A Ugandan woman has been found dead beside her malnourished baby in a Glasgow United Kingdom flat.
The deceased has been identified as Mercy Baguma who had been living with her son in extreme poverty. She was found dead by police on Saturday August 22 after friends raised the alarm when she had not been heard from since Tuesday.
According to GlasgowLive, the baby boy was rushed to hospital for treatment but was released on Tuesday and its father is now caring for him elsewhere in the city.
Mercy - who was an asylum seeker allegedly lost her job after her limited leave to remain had reportedly expired, meaning she was no longer allowed to work.
Mercy, in her 30s, and her son were believed to have been relying on food from friends and charities.
According to Robina Qureshi Director of Positive Action in Housing, this is the third tragedy to affect the city’s refugee population in as many months.
"Mercy contacted our charity on August 11 and said she was not getting any financial support yet had made an application to MigrantHelp. Had she lived she would have been a high priority for a crisis payment from our Emergency Relief Fund like hundreds of others left functionally destitute by the asylum system” Robina says.
“The question remains, why are mothers and babies being left to go hungry in this city, why is it being left to charities and volunteers to pick up the pieces? Does society have anything to say about that other than call them a drain on society? The fact is there is no safety net if you're a refugee or migrant. You are left destitute and without resources. And you're left silenced by far right rhetoric for being forced to ask for help” Robina added.
"Would this mother be alive if she was not forced out of her job by this cruel system that stops you from working and paying your way because a piece of paper says your leave to remain has expired? I’m sure Mercy’s son will want to ask this and other questions once he is old enough" she said.
According to reports, a friend of Mercy has set up a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds for her infant son and to cover the costs of her funeral.
Mercy was described as an amazing "mother, sister and best friend" who "always put her family first."