We are not hiding Rabar

IN hiding . . . Rabar

Supporters of Rabar Hamad, the age-row asylum seeker who has now vanished, say they have no idea where he is.

Campaigners are worried for his health and emotional state, seven days after he was reported missing by his former English teacher Sally Hyman.

Rabar, a former Breeze Hill pupil originally from Iraq, was due to be made homeless on August 5 and faced being deported because authorities say he is older than 16 and not covered by rules for caring for a minor. Rabar stopped turning up for weekly meetings at the Immigration Service Centre in Salford. His case now has a large Facebook following, campaigning for him to be allowed to stay.

Sally’s daughter Katy Miller, from his support group, said: “We are not hiding Rabar — we reported him missing on August 10 and we wish we knew where he was. We know he is staying in a place where he feels safe, but don’t know where that is.

“No-one is hiding him. We spoke to Rabar last week. He made contact with us.”

Reports that Facebook followers are hiding him and funding him are wide of the mark, she said. Katy stressed that they are still working within the law to support Rabar’s case and a solicitor is working to see what legal moves can be made to help him to stay in England.

Rabar says he is 16, and was orphaned when his parents were killed by a bomb in 2008. He was originally cared for in Wigan after arriving in Britain in the wheel-arch of a truck.

Wigan Council scrapped his funding, claiming tests showed Rabar could be 20. Police and Border Agency officials are working to find him.