A British court has ruled that a teenager would be safer attending a school in one of the most dangerous continents on earth than living amidst London’s gang-riddled streets.
The boy’s parents believed he was becoming embroiled in the capital’s deadly knife and gun crime war raging between rival street gangs and so enrolled him in an African boarding school.
The child, who cannot be named, was 13 when he was taken to Ghana last year in the belief his family were visiting a sick relative, only to learn his devout Christian parents had registered him for the school.
The “highly distressed” child contacted the British consulate and Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), a charity that provides advice in international child protection cases.
He made himself a ward of court and began legal proceedings against his parents claiming they “physically and emotionally abandoned” him whilst his lawyers subsequently sought to persuade the High Court to return him to the UK “as a matter of urgency” and place him in foster care.
Ghanain capital of Accra (Image: Getty)
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In a statement he said: “I find it humiliating that I am still here. I want to come home. My strong preference would be to stay with my parents … I am finding life in Ghana so difficult, I would do anything to get out of here.”
But Mr Justice Hayden, who presided over the family court proceedings in London on Thursday, said he felt the mother’s “palpable distress” after inviting her to address the court.
She said: “I [took] this decision because I thought I might lose him for ever. This was not punishment. I have told him over and over again it was to protect him.”
The court was told how “negative influences” had pushed the boy “towards criminal behaviours”, which included missing school, getting into fights and being aggressive towards his parents.
Teachers sparked concerns he was at risk of criminal exploitation when he began attending school sporting designer clothing.
Photographs of knives were then found on his phone sparking further concerns and he allegedly “asked a girl for an indecent image [and] then shared with others”, which he denies, the court was told.
The boy rejected claims he was in a gang and the judge conceded the boy had been taken to West Africa “by deception”.
But he asked if anyone had told him that they did not want him to be “another dead black boy on the streets of London”.
Knife Crime shadow silhouette figure of young man boy with knife (Image: Getty Images/WIN-Initiative RM)
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His mother said he was spoken to but she could not guarantee that she could protect him in London. It is understood the removal of children to escape gang culture in London is becoming “widespread” amidst West African immigrants, who are sending their sons away to save them from prison or being stabbed to death.
The judge asked the father to describe the home environment in which his son was raised. He replied: “We try to give respect to our elders. The Bible is our only authority and we appease God. “We try to embrace both the church and our Ghanaian culture.”
He said he disliked his son’s braided hair and used a derogatory Ghanaian term to describe effeminate men.
He added: “When I grew up, it was only ladies who braided their hair. The court was told his son had ignored requests to shave his head.
Justice Hayden said: “When I had hair I would have done that too.”
Deirdre Fottrell KC, counsel for the boy, said: “He identifies as a Londoner. He needs to make mistakes and he needs support to make sure that those mistakes lead to lessons being learnt.”
The judge said the concealment of the true reason for the boy’s visit to Ghana was “a breach of trust” and said the boy was “entitled to look for and expect truth, honesty and respect from his parents”.
But the judge said he was “satisfied that the boy was involved in criminal activity and in or on the periphery of gang culture” and concluded that he should remain in Ghana.
He said: “There can be little doubt that the parents’ exercise of parental responsibility was lawful. “What he requires … is the support and love of his family whilst he navigates the challenges of adolescence. Though it is perhaps counterintuitive, I consider that he is best placed to receive and absorb this support whilst living in Ghana … He has educational opportunities that he can choose to take up and expand.”
Some of the weaponary recovered from a London gang (Image: SWNS.COM)
But Junior Smart, the founder of St Giles Trust’s SOS Project, which helps young people out of London gangs, warned that sending boys overseas can create problems of resentment that push them into the hands of gangs once their education is complete.
He said: “Families came here wanting their children to get a good education and better their lives. “No parent wants their child involved in knife crime. No parent makes the journey thinking their child could be murdered.
“So they take matters into their own hands. But the kids return angry and resentful. It can push them into the groomers’ hands.”
Nathalie Scott, the deputy chief executive of CFAB, said the charity had seen similar cases in which parents left their children in African boarding schools or with relatives. She added: “This has been for a range of reasons.”
The Foreign Office warns travellers to Ghana to be vigilant amidst rising cases of armed robbery, burglary and serious assault since 2021.
They say foreign nationals should avoid walking alone and have been attacked and robbed at gunpoint with street crime like pickpocketing and bag-snatching on the increase. There is also a threat of kidnapping.
Theft is also a big problem at beaches with tourists told not to visit alone due to the risk of violent crime and sexual assault.