Lydia Besong

Lydia  was persecuted in Cameroon as a result of  her peaceful political activities on behalf of the English-speaking minority in the country, and was imprisoned and raped in prison. She fled here with her husband Bernard Batey and sought asylum. Since arriving in the UK in 2006 she has written three plays, one of which, How I Became an Asylum Seeker, was performed in London in 2010 at an event produced by Women for Refugee Women and hosted by Juliet Stevenson. Women for Refugee Women, alongside other organisations including RAPAR and English PEN, has campaigned for her right to stay safely in the UK.

Lydia and Bernard were finally given leave to remain in the UK on 16 May 2012, after a long public campaign.

A number of leading writers, including Michael Morpurgo, Nick Hornby, Monica Ali and Sarah Waters, joined Women for Refugee Women's campaign to support Lydia's right to safety in the UK -- click here for full list of signatories.  Recently, a letter signed by leading lawyers including Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Professor Philippe Sands QC, Professor John Cooper QC, Michael Mansfield QC, Lord Ken Macdonald QC and Lord Anthony Lester QC was sent to the Home Secretary expressing their concerns about the issues raised by Lydia's situation. "We are concerned that too many women are effectively being denied the protection that the UK has a legal and moral obligation to provide for those fleeing persecution." (See below for full text of letter and list of signatories.)

The campaign for Lydia was covered in the Times, Guardian, BBC Woman's Hour, and extensively throughout local media in Bedfordshire, Manchester, Lancashire and Liverpool.   

Natasha Walter, director of Women for Refugee Women and author of The New Feminism and Living Dolls, said, “Lydia’s courage and creativity is a real inspiration for those standing up to oppression.  It is shocking to see how she has struggled to get a fair hearing in the UK asylum process.”

Juliet Stevenson, actress, said: “Lydia Besong is an incredibly courageous woman who has put her head above the parapet to talk about her experience and write her plays.”

Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse and ex-Children’s Laureate, said in January 2012:  “How this country treats  asylum seekers is the measure of what kind of people we are. Lydia was oppressed in Cameroon. That there is risk she will be imprisoned and abused again seems undeniable.  That she is extraordinarily brave in her stand against oppression is clear.  And that her talents would be of great value to us as a citizen in our society would seem to be obvious.  On these grounds, I would ask, beg, the Home Secretary,Theresa May, to look again, think again, and allow this remarkable woman the right to stay here and live amongst us.”

Lydia Besong and Juliet Stevenson at Women for Refugee Women’s production of How I Became an Asylum Seeker at the Riverside Studios, London;
photo Hannah Maule-ffinch

Letter sent by lawyers to the Home Secretary about Lydia's case with Women for Refugee Women in February 2012:

Dear Home Secretary

We are writing to express our concern about potential barriers to justice faced by individuals seeking asylum in the UK. These problems have recently been highlighted by the case of Lydia Besong, a playwright from Cameroon who sought asylum in 2006 on the grounds that she had been persecuted and imprisoned for her political activities.

Lydia has struggled to access quality legal advice from the outset, and she and her husband Bernard Batey are currently paying for legal representation for their fresh claim for asylum, because they were unable to find a lawyer to work effectively on their case under legal aid. Too many individuals in the asylum process are unable to access quality legal representation, due to restrictions on legal aid and the recent forced closure of organisations that were dedicated to providing legal advice to migrants and refugees.

Lydia was recently detained for a second time in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre. Before being detained neither Lydia and Bernard nor their legal representative were informed that their case had been refused 18 days previously. We are concerned that the Home Office is not using detention as a last resort, and is detaining asylum seekers without their having had the opportunity for a fair hearing.

Lydia Besong sought asylum on the grounds that she had been imprisoned and raped in prison. Although we are not in a position to assess the particulars of her claim, we are concerned about the growing body of evidence which shows that women who seek asylum as a result of experiencing gender related persecution encounter a culture of disbelief in the Home Office and are frequently refused for irrational and flawed reasons.

We would very much like to hear how the Home Office intends to address these issues, as we are concerned that too many women are effectively being denied the protection that the UK has a legal and moral obligation to provide for those fleeing persecution.

Yours sincerely

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

Rebecca Chapman, Tooks Chambers

Professor John Cooper QC, 25 Bedford Row

Laura Dubinsky, Doughty Street Chambers

Eric Fripp, Lamb Building

Raza Husain QC, Matrix Chambers

Lord Anthony Lester QC, Blackstone Chambers

Lord Ken Macdonald QC, Matrix Chambers

Gary McIndoe, Latitude Law

Michael Mansfield QC, Tooks Chambers

Philippe Sands QC, Professor of Law, University College London

Alison Stanley, Bindmans LLP

Harriet Wistrich, Birnberg Peirce & Partners