Yorkshire firm helps victims of Arab turmoil rebuild lives

Morgan Dias, a Sheffield-based specialist immigration, asylum and support services company, has provided advice for Syrians and Libyans living in Britain who have no home to go back to.

The firm, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, is one of the fastest growing companies in its sector.

Altogether, it has provided advice and support to 850 clients across the UK. Over the past year, the £100,000 turnover business has doubled its staff numbers and won new contracts. It is currently handling 100 cases.

Morgan Dias was established by Bettina Yarde, who has helped torture victims to find a safe haven in Britain.

She decided to set up her own firm after seeing the plight of asylum seekers at first hand when she worked at the Immigration Advisory Service in Cambridge. One harrowing case still haunts her. During her time at Cambridge, she helped a Ugandan woman to gain asylum in Britain. The woman had been raped and tortured in a Ugandan “safe house”.

“The media tend to look at immigration and asylum as people invading the UK and wanting to take British jobs and benefits,’’ said Ms Yarde.

“However, many are high earning nationals who actually enrich the UK both financially and culturally. Those seeking asylum in the UK are doing so because they have a genuine fear for their life.”

Morgan Dias has helped students to secure visas so they can study in the UK, and it also works with companies who want to bring foreign nationals into Britain.

In recent years, growing numbers of Libyan students have gained places at British universities. The country was thrown into chaos in early 2011 when an uprising inspired by similar revolts in Tunisia and Egypt turned into a bloody conflict between dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s henchmen and soldiers of the opposition National Transitional Council. The conflict, which claimed the lives of 30,000 Libyans, ended in October with the death of the dictator. Students from Syria who are based in the UK are also likely to be affected by the conflict in their homeland.

“The recent conflicts in Libya and Syria have led to a number of students being left destitute in the UK,’’ said Ms Yarde.

“The Libyan and Syrian governments had been paying for them to come to the UK and study. Once the conflict started, this support disappeared.”

According to Ms Yarde, the Government had devised a policy of “discretionary leave” in the case of Libyan nationals.

She added: “This has run out now as officially the Government have stated that it is safe to return to Libya.”

The unrest in Libya affected whole families, according to Ms Yarde.

“They (Libyan students) aren’t allowed to work here, so they have to rely on a student loan. In one case in Sheffield, this loan had to fund a family of three from Libya. Many face returning to Libya with nowhere to live. They will be returning to destitution as their homes and all sources of income will have disappeared.”

In recent months, Morgan Dias has handled around eight cases involving Libyan and Syrian students.

“Since we secured a Legal Aid contract in November 2010, we’ve seen a 50 per cent increase in clients,’’ said Ms Yarde. “A lot of the increase in work is down to the state of the economy. People are finding it harder and harder and have to rely on Legal Aid. A lot of the immigration cases relate to British nationals who have elderly parents abroad. Their parents may have gone back to their home country, but they now want to come to the UK because they need extra support.

“They aren’t British nationals but want to be with their children.”

The company has recently increased its staff numbers from three to five and Ms Yarde plans to grow the business nationally, while keeping the head office in Sheffield.

“I love being self-employed because I enjoy being a decision-maker,’’ said Ms Yarde. “It’s great when clients say ‘thank you’ and move on to the next stage in their lives.”

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “We take our international responsibilities seriously and have a proud history of providing refuge to those in genuine need of our protection. Every case is carefully considered on its individual merits and taking into consideration the situation in the country of origin.”