THE SCRETARY OF STATE - Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph." Haile Selassie
Rt. Hon. Dame
Margaret Oppenheimer Hodge, MBE, DBE, MP, also known as Lady Hodge by virtue of
her late husband's knighthood, is the Member of Parliament for Barking. Prior
to my first letter to the secretary of state, I had never heard of Margaret
Hodge. I didn't even know that Baking has an MP. I had no interest in British
politics whatsoever. Growing up in Ghana, I had been scared from politics.
As far as I can
remember, politics was about power, fame, wealth creation, dictatorship,
oppression of opponents and disregard for the marginalised in society.
Democracy wasn't a thing in Ghana. Journalists would lose their jobs for
criticising the government. I remember Mawuko Zomelo, Komla Dumor and Kwaku
Sakyi Addo. They were my favourite journalists in the days. I was at the
Presbyterian Boys Senior Secondary School (Presec-Legon). Newsfile, Front-page
and Super Morning Show were my favourite programs on Joy FM. Mawuko Zomelo lost
his job over a program that was aired. President at the time, Jerry John
Rawlings and his government took offence.
Losing Mawuko
Zomelo as a Joy FM presenter was a big blow to me. I was aspiring to become a
journalist but the political system scared me from pursuing my dreams. For
these reasons, I detested politics in my native Ghana. Moving on to Britain, my
dislike for the political establishment remained the same. I just wanted to
pass through life without causing pain or hurt to anyone. In any case, Britain
was not my country. I had only come here for economic emancipation. All I knew
about British politics from Ghana were John Major, Tony Blair and Queen
Elizabeth.
One of the most
influential British Politicians of all time and a close ally of Tony Blair,
Margaret Hodge had been the MP for Barking since 1994. Being told by the
intelligence officers that my MP was my best option, my hope rested heavily on
Margaret Hodge. She became the mediator between me and Home Office. As my new
beacon of hope, I read a lot about my knight in shining armour in the making.
The late Sir Henry Hodge, husband of Margaret Hodge was highly regarded as a
humane lawyer and judge. As High Court judge, the late Henry Hodge once blocked
the deportation of a convicted rapist on humanitarian grounds. It was therefore
not surprising when my undercover detectives said my MP was the best person to
handle my immigration matter. Following receipt of Home Office's first letter
via my MP, I wrote my second letter to the Secretary of State, now my MP
Margaret Hodge on 22nd July 2008.
On 20th
May 2011, Margaret Hodge again wrote to Home Office and sent me a copy. By this
time, it was becoming clear that Margaret Hodge - my Secretary of State had
been nothing but a white elephant to me. The gravity of my wasted years was now
taking a big toll on me. It was time I started closing up with my Secretary of
State. So I wrote to Margaret Hodge again on 28th May 2011. And that
was my final letter to my Secretary of State Margaret Hodge in my era of
sanity. And I copied:
The Rt. Hon Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister
The Rt. Hon John Bercow, Speaker of ParliamentThe Right Hon Ed Miliband, Leader of the OppositionHis Excellencies Peter Jones and Matthew Johnson, British High
Commissioner and Deputy to the Republic of Ghana
Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury - Leader of the Church of England.
As
always, I received a response from My Dear Margaret. It was dated 10th
June 2011. I made calls to Blackfriars
Crown Court to get the name of the Judge who presided over my corruption trial
case. His name was Honour Judge Richardson. I also got to know that Judge
Marron was the Resident Judge of Blackfriars Crown Court. So I wrote to Judges
Marron and Richardson and I received a response. I received another letter from
Dagenham MP Jon Cruddas, dated 23rd September 2011:
"Dear Mr Cruddas, on 22 August 2011, Mr Maundy submitted an application for leave to remain under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This application is currently awaiting consideration. As Mr Maundy had no valid leave to remain when he applied, I cannot say when a decision will be reached. This is because cases of this type tend to be complex in nature and can take longer to decide.
I should point out that should Mr Maundy’s application fall to be refused, he would have no right of appeal against the decision. In these circumstances he will be expected to make arrangements to leave the UK without delay. Should he fail to leave the country voluntarily, consideration would be given to enforcing his removal at public expense if necessary."
The letter was
from Sonia Dower, Deputy Director of Operations, London and South East Region.
My application was refused on 13th October 2011. The decision letter
was sent to me, dated 14th October 2011, and signed by Mr A Gannon,
General Group Managed Migration Directorate. I then asked Home Office to return
my Passport to me so I could book a flight and leave. I made several phone
calls to Home Office asking for my Passport. During one of these phone calls, a
male officer who refused to disclose his identity, told me to forget my useless
Passport, go to my Embassy for travel document and leave. He also said my
useless Passport was lost and hanged up the call. In a fits of rage, I
struggled to hold on to my phone as my whole body was shivering. Indeed, “life is pain,” and I tasted some of
life’s pain in the hands of Her Majesty’s Beasts of England.
I was now
battling with emotions hearing that the Beasts of England had lost my Passport.
I attended Jon Cruddas’ surgery in Dagenham and pleaded with the MP to get Home
Office to return my Passport to me immediately so I could leave. I told the MP
that my Passport was going to expire soon and I wanted to use it to travel
before it expired. On my next attendance to the MP’s surgery, I was told that
there had been a confidential email from Home Office that my Passport was
missing.
I was mad and
fuming with rage on hearing this. I asked for a copy of the email but was told
it was strictly confidential and that I wasn’t supposed to be made aware of it.
I was furious and mad on hearing this. I left the MP’s office grinding my teeth
against each other. I wished I could turn Home Office's twin towers of Lunar
and Apollo Houses into ground zero in search of my Passport. But I could only
wish, just wish.
Perhaps my anger
and outburst over the loss of my Passport was relayed to Sonia Dower. Sonia Dower sent another email to the
Dagenham MP in which she, Sonia Dower, vowed to give my Passport to me at the
airport. This was dated 3rd October 2011:
"Dear Mr Cruddas, you will also be aware from the email of 23rd September that Mr Maundy is an overstayer with no legal basis to remain in the UK. I should explain that it is the policy of the UK Border Agency to retain an applicant’s passport until the application process is fully complete, and if the applicant has no valid leave to remain. In Mr Maundy’s case, as he has no valid LTR, he should now contact Becket House, Local Immigration Team where he is required to report, in order to discuss and make arrangements for his departure from the UK. He should now do so and his passport will be released to him at his port of departure."
As it clearly
became evident that Home Office didn’t know the whereabouts of my passport,
Sonia Dower became a venom in my mouth. I thought deeply about her letter. If
only fate could bring us together one day, perhaps I could spit out the venom
in my mouth into her face. But all I could was, wish - just wish!
Following
receipt of Sonia Dower’s letter, I contacted Becket House to arrange for my
departure. Becket House told me to contact Ghana Embassy for Travel Certificate
as they could not trace my passport. I was told Louise Richards was my
caseworker and her telephone number was given to me. I began calling Louise
Richards relentlessly. I told Louise that if I went to the airport and my
passport was not given to me, there would be chaos at the airport and I’d bring
the airport to a standstill. My entire being was filled with rage, bitterness
and pain at that moment.
As at October
2011, my friend Justice was having problems with his tax deductions at work. He
had been asked few times if he was working in two places. I was now desperate
to stop my job in Croydon Tesco Dotcom in order to save Justice from trouble.
In my desperation, I again wrote to MP Margaret Hodge MP who had presided over
my case for five (5) years. I attached details of Sonia Dower’s letters and the
response from Becket House concerning my Passport.
Margaret Hodge
then wrote to Mr Rob Whiteman, Chief Executive of UK Border Agency on 11th
October 2011 concerning my passport. I received a response from Margaret Hodge,
dated 16th November 2011:
"Dear Mr Maundy, please find enclosed the letter I have received from the Home Office concerning your passport. I understand enquiries are still being made with the Police regarding the location of your documentation. I am sorry this will not be the response you were hoping for; nevertheless I hope you will find this update helpful."
Attached to the
MP’s letter was the Home Office letter of 9th November 2011 signed
by Richard Marley:
"Dear Ms Hodge, thank you for your letter on behalf of Maxwell Kwaku Maundy about his immigration and Passport. We have been unable to locate Mr Maundy’s passport in our offices. Enquiries are still being made with the Police to establish whether they retained the passport after the court case. Mr Maundy’s most recent application for leave to remain outside the rules was refused on 13th October. The decision paperwork was sent to Mr Maundy at his home address by recorded delivery reference AH579382554GB and was signed for on 20th October. Mr Maundy has no lawful basis of stay and should make arrangements to leave as soon as possible. Members of my team would be happy to discuss his options with regard to making a voluntary departure."
So my learned MP
Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge once again forwarded Home Office letter to me just like
that! She was unconcerned by the content therein. What a Secretary of State!
What a shock!! Dear Diary; Anguish,
Bitterness and Pain had been my hobby for Seven (7) years in the hands of Her
Majesty's Beast of England...
It has taken me
another Seven (7) painful years and restless nights to complete this book.
Here’s a review from an author after reading my excerpts:
"It is a mine of gold of experience that could
be mined for generations. It could be a Pan African Book, a movie, and a
topical writing in motivational speeches."
Spirit
leads me where my trust is without borders...
Let
me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me...
Take
me deeper than my feet could ever wander...
And my faith will be made
stronger in the presence of my Saviour...
No comments:
Post a Comment