When I get home to Ramsgate next week I have the papers for two new political asylum cases waiting for me to study, one of them a bulky parcel from UPS for a case in the United States. I will peruse them carefully to see if they appear genuine, and if so prepare expert testimony. In most ordinary cases I do this free of any charge. If necessary I will go to the tribunals to give evidence. I have won a large number of cases, and indeed never lost a case at tribunal. I have saved two people from deportation at the last minute, one literally en route to the airport. One would almost certainly have been killed on arrival in Uzbekistan.
It has got harder. The popular outcry against asylum seekers, whipped up by the tabloid media, has resulted in political determination to restrict numbers, and that has filtered down through all aspects of the system. If there is one thing that makes it harder still, it is fraudulent asylum seekers. They do exist, as does benefit fraud. These liars and cheats open the way for the malicious to attack the entire system, and cast unfair doubt on the whole principle of providing help to the genuine needy. It is not nasty conservatives who are the root of the reaction against asylum seekers – they merely feed off it and exploit it to their own vicious ends. Those truly undermining the system are fraudulent asylum seekers.
Nafissato Diallo is a fraudulent asylum seeker, a fraudulent benefit claimant, a fraudulent tax declarer, a fraudulent public housing occupier, an associate of criminals and a probable receiver of proceeds of crime. She lied about being raped on her asylum application (for which she was professionally coached with a tape of her false story), she lied about how many children she had in order to receive more benefits, she lied about her income to receive public housing and to avoid tax, she lied about the receipt of very substantial sums of money into her bank account from known, indeed imprisoned, criminals.
I judge she most probably lied too about being raped by Dominique Strauss Kahn. We will never know for sure, trial or no trial. The Guardian has for the last few months been full of articles telling us that a woman may be a fraudulent asylum seeker, a benefit, tax and housing cheat and a criminal associate, but she can still be a rape victim. That is absolutely true.
But they fail to say the converse. A woman may be a rape victim, but she can still be a fraudulent asylum seeker, a benefit, tax and housing cheat and criminal associate. That is equally true and equally important.
In order to maintain public support for the asylum system, it is essential that it has integrity. If Diallo is not now deported, nobody can believe in that integrity.
Now criminal charges against DSK are being dropped, there is no need for her to remain. She does not need to be ordinarily resident in the US for her money-seeking lawyers to pursue a civil case.
An astonishing ignorance of Africa pervades the comments on this issue throughout most of the web. I have lived in or worked on Africa most of my career. We seldom see any of the postive side of Africa on TV. In fact almost the only time Africa appears on our TV screens is when there is a terrible famine in East Africa, an act of piracy or civil war. But in real life Africa is a huge continent in which, despite relative poverty, the vast majority of its people live happily.
I am not in any sense denying or belittling the problems of poverty and disease, prolonged by an expoitative world economic system. But there is no famine in Guinea Conakry, where Diallo is from. People do not starve there. And she is a Muslim Fulani, and therefore part of a dominant group in Guinea Conakry, most certainly not a persecuted one. Which is why her claim was based on lies about gang rapes. There is no political reason why Diallo would need political asylum.
Of course Guinea Conakry is poorer than the United States. But actually it is not at all an unpleasant place, it really is not. Unless you believe that anyone from a poor country should always be allowed to emigrate to the United States, or that anyone from an undemocratic country should always be allowed to emigrate to the United States, (and you are quite entitled to that view if you hold it), there is no reason Diallo should not be returned. There really is not.
If you think all of Africa is a hell-hole, you are absolutely wrong.
You cunt. It’s not a conspicuous, so you have to attack this woman, with DSK’s sperm all over her. You really are a disgusting immoral creep
It’s revenge time with you, you cunt. Going after this woman, because she violates your conspiracy fantasies. I will take you down now, you disgraced former human.
I will take you down by constantly commenting on your blog, and a few other transatlantic strategies.
Hi Jon!
Osama,
You are very welcome to comment on the blog. You have great entertainment value.
The question is not if she “need” remain in the US, the question is if she has a right to remain. All you say of Ms. Diallo might be true, but she is still entitled to due process, even if the tolerance in the US for lying to the government is acutely low.
Eddie-G,
Certainly, deport her following due process. But don’t be too politically correct to start the process. I do not doubt there is a process for withdrawing asylum from those subsequently found to have lied on their applications.
did diallo receive US equivalent of legal aid?
Craig..totally agree..I was in Guinea Conakry last month for a conference and it is actually a very nice place….would highly recommend Dolphin Resturant on the beach for a few bevvies and a nice seafood dinner….
Dominique Strauss Kahn is a ‘false rape’ victim.
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He is innocent until proven guilty; therefore those who claim she is a rape victim have a perverse attitude regarding the human condition, as they effectively believe that men are rapists without proof; and that they wilfully disregard the universality of the rule of law by equivocating the conditions relating to gender grievances.
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If Marxist-Feminists believe in equality of the genders, then they must believe in the subset of equality in law. And I put it to those who know the difference, that good law is just law, and that implies the righting of wrongs. Evil is the counterpart to justice, as it aims to wrong a right; therefore Marxist-Feminism is evil.
@Jimmy, do you Twitter? I might subscribe if you were to set one up – I’ve missed your comedic input :p
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@Paul – hi. Yeah, I know; but I usually leave comments as they are if people have responded to them in some way. I am not sure what Larry St. Louis’ point is; I suppose if he is of a extreme/neo-con Right bent, then anything that attacks the “left wing” DSK is fine by him, truth be damned. But as other people have said, DSK is not exactly a socialist, and the left should champion him with great care, if at all.
One will never know now whether he is a rapist, or will we have to eat our words once the french trial on his alledged rape of a job applicant commences?
A lot of hot air for a greyhaired old faun.
If Diallo has lied on here immigration application then that is surely a seperate issue. But then, thats what expensive lawyers do, long before a trial ever happens, they find out facts, which are unrelated, but show up the accuser/victim as a bad character.
She had her character assassinated, whilst DSK’s allegded past as a sucessfull powerfull man who has allegedly tried this before, is not applicable to this trial.
He could be as guilty as he looks, as much as she could be a liar according to what they found out about her past conduct, but we will have to wait what DSK has had alledgedly done in France.
How many many rapists in the past have made the office of president? or PM?, or ambassador? It was just not called rape when it was done by the noblesse noblige, they merely forced themselves upon women didn’t they?
And there is no judge in Britain, were paedophile have no problems of getting supplied with arms by their brethren, that will convict someone for rape, when he has merely forced himself upon a woman now, would they?
Pity the state of law you we call justice, with all its secrecy and twisting turns when it comes to the establishment.
harrrapthuiii, sorry for spitting, some frog in my throat.
“My first experience with violence towards women was at eight years old. My grandmother took me to the bush. They put me on the ground, opened my legs and cut something from me. It hurt so much, I cried my head off for days while others where celebrating my initiation to womanhood,” said Diarryatou Bah, who was married at the age of 14.
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“According to a 2005 national survey on demographics and health, approximately 96 per cent of women and girls in Guinea have undergone the practice of FGM/C.”
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea_48213.html
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“Of course Guinea Conakry is poorer than the United States. But actually it is not at all an unpleasant place, it really is not.”
— Craig
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“there is no reason Diallo should not be returned. There really is not.”
— Craig
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And to hell with her daughter and her daughter’s daughters.
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Your post sounds so much like revenge. You say, “a woman may be a fraudulent asylum seeker, a benefit, tax and housing cheat and a criminal associate, but she can still be a rape victim. That is absolutely true”, but still you are doing a special post to say she should be sent back.
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And *IF* DSK was indeed set up, don’t you think it was more likely that he was set up by Sarko, which would make this woman a pawn among powerful men? Didn’t you say something to the effect that Sarko might be behind it? Do you think a woman in her position would try to do this on her own? I had dinner with a French woman recently, someone I’ve known for 40 years. She tells me that if DSK was set up, everyone she knows in France thinks it was Sarko’s doing. But you want this woman punished, whether she was raped, or whether Sarko and his people used her. And to hell with women suffering female genital mutilation in Guinea. That’s not even on your radar, because you say, “it is not at all an unpleasant place, it really is not.”
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It sounds appalling. For women.
@Dreoilin, thanks. 96%, if true, is a shocking figure – and your source is good. I wonder how much this is discussed in Guinea – if it is not, then in one way I can see how a society can continue this abominable practise whilst regarding itself as “good”.
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Since I believe Diallo has already been a victim of FGM, one could take the view that she is not in danger by being deported. But I would favour an asylum system that recognised the risk of psychological trauma if an FGM victim is returned to the country which perpetrated such an assault upon them, and which still supports the practise. I haven’t read about this case in detail though, but if she has lied as repeatedly as Craig says, it is difficult to distinguish her from a fraud, even though I am inclined to want to.
Easy now, Dreolin! Your attempt to transmogrify Craig’s call for deportation of a fraudulent asylum seeker with no legal right to remain in the country into an allegation that he is an advocate of a general policy of clitoral mutilation throughout Guinea – all via a claim that it’s not an unpleasant place – is an Olympian leap of logic. Thanks to Jon for refining the real ethical dilemma.
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If the 96% figure is accurate, it’s surely better to exert pressure on Guinea to undergo cultural change (as Unicef are doing) than to permit exploitation of the asylum system – which is designed to protect people in immediate danger of political persecution in their home countries – by a few individuals supplying false information. Fraudulent cases like Diallo’s undermine that system, making it more difficult for genuine cases to get a fair hearing.
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Pointing that out is hardly equivalent to advocating genital mutilation.
Dreoilin,
I am very surprised by the 96% figure, and don’t altogether believe it. In some country districts perhaps. However I do not in the least deny FGM is a serious problem that needs to be countered throughout Africa.
But are you seriously arguing that because of it every Guinean woman should have the right of asylum in the USA? Do you think that the solution to FGM is to move African women to the USA?
I think fraudulent asylum seekers should be removed, full stop. It has nothing to do with whether she was, or was not, assaulted by DSK. It appears the authorities believe she was probably not.
Despite not being a fan of DSK, I find the allegations of rape an all too convenient hook, to fish him out of the presidential race, which he could have won all too easily, given the unpopularity of Sarko the Sayan (google “furl the flag”).
The apparent merits of the case; a black servant girl making a living versus a an old famous guy out for a good time, had the ingredients for a TV soap, alas the truth far more mundane belied the sensationalism; a serial liar, petty criminal, and a part time prostitute, versus, a silly old man who lost his turn at being the big cheese, because of a blow job.
The current furore over this sordid story, comes form the latent, and hidden supporters of Sarko, and the agitated man hating femidoms (female world dominators) whom would wish to set up a world sterile from the man virus, in addition to a bunch of hearse chasing lawyers, out to make a quick buck.
Sad part is genuine asylum cases soon will be targeted by the same tabloids carrying the story, once the court case gets nowhere in US, for these rags will pick up the baton and run with the cries of see the scourge of “illegal asylum seekers”, destroying the fabric of our societies.
“Your attempt to transmogrify Craig’s call for deportation of a fraudulent asylum seeker with no legal right to remain in the country into an allegation that he is an advocate of a general policy of clitoral mutilation throughout Guinea …”
— Nextus
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I did not say that, nor anything like it. And your attempt to make it sound like I did is stupid. What appalled me was his statement that, “Of course Guinea Conakry is poorer than the United States. But actually it is not at all an unpleasant place, it really is not”.
I was pointing out that it may not seem so to him, since he is not a female, and he appears to have given no thought to what it’s like to be a female in Guinea. (Nor has Frazer nor JimmyGiro …) Or what might happen to the woman’s daughter and (potential) granddaughters if they are returned.
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“Fraudulent cases like Diallo’s undermine that system, making it more difficult for genuine cases to get a fair hearing.”
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I am well aware of that. But we do not know if her case is 100% fraudulent as you suggest. One of the statements Diallo made was the she sought asylum because she had suffered FGM, and didn’t want her daughter to suffer the same. If claims for asylum are embroidered, or false statements are mixed in with true statements, in many asylum cases, it would not surprise me in the least. I assume those examining the claims have to try and sort fact from fiction, and work out which are the most important facts. If 96% of women in Guinea suffer FGM, the chances are high that Diallo did. And I imagine it can be medically proven.
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“If the 96% figure is accurate, it’s surely better to exert pressure on Guinea to undergo cultural change (as Unicef are doing) than to permit exploitation of the asylum system”
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Surely it’s better not to send a daughter (and her potential offspring) back into that situation, when you don’t have to. Surely you do not send them back while you’re waiting for “cultural change” i.e. for this barbaric practise to be stopped. It is still going on among immigrants to these islands.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-fails-to-halt-female-genital-mutilation-1845731.html
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“the asylum system – which is designed to protect people in immediate danger of political persecution in their home countries”
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And protect people from physical harm and a lifetime mutilated? Or are you suggesting that only those in danger of repression because of their politics are entitled to asylum?
“Do you think that the solution to FGM is to move African women to the USA?”
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No Craig. Of course not. It needs to be stamped out. But she’s in the USA already. And I would think it downright evil to send her back when she has a daughter who may have daughters in the future.
“It has nothing to do with whether she was, or was not, assaulted by DSK. It appears the authorities believe she was probably not.”
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No Craig. That’s too simplistic. Her lawyer has stated that the prosecutor is afraid he might lose another high profile case. He has recently lost several others. Including a case of alleged rape by two New York police officers, who allegedly brought a drunken woman home, and then allegedly returned and raped her. The prosecutor is looking to his future. You should read Diallo’s lawyer.
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Since Diallo’s truthfulness has been questioned (and by the way, her lawyer says she brought those discrepancies to the attention of the prosecutor herself) the prosecutor is afraid to take the risk, despite forensic evidence. Don’t forget that Diallo is still going ahead with a civil case against DSK. (Why is she so persistent? I’m asking, not answering. I always leave open the possibility of a set up. I always have.)
Between 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of FGM. In Africa, about 92 million girls age 10 years and above are estimated to have undergone FGM.
The practice is most common in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among certain immigrant communities in North America and Europe.
WHO
“I am very surprised by the 96% figure, and don’t altogether believe it. In some country districts perhaps.”
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In this case, Craig, I’ll take UNICEF figures over your *opinion*. Sorry.
Thanks Mark. Needless to say, the figures are horrific.
@Dreolin: “I did not say that, nor anything like it. And your attempt to make it sound like I did is stupid.”
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Errr … “But you want this woman punished, whether she was raped, or whether Sarko and his people used her. And to hell with women suffering female genital mutilation in Guinea.”
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Sorry, who was supposed to be saying that “to hell with …” bit, then? It sounds like you were putting that pernicious nonsense into Craig’s mouth, along with “you want this woman punished” (deportation of a ineligible applicant is due process, not punishment). Or did your rhetoric just get confused?
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You’ve now introduced a nuance to resist the logical implication that all women deserve to be airlifted out of African countries on the basis of cultural statistic, but it seems you are still citing it to excuse lies on asylum application forms, thereby incentivizing false applications.
“Sorry, who was supposed to be saying that “to hell with …” bit, then?” — Nextus
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Craig, possibly without thinking. Yes, punished by being deported – and whatever consequences might arise thereafter for her daughter and possible granddaughters. That is not the same as saying, “He is an advocate of a general policy of clitoral mutilation throughout Guinea”. Sorry. My rhetoric is not remotely confused. You’re making silly wild statements.
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“You’ve now introduced a nuance to resist the logical implication that all women deserve to be airlifted out of African countries on the basis of cultural statistic”
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That is not the ‘logical implication’ at all. I’ve just said that that is obviously not the solution. But Diallo is in the United States already, with a daughter. The daughter as far as we know has done nothing wrong. To send them back now and have the daughter at risk, not to mention her offspring, would be wrong and smack of revenge.
The medical report was leaked and it was pretty clear, the doctor’s opinion was she has been sexually assaulted, and doctor’s generally know what they are talking about. This has received very little attention in the media.
The case will be thrown put because the prosecution believe the defense can prove the woman is not a reliable witness, giving rise to reasonable doubt. However if you think DSK is innocent look at the photo of him being introduced to Michelle Obama, her husband’s body language can be summed up in three words : very well briefed.
http://www.businessinsider.com/strauss-kahn-meets-the-obamas-2011-5
Female circumcision, nasty
Yeah, no kidding. I’m a middle class American kid and I’ve been to places in African and South America where I’ve felt completely intimidated and outclassed by the conspicuous wealth and luxury. Some of these supposedly third world countries look pretty damn nice, at least from a visitor’s perspective.
Discussion of FGM as grounds for Asylum here:
http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/fgm/fgm-asylum
You mention in passing the positive sides of Africa – not the famine etc etc etc … you say you are knowledgeable and experienced so why not do a blogspot highlighting that which you say we never get to hear of.
Ian Cameron
I wrote an entire book on Africa – The Catholic Orangemen of Togo.
mrjohn
If you think how Obama looks at someone is a determinant of criminal guilt, you are strange. Assuming a real disapproving look, the briefing is more likely to reflect “This is someone at the IMF interested in the replacement of the dollar as international reserve currency.”