Help Shankea obtain indefinite leave to stay in the UK

Shankea lives in constant fear of having to leave the country she has called her home for 18 years. “I was 12 when I came here. I was a young girl dependent on my parents" Since leaving school, she has not been allowed to work. “I’ve never claimed benefits and I don’t have a criminal record. I was not given the opportunity to obtain my degree, to work. What’s the point in existing? I’m a strong woman, but it’s hard. It feels so cruel.” Shankea contributes to her community by doing voluntary work.

Her mother passed away in Jamaica. Shankea missed her Mother’s funeral in Jamaica as she feared she wouldn’t be able to return to the UK.

Her most recent Home Office application was declined on the grounds that she could maintain her relationships in the UK online.

This inhumane treatment is a result of the Government's hostile environment towards Windrush families. As a UK community, we can stand by Shankea and support her by making our voices heard through this petition.

UPDATE ON SHANKEA

Thanks a million to everyone who has so far signed the petition to help my friend Shankea.

It's amazing to me how she has coped with her unstable situation throughout her 20's, and incredible that the Government can contemplate sending her to Jamaica; a place she doesn't know any more. The Home Office say her Father can visit her in Jamaica but they are not taking his illness into consideration.

Shankea lived with her Father as a child in London. She eventually moved to Peterborough to live with two Aunties who were able to support her. She has lived here ever since with an incredible 'surrogate Mum,' someone who has 'literally taken me under her wing,' many cousins, friends and a church community.

The Government wants to deport her to Jamaica. A place where she has no close relatives and nowhere to stay. She asks "Where would I live? Where would I start? What would people think of me? I don't think I would fit in there. I am very outspoken here in England, but this is frowned upon in Jamaica."

How would it feel to be sent away to live in a strange place away from everything & everyone you have grown up with? It is a cruel and inhumane act for any Government to consider, and would lead to psychological pain and suffering.

Shankea worked hard at school and achieved three A Levels in Government & Politics, Sociology & English Literature. She applied to University to study Politics and Sociology and was accepted at all five Universities she applied to. She could not take up a place because she couldn't access a student loan due to not having a National Insurance Number.

It was at this point, now 11 years ago, that Shankea's fight to remain in the UK started.

Shankea has no way of earning a living. She desperately wants to work in the country that provided her education, but she hasn't got the correct papers. Her 'surrogate Mum' provides for her. Her Aunts, church community and friends help her afford to live, but she is constantly living on the breadline. She lives by a strict budget, on 'sheer blessings & luck.' She volunteers as a youth worker and attends access courses.

Shankea is a proud young woman who deserves better. She says, " I could have got myself pregnant in order to stay, but that's not me, I don't want to do it that way."

The judge has told Shankea she 'doesn't have enough family life here.' BUT WHAT IS A FAMILY IF IT'S NOT A CLOSE KNIT COMMUNITY OF RELATIVES AND FRIENDS?

Shankea signs a list every month to prove to the home office she is still in Peterborough and complying. She insists on doing everything 'aboveboard.' All her important documents are with the home office: birth certificate; Jamaican Passport; school papers; leaving certificates; medical records; everything to mark every year she has been here.

Part of Shankea's identity is in a file miles away.

Shankea has made her life here and wants to stay. All her friends and family want her to stay.

Please help her by signing and sharing this petition to every one you can think of so it flies off the scale!

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Thank You