreign country.

It is disappointing and unforgivable when the UK government and the Zimbabwean community in the UK let asylum seekers commit suicide, feeling frustrated, demoralized and hopeless. We tend to underestimate the problems involved in adapting to a different culture and living in a foreign country. We fail to grasp the severe mental effect of being undervalued, underused and deskilled.
Asylum seekers face many hurdles when they come to UK. The route to getting refugee status is long and complex and at times is worsened by a few greedy solicitors who exploit these vulnerable asylum seekers. The few lucky one who get refugee status also face professional disappointment, frustration and humiliation when they look for jobs. They end up taking unskilled jobs.
As demonstrated in a research done by Emma Stewart of the University of Dundee, asylum seekers have to battle mental anguish and physical deprivation, the sense of annihilation and loss of reference points, language difficulties, the lack of relatives and friends and knowledge of the system, uncertainty, and the daily struggle for survival and to keep one’s sanity and integrity.

The million-dollar question, then, is what do asylum seekers want and what can we do as a community to stop these unfortunate suicides. I need to say this before I expand that we cannot not be 100 percent sure that asylum seekers will not commit suicide but at least we can do something to reduce the numbers. Zimbabweans’ situation is unique in that the majority of asylum seekers can speak good English and have relatives or friends in the UK and we now have Zimbabwean solicitors practicing here. Back home we used to care for our extended families, an uncle from rural areas would just turn up at your place in Harare unannounced and live with you for months or years. I know that things are now changing back home but my point is that we should help one another as a community.

What can individuals do to help asylum seekers? One needs to be friendly with them and take a personal interest in their experiences. It is also vital that you try to understand and empathise with the loss and hardships experienced by asylum seekers. You can start by ringing them in detention centres or visiting them.

An asylum seeker I met at a detention centre recently told me that the only thing that kept him going was the realisation that “people out there care about me”.
If one is a refugee who has settled in the UK, your personal experiences with the asylum process can encourage other asylum seekers. Your advice and support is invaluable to newly arrived asylum seekers because we tend to undermine the stress of being separated from family and friends.

What can the community do to help the asylum seekers? Firstly we need a proper debate on why the Zimbabwean community is not doing much. The Zimbabwean community needs to rise above tribalism and differences in political affiliations and speak with one coherent voice. The academic distinguishing between asylum seekers and the so-called economic migrants does not help anyone. We are all victims of the regime back home. The community should raise awareness of the plight of asylum seekers. This can be done by writing to local MPs, local media and organizing and attending demonstrations to protest against some of the injustices.

The lack of one coherent voice from the Zimbabwean community in the UK is now causing us to lose support and sympathy from the British public and government. I know there are several groups working in isolation to support asylum seekers but their efforts are not yielding the desired effects. My suggestion is that these groups should be fully supported by the whole Zimbabwean community in the UK and should meet regularly to come up with one message for the British public and government. The fight for recognition and personal differences is costing asylum seekers as their plight is sidelined. We have all the professionals in our community who can help asylum seekers, from Solicitors, doctors, nurses, carers you name it…we have them.

May Edmore Ngwenya’s soul rest in peace and let’s hope his death will make the Zimbabwean community reflect and come up with ways of helping other asylum seekers in his situation. I have a lot to suggest but I think it’s healthy to allow debate on this issue first.

Dr Brighton Chireka is a Zimbabwean doctor based in UK. Opinions expressed in this article are personal. Contact him: docbeecee@yahoo.co.uk
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