Posted 2nd June, 2023.

Viraj Mendis

I vividly recall the story of Viraj Mendis and his immigration case from my childhood whilst growing up in Northern England. It became a popular news article in all the national newspapers for multiple reasons. Not least because Viraj sought refuge in a Christian site of worship. 

The British racist immigration laws came to fruition in the case of Viraj, and reading his case once again in the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust archives - Manchester, brought back a few memories of my own. 

This is just a snippet of Viraj's story:

Viraj Mendis had lived in Britain for thirteen years. He had overstayed his student visa, but at the time, anyone remaining for more than ten years had the legal right to remain. Due to the extension of the qualifying period to 14 years by the Conservative government, Viraj was deemed an undocumented immigrant. Due to his support for the Tamils, he was certain to be persecuted and murdered if returned to Sri Lanka. However, he also advocated for those who were endangered by the Conservatives' bigoted immigration policies.

The British government initially required visas from Commonwealth people in 1985 when it placed curbs on Sri Lankan nationals. Following this, the UK government mistreated Tamils for three years, according to Steve Cohen from the Law Centre. Beginning in March 1987, Viraj was granted shelter in the Hulme Church of the Ascension for about two years.

Soon after Viraj lost his case appeal and was forcefully deported back to Sri-Lanka.