WHEN Nicaise Koffi’s band released their single El Mutino (The Mutiny) in response to the political situation in his home country in West Africa, he did not expect to be fleeing for fear of execution.
In 1999, after the Government banned his song, not knowing the future which lay ahead, he left the Ivory Coast for England – soon after his music producer was killed.
“It’s really difficult for someone to come into a foreign country and claim asylum, because you are not aware about the process.
“So when you come you feel safe at first because they won’t be killing you, but when you are running away from prison in your own country and they put you in prison in the safe place. It's funny, but as English people say: Good comes in the end.”
When Nicaise arrived in London as an asylum seeker, he spent his time in various places, including two months in Harmondsworth Detention Centre, and another two months in Brixton Prison, because they did not have the space in Oakington Detention Centre.
It was six years before Nicaise was given Indefinite Leave To Remain – permanent residency – on the basis of having waited so long, rather than his case that he had “a well-founded fear of persecution” – as stated in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
He said: “They were trying to make sure my asylum seeking was genuine, despite the fact that I had press clippings and searches on the internet showed that I was a target of the government.”
In 2003, Nicaise, now 30, was moved with his family from London to Liverpool.
He said: “When I first got to Liverpool I lived in Bootle, and I was really lucky as I met some really nice people; my neighbours were really nice.”
It was as a volunteer in Refugee Action, an independent national charity that gives practical advice to those affected by the asylum process, that he made many more friends and even members of his current band, Zouglou Zone, whose lyrical music is based on strong beats and African bongos.
In 2007, as a musician, Nicaise was invited to join Liverpool Nativity, along with Liverpool stars including Jennifer Ellison and Ricky Tomlinson.
He said: “I was a shepherd and we sang John Lennon’s Imagine. That was one of my moments of pride.”
He currently volunteers on the Refugee Awareness Project (Rap) and lives in Norris Green with his family, and says they are happy: “My children are fully integrated here and almost every day they are going to birthdays.
“But if there would be a democratic Government in the Ivory Coast and it would be safe, I would go back and visit, though my life is here now. I have my family here.
“Here I have the opportunity to have my life as a musician, as a man, and as a human being.”
Liverpool is hosting a series of events to mark Refugee Week (June 16 - 22).
Lush, the cosmetics shop, is offering information on Refugee Week with a special “Charity Pot” of moisturiser, and a prize draw.
Coronation Street’s Sunita Alahan, actress Shobna Gulati, and Thusitha Jayasundera, better known as DS Ramani De Costa, of The Bill, will be among the actors portraying Asylum Dialogues tonight at the Quakers Meeting House, on School Lane. Doors are at 6.30pm, with the performance at 7pm, and tickets are £5.
Refugee Action’s Liverpool area manager, Paul McAvoy, said: “Liverpool has a proud history of offering sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution and Refugee Week helps nurture understanding between our different communities.”
For more information, call Lila Khodja at Refugee Action on 0151 702 6313 or visit their website www.refugee-action.org.uk
ON THURSDAY, Refugee Action, in association with Banner Theatre, will host a theatre performance and workshops relating to asylum seekers at Liverpool World Museum.
