Asylum seeker Rabar in hiding with friends

Asylum-seeker Rabar Hamad has gone into hiding — with help from supporters and friends from a Facebook group.

The former Breeze Hill School pupil, originally from Iraq, was due to be deported on August 5 but stopped turning up for weekly reporting sessions at Oldham Police station.

He is believed to be being looked after by people who set up the “Don’t Deport 16-year-old Rabar Hamad to Iraq” site on Facebook which has also raised funds for him.

Rabar, who is from the Kurdistan region of Iraq and says he is 16, was orphaned when his parents were killed by a bomb in 2008.

He was originally cared for in Wigan after arriving in Britain by spending 10 days in the wheel arch of a truck.

Wigan funded his stay at the nearest children’s home available — in Oldham — and Rabar was enrolled at Breeze Hill last year.

His English teacher, Sally Hyman, began the campaign to save him from deportation when Wigan scrapped his funding over a dispute about his age.

Rabar had only photocopied documents to show his age, not originals. The authorities believe Rabar could be 20 and his application for asylum was refused.

Rabar is said to be staying with a friend while supporters take legal advice to see if there is any way he could be allowed to stay, and a petition has been raised in Oldham town centre and by his school. His supporters want a proper age assessment by a medical expert.

UK Border Agency officials and the police are trying to find him. They warn that anyone helping him could be jailed for up to 14 years.

His supporters issued a statement yesterday in response : “Rabar is staying in a place where he feels safe with people who are ensuring his basic day-to-day needs are being met. We have been in contact with Rabar and are working with Greater Manchester Police to ensure his safety.”