Trouble for Azim
Just under a year ago large numbers of Oxford students joined together to defend one of its own. Azim Ansari, an Afghan refugee who had been in the country for only three years, arrived in Oxford to study Engineering at St John's with the threat of deportation hanging over his head.
At the time Oxford's two student newspapers united in their support of Azim and it was generally felt that the Home Office's ruling that he and his brother must return to Afghanistan before he could finish his studies was unjust. Much has happened since then, and much of the early outrage has since died down.
It is exceptionally sad to learn that Azim has been forced by circumstance to leave the university and avoid being deported to a country where he no longer has any family and is a member of a persecuted ethnic minority. Hopefully Azim's tale will have a happy ending, although it is looking increasingly unlikely.
5th Oct 2005