Mrs X Must Stay

Ms X was facing imminent deportation back to France because it is deemed a safe country, but for her and her child it would have meant she would have faced either deportation back to Albania or destitution on the streets again. Her child is now settled and feels safe in school and is beginning to recover from the trauma she had been through and the violence and fear that she and her mum had lived with for so many years.

Ms X, an Albanian woman with a school aged child had fled Albania because of physical and psychological domestic abuse from her husband. She had reported it to the Albanian police whose only response was to ask for her private number, to have sex with her. She persisted to look for protection through the civil court and successfully obtained an injunction but still her husband continued with threats to kill her, so without police protection, her only option was to leave. With the help of a friend she went to France with her child where she claimed asylum but was refused and was not granted an appeal in court as she was never represented by a solicitor.

She and her child lived rough for 6 months on the streets and then when her husband eventually found out where she was and came over to France, they fled again to the UK, where she thought she could get protection.

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The National Women’s Refugee conference

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Goodbye to Jess!