School pupils campaigning against the deportation of their friend today accused the Home Office of playing a “cruel game” after it ruled her entire family is now to be removed from the UK.
Yashika Bageerathi was due to be deported alone to Mauritius yesterday but campaigners argued she should not be separated from her family.
Now the 19 year old pupil at Oasis Academy Hadley in Enfield has been told that her mother Sowbhagyawatee, 38, and siblings Shaivya, 16, and Cherish, 11, have also had their asylum application refused.
All four face being sent back to the island they fled in 2012 to escape an abusive relative connected to a violent criminal network.
Yashika’s case had previously been dealt with separately from the rest of the family because at 19 she was considered an adult.
Yashika’s schoolfriends described the decision as a “cynical betrayal”.
Jennifer Dana-Tariah, 16, said: “We are appalled by the decision. They have used one of our arguments against us and it is a cynical betrayal. We are now fighting for four people.”
Deputy principal Zoe Thompson said “Yashika’s mother is completely distraught and fears for her children’s safety. We don’t know what will happen next.”
It is believed Yashika’s family still has the right to appeal against being deported. A spokeswoman for the Home Office refused to comment on individual cases.
