Zimbabweans hold demonstration outside No 10
A demonstration by Zimbabweans looking for the right to work in the UK is due to take place outside Downing Street
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Tuesday, 13, Jan 2009 04:11
A demonstration by Zimbabweans looking for the right to work in the UK has taken place outside Downing Street today.
Organisers claim the event was timed to mark six months since prime minister Gordon Brown said he would look into the situation of 11,000 destitute Zimbabweans living in the UK who cannot return home but are not allowed to work or access benefits.
The demonstration, organised by Citizens for Sanctuary, was aimed at seeking permission to allow them to work, pay taxes and gain the skills they need to "help rebuild Zimbabwe".
Around 400 people are reported to have gathered outside Downing Street in a bid to remind Mr Brown of when he declared he would look at "what we can do to support Zimbabweans in that situation and we will report back to the house [of Commons] in due course".
At around 12:45 GMT a dossier was also delivered containing several hundred CVs from Zimbabweans seeking employment in the UK.
Jonathan Cox, from the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign, appealed to Mr Brown to take action and help.
"It has been half a year since the prime minister promised to look at what could be done for Zimbabweans," he said.
"This demonstration will remind Mr Brown that 11,000 destitute Zimbabweans are waiting for him to keep his word. Our government has been a world leader in criticising [Robert] Mugabe while leaving many of those who escaped that horrific regime to languish here without hope.
"We must prepare Zimbabweans who came to Britain in search of sanctuary with the skills and experience that they will need to forge a brighter future for their country once democracy and stability are restored."
He later told today's protest had exceeded all expectations with a number of parliamentarians also coming out in support of the cause.
Speaking before the event, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, stated: "Ministers cannot complain about Mugabe on the one hand, yet stand idly by while Zimbabweans are suffering here in the UK. Give Zimbabweans the right to work.
"Britain must not betray the very people it should be helping for a moment longer."
In July last year 2,000 Zimbabweans rallied in Parliament Square calling for permission to work and pay taxes, at a demonstration addressed by John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, and other civil society leaders.