ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – More than 7,000 Kurds holding British citizenship are having difficulty renewing their passports because they changed their names, protesters claim. Some have even had their passport confiscated.
The bulk of them had sought asylum in the UK for political reasons and – to protect their identities – had changed their names. Now that they want to renew their passports, the UK Home Office is creating problems.
Angered by a lack of support from the Home Office and MPs, a contingent of Kurds protested in London’s Parliament square on Saturday.
“I have been living in this country for 19 years now. Due to changing my name, my passport has been confiscated since March. Neither the Home Office nor MPs answer us,” protester Ahmed Ali told Rudaw.
“This government would like to make us angry and force us to return to our own country,” he added.
Jamal Mustafa, another protester, said: “I am from Kirkuk. During the Baathist era no one dared say his real name. At the time [of arriving in Britain] we gave our name and address mistakenly not knowing we would face this problem today.”
Joining the protesters, Ross Greer, a member of the Scottish Parliament, accused the British government of racism.
There is no official data on the number of Kurds living in the UK, as they are classified as Iraqis. Unofficial estimates put their number at around 200,000.
The bulk of them had sought asylum in the UK for political reasons and – to protect their identities – had changed their names. Now that they want to renew their passports, the UK Home Office is creating problems.
Angered by a lack of support from the Home Office and MPs, a contingent of Kurds protested in London’s Parliament square on Saturday.
“I have been living in this country for 19 years now. Due to changing my name, my passport has been confiscated since March. Neither the Home Office nor MPs answer us,” protester Ahmed Ali told Rudaw.
“This government would like to make us angry and force us to return to our own country,” he added.
Jamal Mustafa, another protester, said: “I am from Kirkuk. During the Baathist era no one dared say his real name. At the time [of arriving in Britain] we gave our name and address mistakenly not knowing we would face this problem today.”
Joining the protesters, Ross Greer, a member of the Scottish Parliament, accused the British government of racism.
There is no official data on the number of Kurds living in the UK, as they are classified as Iraqis. Unofficial estimates put their number at around 200,000.
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