The Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees is pleased to be able to tell people that over the Christmas and New Year period two major long term campaigning cases came to a successful conclusion when Anastacia Nolya and her children and Pastor Daly and his family received indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

Both of these families had been detained for removal (Pastor twice) but in each case a large determined campaign of demonstrations at Brand Street, Dungavel, the Scottish Parliament, Glasgow city centre and outside the court, organised by African asylum seekers and GCtWR resulted in their return to their homes in Glasgow. Both still had cases going through the High Court and the Court of Appeal which lawyers considered to be of major importance in legal terms when the Home Office granted them leave to remain.

The courage of the families and the asylum seekers who demonstrated (none of whom had status at the time) was inspirational and attracted the support of various politicians, churches and trade unionists as well as hundreds of ordinary people across Scotland and beyond resulting in a January 3rd demonstration at St Enoch's Square at one point. Pastor Daly's case gained worldwide press coverage particularly in France and across Africa. People in Scotland found the idea that refugees should be arrested and returned to Angola to a brutal regime which they had bravely opposed, completely unacceptable and the subsequent campaigns were the inspiration for the wider defence of refugees which has been mounted across Glasgow often to considerable success. Both families have over the years been tireless in their support of other refugees in the city. They and GCtWR would like to thank everybody who demonstrated (often in freezing weather), signed petitions. wrote letters, donated and collected money, attended court and in many other ways supported these two cases over the last four years.

www.gctwr.co.uk