{"id":4185,"date":"2023-01-28T21:58:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T21:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/?page_id=4185"},"modified":"2023-01-29T18:38:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T18:38:13","slug":"the-amulet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/february-2023\/the-amulet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amulet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karima Brooke<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Karima Brooke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I have no desire to make windows<\/p>\n

into men\u2019s souls\u2019.<\/p>\n

The judge echoed the queen, conscious<\/p>\n

of irony and the risk of own goals.<\/p>\n

In her domain, rhetoric flows.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ll pray for him; tell us his name\u2019.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret.<\/p>\n

Though tribunals are closed studios,<\/p>\n

with appellants rarely touched by fame.<\/p>\n

Maybe like Pontius<\/p>\n

Pilate, hers is a secular mindset<\/p>\n

presiding over a populist game.<\/p>\n

I touch the amulet hidden near my breast bone,<\/p>\n

see myself kneeling, call on the Holy Name.<\/p>\n

He won humanitarian protection,<\/p>\n

Article 8, Sub-section\u2026<\/p>\n

Also allowed was that day\u2019s earlier claim.<\/p>\n

An orphan trafficked,<\/p>\n

bought by \u2018aunty\u2019, sold on as a slave,<\/p>\n

He cried out but no-one came.<\/p>\n

No-one noticed- hard to believe.<\/p>\n

Boxes ticked.<\/p>\n

\u2018Prayers granted\u2019 was sent as emojis by phone<\/p>\n

from missionary friends: \u2018It shows<\/p>\n

how God alone<\/p>\n

is merciful and truly knows<\/p>\n

what\u2019s in men\u2019s hearts\u2019.<\/p>\n

We all have roles<\/p>\n

More or less original, all mimicked.<\/p>\n

Much depends on the court district.<\/p>\n

We play our respective parts.<\/p>\n

Though we rejoice,<\/p>\n

what\u2019s the fate of those without an advocate?<\/p>\n

no supporting voices,<\/p>\n

no-one able to translate?<\/p>\n

How then does the petitioned God make choices?<\/p>\n

\n

Background to my poem, The Amulet<\/h2>\n

Karima Brooke<\/strong><\/p>\n

This poem relates to a real immigration appeal hearing, a third and final appeal for asylum, at which I was a witness in November 2022.
\nThe man appealing, MF, had been our guest under the Sanctuary Hosting scheme in 2018 to 2019. He was claiming asylum on the grounds of his conversion to Christianity – which could potentially mean a death sentence were he to be returned to Iran as he would be seen as an \u2018apostate\u2019. Because of the backlog in the asylum system, this final appeal – which was heard by a judge – had been postponed many times. I and the other witness for MF, his vicar in the city where he now lives were allowed to be present remotely, as were the interpreter and the presenting officer for the Home Office. The judge, MF, his barrister and the tribunal official were physically present.<\/p>\n

My testimony was basically that, whilst he was living with us, I had observed him to be a practicing, committed Christian. I had given him a Bible in Farsi as a Christmas present, and he was very grateful for this.<\/p>\n

Everything in this poem actually happened:<\/p>\n