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A destitute asylum seeker was found lying dead next to her malnourished baby son in Glasgow, according to a charity.
Mercy Baguma, from Uganda, was found dead in her flat in the city’s Govan area on Saturday with the child crying beside her, Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) said. Authorities confirmed they had discovered the body of a 34-year-old woman.
In a statement, the charity said Baguma had been living in “extreme poverty” after losing her job, following the expiration of her leave to remain in the UK. After she began the process of claiming asylum she was forced to rely on friends and charities to obtain food, it said.
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Baguma contacted PAIH on 11 August to ask for help. Though asylum seekers are entitled to a small weekly stipend (£37.75 for each person in a household), she told charity workers that she had not yet received any money.
The last time anyone heard from her was on 18 August.
Police Scotland said Baguma’s body was found at about 11.30am on Saturday and that her death was being treated as “unexplained, but not suspicious”. The procurator fiscal’s office also confirmed it was investigating.
Her son, found “weakened with starvation”, was taken to hospital and has since been released into the care of his father, who lives elsewhere in Glasgow, according to PAIH.
PAIH’s director, Robina Qureshi, said in a statement: “Had she lived she would have been a high priority for a crisis payment from our emergency relief fund.
“The question remains, why are mothers and babies being left to go hungry in this city, and why is it being left to charities and volunteers to pick up the pieces?
“Home Office asylum policy has created unimaginable hardship for refugees and migrant households in this city. It is a matter of when – not if – the next tragedy occurs and this reinforces our resolve for a public inquiry.”
Paul Sweeney, the Labour MP for Glasgow North East, said Baguma’s case reflected the “brutal and tragic consequences of the asylum system”.
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He tweeted: “It’s heartbreaking to think about what must have been going through Mercy Baguma’s mind in her final days.
UK news in pictures
Show all 50
1/50 24 August
Restored World War Two landing craft LCT 7074 is transported from from the Naval Base in Portsmouth to its final resting place at the D-Day Story at Southsea
2/50 23 August
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12/50 13 August
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24/50 1 August 2020
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26/50 30 July 2020
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28/50 28 July 2020
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29/50 27 July 2020
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30/50 26 July 2020
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31/50 25 July 2020
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34/50 22 July 2020
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35/50 21 July 2020
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41/50 15 July 2020
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42/50 14 July 2020
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45/50 11 July 2020
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48/50 8 July 2020
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49/50 7 July 2020
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50/50 6 July 2020
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2/50 23 August
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Parents and a student react after checking GCSE results at Ark Academy in London
Tate Modern workers hold a strike outside the gallery in London, to protest the institution’s announcement that it would cut more than 300 jobs from its commercial arm, Tate Enterprises
7/50 18 August
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8/50 17 August
A level students celebrate outside the Department for Education in London after it was confirmed that candidates in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm. The government U-turn comes just days after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson vowed there would be “no U-turn, no change.
Wasp players take a knee as Northampton Saints stand prior to kick-off in their Premiership match at Franklin’s Gardens
Piper Colour Sergeant Lil Bahadur Gurung attends the VJ Day National Remembrance event, held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, Britain
11/50 14 August
People including students hold placards on Whitehall outside Downing Street as they protest against the downgrading of A-level results. The government faced criticism after education officials downgraded more than a third of pupils’ final grades in a system devised after the coronavirus pandemic led to cancelled exams yes
AFP via Getty
12/50 13 August
Benita Stipp (centre) and Mimi Ferguson (left) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-Level results
13/50 12 August 2020
A train derailment near Stonehaven has left three people dead. Driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie, and a passenger were killed when the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed amid heavy rain and flooding
14/50 11 August 2020
A woman hydrates in the sun after open water swimming at the West Reservoir Centre in north London
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15/50 10 August 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes part in an archery session as he visits Premier Education Summer Camp at Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ in Upminster
16/50 9 August 2020
People cycle through Cambridge as the heatwave continues in Britain
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18/50 7 August 2020
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19/50 6 August 2020
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20/50 5 August 2020
Pakistan’s Abid Ali being bowled by England’s Jofra Archer during day one of the First Test match at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
21/50 4 August 2020
The ‘Timbuktu tumblers’ from Kenya perform their balancing act on the Southsea waterfront as Zippos Circus reopens in Portsmouth
22/50 3 August 2020
Pelicans interact with a visitor in St James’s Park in London
23/50 2 August 2020
Lewis Hamilton drives with a puncture towards the finish line to win the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone
POOL/AFP via Getty
24/50 1 August 2020
Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the FA Cup, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
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25/50 31 July 2020
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26/50 30 July 2020
An artist puts the finishing touches to a wax figure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the entrance line at Madame Tussaud’s in London, as the attraction prepares to reopen to the public following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England
27/50 29 July 2020
A member of staff stands on Ai Weiwei’s ‘History of Bombs’ during a photocall for the Chinese artist’s new work on display at the Imperial War Museum in London
28/50 28 July 2020
Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite. It was a milestone wicket in his career, reaching his 500th Test Wicket for England. They went on to beat the West Indies in Manchester and therefore win the series 2-1
Getty/ECB
29/50 27 July 2020
Demonstrators protest outside the Tate Modern in London over proposed job losses in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. The group believe that the emergency money provided by the government to culture-based organisations should be used to retain all jobs and that any other use of the funding is unfair. The gallery on London’s South Bank, as well as the Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, reopened today after closing in March due to lockdown measures meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus
30/50 26 July 2020
Harry Maguire shakes hands with Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers after Manchester United beat the Foxes. The win meant they finished third in the Premier League and Leicester finished outside a Champions League place in fourth
Pool via Reuters
31/50 25 July 2020
Women exercise using pool noodles during an aqua fit class at a gym in Sunbury-on-Thames after gyms and swimming pools were allowed to reopen
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32/50 24 July 2020
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33/50 23 July 2020
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34/50 22 July 2020
Liverpool’s English midfielder Jordan Henderson lifts the Premier League trophy during the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield in Liverpool. Liverpool on Wednesday lifted the Premier League trophy at the famous Kop stand at Anfield after their final home game of the season
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35/50 21 July 2020
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36/50 20 July 2020
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37/50 19 July 2020
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38/50 18 July 2020
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40/50 16 July 2020
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41/50 15 July 2020
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42/50 14 July 2020
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43/50 13 July 2020
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44/50 12 July 2020
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45/50 11 July 2020
Chicldren play in the water during a cricket match between Abinger and Worplesdon & Nurpham in Abinger Hammer, Surrey
46/50 10 July 2020
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47/50 9 July 2020
Artist Anish Kapoor looks into his sculpture ‘Sky Mirror’ at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, ahead of the opening of his largest UK exhibition of outdoor sculptures
48/50 8 July 2020
Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton
AFP via Getty
49/50 7 July 2020
A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen
50/50 6 July 2020
Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown
“The despair and distress as she tried to care for her child. It must stop.”
And Stewart McDonald, the SNP MP for Glasgow South, called the UK’s asylum system “criminally inhumane”.
He added: “This is so desperately sad. Many in Glasgow will be mourning the tragic death of Mercy Baguma and sending love and prayers to her friends and family, not least her baby son.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This is a tragic situation and our condolences go to Ms Baguma’s family.
“The Home Office takes the wellbeing of all those in the asylum system extremely seriously, and we will be conducting a full investigation into Ms Baguma’s case.”
This content was originally published here.
EL 2 DE JUNIO DEL 2024 VOTA PARA MANTENER
TU LIBERTAD, LA DEMOCRACIA Y EL RESPETO A LA CONSTITUCIÓN.
VOTA POR XÓCHITL
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