I had been waiting to update you all on the asylum mother that I'd asked 
for letters of support for, until she was in a stable environment.

Briefly, the baby was returned to the mother with no lactation support, 
but as I posted at the time, breastfeeding was re-established 
successfully.  Collin, a shade of 4 weeks old when returned, was still 
in rooting newborn behaviour, and there was milk - so re-bonding was 
extremely successful. 

A week later, rather than deporting the family to Uganda, the Home 
Office released them from Yarl's Wood International Detention Centre - a 
quite extraordinary  result.   Janipher and the kids were then placed in 
sub-standard one room housing, and the campaign for humane treatment 
carried on. She was moved within a few days, to more problematic 
accommodation - thus my not posting.  I didn't want to say things were 
fine until they were.  After much protest, and huge amounts of phone 
calls and somesuch - Janipher was offered adequate accommodation in the 
past few days.  We're hoping to have her settled in a safe and secure 
environment within the week.

However, something much more immense also happened.  Very quietly, 
yesterday, the UK Government changed it's policy on removing support and 
accommodation from failed asylum mothers and their infants.  We changed 
Prime Minister's today, and the new one - Gordon Brown - lost a child 
not long after birth a few years ago.  He has made a statement that in 
the UK, every child matters, and yesterday, the policies changed to 
reflect this for asylum children.

Black Women's Rape Action Project, who spearheaded Janipher's fight for 
humane treatment by the UK Government, feel the international profile of 
the case, has gone an immense way in changing this policy.  LactNet was 
a key element in this international response, and I thank you, Janipher 
thanks you, Collin thanks you, and unnamed asylum mothers and infants 
elsewhere in the UK, thank you.

Cristel Amiss, from BWRAP, stated that on the day or so after the 
original appeal in here, the email inbox and fax machine at BWRAP went 
into overdrive.   Letter after letter after letter flooded in, and they 
were just amazed at the level of support and the intensity of the 
passion directed at Downing Street.  Dr Frank Arnold, who helped form 
'Medical Justice' and was pivotal in helping us understand why medical 
support was being denied asylum seekers, referred to the remarkable and 
awesome powers of The Breastfeeding Mafia (don't rile them up).

You did good people.  And no one ended up sleeping with the fishes.

Thanks.

Morgan Gallagher

http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,,2111402,00.html 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,,2111402,00.html>

http://morgangallagher.livejournal.com/96976.html

http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk/

http://www.nursingmatters.org.uk/

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