"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela.
"He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb.
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". -
David Cameron.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Pete & Karima

“ My wife has made coming home every day worthwhile..and now the government wants to take this away from me…“

Pete is a British citizen, from Sheffield. All his life he had been drifting along, drinking and generally living an unhealthy life. Pete was lonely.

Until he met his now wife, Karima. Karima had been a court clerk in Casablanca, hence is well educated and speaks English well.

But Pete is hearbroken. This government wants to keep Pete and his wife apart – the wife who has made him a better man and made coming home every day worthwhile. Why?

Is Pete a criminal? No. Is Karima a criminal? No.

This government wants to keep Pete and his wife apart because Pete is a cleaner earning the minimum wage.

Pete admits he is not the most intelligent person in the world. But he goes to work at 4am in the morning, works long hours, and pays his taxes. He works hard. He doesn’t flout the law. He believes, especially as a Muslim, that it is his duty to look after his wife, not the government’s. It’s a matter of pride for him that he should be able to support his wife, without claiming any benefits. Indeed, Karima would get a job and pay taxes herself!

Karima is currently with Pete on a family visa. She has interacted well with Pete’s friends and made some of her own, showing she is willing to integrate.

However, Karima will have to leave soon. Because she married a man who is on a wage stipulated by the government as being sufficient to live on, yet now the government says it’s not sufficient for him to be allowed to fall in love.

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