“I don’t want my son to die. As an asylum seeker in the United Kingdom, I am reaching out with a heavy heart about my son, left alone in Trinidad, threatened by armed gangs. Des­pite pleading with past and present governments, no one has helped. I fear daily for his life, unable to sleep, knowing he’s in constant danger. I plead for anyone’s help to reunite us and protect him.”

That was the plea of a father who fled the country last year seeking asylum in the United Kingdom after gang members murdered several of his relatives and threatened to assassinate his entire family.

Jackson (not his real name) has been residing in the UK for the past ten months and is awaiting a decision on his asylum claim for his wife and four children. He says his greatest worry remains his 17-year-old son from a previous relationship—left behind in Trinidad.