The odyssey of Kenya born Indian girl Ranjan Vaid – who had been refused entry to Britain and to her native country – ended last night [February 10] at London’s Heathrow Airport. The 21-year-old girl had been shuttled on one airline and then another, from one country to another for an entire week and a total of 17,000 miles before Britain yesterday finally decided to let her in for three months. Ranjan burst into tears and collapsed into the arms of her brother, Shantilal, who greeted her at the airport. “She is tired and hungry, she has been living on rolls and coffee for a week. She has not slept for 48 hours,” he said. Although she holds a British passport, she was denied entry into Britain because Kenya Asians also require an entry certificate, which she did not have. Kenya refused to take her back, because when she left she failed to obtain a re-entry certificate. Meanwhile some Kenyan Asians, who work in an honorary capacity for the British High Commission in Nairobi on Asian problems, have appealed to the British Home Secretary, Mr. James Callaghan, to ease their “desperate” situation by allowing them and their colleagues to enter Britain.
Published - February 12, 2020 12:15 am IST
