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Supporters rally for elderly Indian Sikh woman facing deportation in UK
The latest appeal to the Home Office for Kaur to stay in the UK was rejected earlier this month.
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Gurmit Kaur /
An elderly Indian Sikh woman who has been facing deportation after her application to stay in the UK was declined has found support from the local community in the West Midlands region of England.
An online petition that was started by an immigration advisor on July 19, 2020, to help 78-year-old Gurmit Kaur stay in the UK has garnered 65,552 signatures at the time of writing. The goal is set for 75,000 signatures.
As per the petition, Kaur came to the UK in 2009 and has been living in Smethwick, a town in the West Midlands region, ever since. She was adopted by the local Sikh community in the town because she has no kin to turn to in the UK, as well as her hometown in Punjab, India. She applied for a visa to stay but the Home Office declined her application.
“Gurmit is a very kind woman, even though she has nothing she is still generous and will always give what she can, when she can. Most of her days are spent volunteering at the local Gurdwara. At a local Black Lives Matter protest Gurmit was giving out fruit to protesters in solidarity with the cause,” the position reads about her.
“Gurmit is an asset and a kind auntie to Smethwick. We want her to stay here. Smethwick is home!” the petition states. Her supporters have rallied for her both locally as well as virtually by populating her story on the internet using the hashtags #WeAreAllGurmitKaur and #GurmitKaurIsOurAuntie.
According to a post on social media, Kaur came to the UK for a wedding and stayed back with her son after being unable to put together the funds for a ticket back home. Her husband has since passed, and Kaur was estranged from her children, after which Smethwick’s Sikh community helped her with shelter and support and is driving the campaign for her to be able to stay back in the country.
The latest appeal to the Home Office for Kaur to stay in the UK was rejected earlier this month.
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