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Help return Abiy to Ethiopia for a dignified burial

By Harmit Athwal

18 July 2006, 12:00pm

On 5 July 2006, Abiy Fessfha Abebe, an Ethiopian asylum seeker, was found hanged in Liverpool following news that his claim for asylum in this country had been refused.

UPDATE 1 AUGUST 2006: ABIY'S BURIAL HAS NOW TAKEN PLACE.

Abiy was in the UK for less than three weeks before his sad death and lived in one of the acommodation centres in Liverpool having his asylum claim processed under the New Asylum Model.

Following the inability of the Home Office to contact members of Abiy's family, his fellow countrymen at the accommodation centre made their own enquiries and were able to inform Abiy's family of the tragedy.

His friends and fellow countrymen are deeply distressed by Abiy's death and are anxious to ensure that his body is returned for a dignified burial in Ethiopia. They have made a small collection to assist with the costs. The total needed to return Abiy's body to Ethiopia is £3,550 and an appeal has been launched.

The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.

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