Kobe’s story49 Kobe was brought to London by his parents at the age of five. The following year he was taken into the care of social services. The local authority took no steps to regularise Kobe’s immigration status and he was effectively undocumented by the age of 10. By the age of 11, he had been in seven different foster placements and had had so many social workers he had lost track of their names. He was struggling at school and was diagnosed with a learning disability. During the final year of primary school, he was recruited into selling drugs. For years, he was horrifically abused by his exploiters. He would go missing weekly from his foster placement and was arrested for various offences he committed as a result of his exploitation. He was seen by professionals as a ‘young offender’ who was ‘choosing’ this ‘lifestyle’. Shortly before his 18th birthday, he was finally identified as a victim whilst serving a custodial sentence at a young offender institution. Shortly before his release, Kobe was served with removal directions to Ghana, a country he has no memory of. He had hoped to enrol in culinary school and become a chef after his release, but instead spent months mostly in his bedroom unable to access education and facing the prospect of removal. He was terrified and completely disengaged from the mental health services he was accessing. One year on from his release, he was still in immigration limbo and all he could do was wait. As the months ticked by, Kobe felt his dreams slip away, and once again he felt completely failed by those whose duty it was to care for him. A few days later, Kobe was reported missing from his placement. His support worker suspects he is being exploited again.
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