June 7, 2002

A group of Kurdish men have gone on hunger strike in Devon because they are still waiting to hear from the the Home Office after nearly two years. 

The men want to be treated as asylum seekers. Their applications are in, but have not been processed.

The men have been staging a hunger strike outside the local immigration offices in Plymouth for 24 hours, they say they have reached breaking point and will continue their protest until someone listens to them.

The Home Office says it is aware the system has not been working as it should 
They say they are prepared to stay there until they die because that is the only hope they have. They haven't heard from their wives or children and say; "we were going to die in our own country anyway". 

The fact that they managed to escape was a bonus to them but if the government is not going to do anything, they say, they might as well die.

The six men are among 300 Kurdish people in the city who are waiting to hear from the Home Office about their applications for asylum. They say they put them in nearly two years ago. 

The Home Office says it is aware the system has not been working as it should - but it has taken on extra staff and is now clearing the backlog. 

It says it is now making 60 per cent of decisions within two months. It says it can not talk about individual cases. 

Meanwhile the Kurdish men in Plymouth say they will continue their hunger strike until they get answers. 
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