Rwandan asylum seeker who became volunteer adviser joins Mothers March
Tuesday March 9, 2010
By DAN CARRIER
MOTHER'S day may be seen as an excuse to demand breakfast in bed, or for the more cynical, a chance for greetings card companies to find a reason to flog their wares and stave off a Christmas and Valentines Day trading lull.
But for the Crossroads women's organisation based in Kentish Town, this weekend's celebration of motherhood has extra poignancy as they take to the streets of the West End to highlight what it means to be a mum.
The centre started in a squat in Drummond Street, Euston in the mid-1970s and had spell based in King's Cross before moving to their current home in Kentish Town.
Crossroads works as an umbrella organisation for a series of groups campaigning on various issues. Volunteer Esther Mpaka, originally from Rwanda, offers support and advice to asylum seekers. She came to live in Camden in 2000, after fleeing Rwanda.
She was referred to Crossroads by her doctor. She said: “I came as an asylum seeker. My first thoughts were I could rest, put my luggage down and feel safe for the first time in a long time. But it is very hard to do so when you do not know your rights.”
Her father and mother had died in Rwanda and she had to leave her family behind. Yet the trauma of what she experienced was not eased by a myriad of legal hoops she had to negotiate to be settle in Britain.
She added: “I had for a long time been bounced back and forth between organisations, until I came to Crossroads.” It took seven years for her asylum case to be heard and for her to be granted indefinite leave to stay. Now she helps others in similar situations as herself, and visits the notorious Yarl's Wood detention centre where currently women seeking asylum are on hunger strike over their treatment.
Esther will be marching on Saturday with other members of the Crossroads centre to highlight their work, and celebrate the role mother's play in society.
* The Kentish Town Crossroads centre are meeting on Saturday at 2pm outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to take part in the Mothers March.