Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? - Nairaland / General - Nairaland
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| Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? by Medlabgirl: 10:49am On Jun 06, 2010 |
I met a young Nigerian woman today. She came into the NVP (Nausea\Vomiting of Pregnancy) Clinic. When I saw her name on the ticker, I decided to go up myself rather than send someone, and I am glad that I did. She told me the most incredible story. I am writing it here, because I am sure that there must be someone out in NLand who will know if there is something that can be done, and if there is, how to go about it. So here goes, She is a new Canadian Permanent Resident, pregnant with her first child. Her husband lives in Nigeria. She had applied to go to the UK a few months ago, but her application was denied because she wasn't working. She said she wanted to go visit her sister. She does not work, as she is supported by the husband, who according to her is doing very well. She plans to go to school, but is ill right now. This is all again what she told me. After being denied a UK Visa, she generally forgot about the whole thing, and decided to go home to visit hubby. So she did; and this is where it gets interesting! She is a new Canadian resident, so she still travels Nigerian i.e with a Naija passport. I understand that as a Canadian resident flying even on a Nigerian passport, that you do not require transit visas. She flew British Airways. The trip to Nigeria was good she said, but on the return trip to Canada, she was caught up in the volcanic ash problem and had to wait in London. Now, BA agreed to provide her hotel accomodation for one night, and had a vehicle waiting to take her to the hotel, but unfortunately the British Immigration refused to let her in at the point of entry. They said that because she had made a prior application to come there, that she had the intention of remaining in the UK. This she denied. She said she lived in Canada, was happy to be there, and had not even planned to leave the transit area on her layover, prior to the flights being cancelled due to the ash situation. She says she was there, really ill and vomitting into her spitty-cup(ladies you probably know what I mean), arguing with them. They refused, handcuffed her, and took her to a detention center, where she was held for 7 days. Sometime in those 7 days, she was taken to the hospital, given an ultrasound to determine if she was truly pregnant, given some meds, she doesn't know what, and sent back to detention. At the end of the 7 days, she was put on a flight to Canada. One of her bags was gone, and of course all the dried fish, egusi, crayfish, stockfish, fried snails etc, were discarded. This is one of the most incredible things I have ever heard, and I just cannot get over it. She is pretty much ok now, geting along nicely in the pregnancy, she just cannot shake the throw- ups which is why she came in tonight, and I got to meet her. Now here is my question. IS SOMEONE LIABLE HERE? DOES SHE HAVE ANY RECOURSE? IS THERE ANYTHING SHE CAN DO? Surely no one should be mistreated like this. I thought, wow this is somebody's daughter, sister, wife and soon to be mother (Deo Volere). I would like to help her, as I think it is an outrage. So please, if you know what to do in a case like this, kindly let me know. I will be seeing her soon I think, so I will let her know what you suggest. Thanks for your help. |
| Re: Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? by manmustwac(m): 11:03pm On Jun 06, 2010 |
this topic would've got a good response in the travel section |
| Re: Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? by bones1(m): 11:27pm On Jun 06, 2010 |
From the initial reading of your post I believe the lady has two lines of actions to pursue. One against British Airways and the second against the British Immigration authorities. In respect of British Airways, the airline was her carrier and it was their responsibility to ensure that she was taken to Canada from Nigeria without any mis hap. I am surprised that the airline abomdoned the lady to the devices of the immigration authorities especially when she had not committed any offence and was simply in the UK due to the volcano disturbance. It is appalling and tragic to hear that the lady was detained for over SEVEN days - what did BA do all this time. They do have a case to answer. Since BA had learnt that she would not be allowed into the UK despite the fact that ordinarily she was eligible to, they had the option of either making her as comfortable as possible, either at the airport or in town. They had the capacity to make representations to the immigration authorities. Of course the other line of action open to the lady is directly to the immigration authorities by putting up a formal protest / petition setting out all the facts of the matter and demanding for redress. I suggest that the lady, in the first instance, should contact a solicitor who will be able to brief her on the possible options she has. I wish her luck. |
| Re: Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? by Medlabgirl: 1:11am On Jun 07, 2010 |
manmustwac: Goodness you're right Manmuswac, I am not sure how to move it though! Does the Mod move it, or maybe I just go the old copy and paste route. Thanks. I'll try that. |
| Re: Her Uk Travel Woes; Any Recourse? by Medlabgirl: 1:15am On Jun 07, 2010 |
bones1: Thanks Bones, your answer is clear, concise well thought out and very well put. Thank you. I am thinking along those lines too. I will however try to move this to travel, then see what other suggestions come up. Who knows maybe a lawyer will take it up, and I can ease out of it with an intact conscience. There must be lawyers that specialize in these matters, international law maybe? I am having a totally blond moment here  |
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