'Please let us stay in our home'

A Burmese family who have lived in Shetland for the past two years have been ordered to return to Burma by the Home Office.

But the Shetland community has united behind the family and urged Home Secretary David Blunkett to overturn the deportation decision.

Hazel Minn spoke to BBC News Online Scotland about her fears for the future if she is forced to leave the country.

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My name is Hazel Minn. I am from Myanmar and grew up in Yangon with my family.

Hazel Minn: "I won't allow myself to give up hope"

It was a very nice place to live, but in the end I felt I had to leave my country.

Please let me explain the reasons for this.

Before I adopted my two sons, Simon, 12, and Vincent, 11, their mother had decided to make a new life for her and the boys in Hillswick, northern Shetland.

Her mother, the boys' grandmother, lived there with her husband. The boys' natural mother is my cousin.

We all love Shetland, it is a very beautiful place with very friendly people and all we are asking is to be allowed to live here

However, after a year the boys' mother changed her mind and decided to return to Myanmar because she felt she could no longer look after them.

She was suffering from a mental illness and it was at this time - with their mother's consent - that I decided to adopt Simon and Vincent.

My main concern for them at that time was to provide a stable home life for them and to help them get a good education.

But I soon realised that because of the two years they had spent in Shetland, they had forgotten how to read and write in Burmese and could not understand anything in the state schools.

Burma tension

I therefore decided to use my own money to send them to a private English-speaking school so they could continue their education.

During this time the boys had no contact with their mother, father, or anyone from their father's family.

The political situation at this time in Burma seemed to be getting worse and I realised that my money would not last for the boy's education.

Hazel said she and the boys were settled in Shetland

So I decided to sell everything and use the money and return, hopefully, to settle in Shetland.

When I got the letter from the Home Office saying that I had to return to Burma I became very depressed.

I couldn't concentrate on anything and couldn't sleep.

All I could think about was how to tell my sons they would have to leave this beautiful place, leave their friends and their family.

I am terrified that every time the phone rings or there is a knock at the door it will be someone coming to tell me to leave

We all love Shetland, it is a very beautiful place with very friendly people and all we are asking is to be allowed to live here with my aunt - the boys' grandmother - and her husband.

But at the same time I am also terrified that every time the phone rings or there is a knock at the door or I see a strange car coming up to the house, it will be someone coming to tell me to leave immediately.

I am also afraid because by now, the Burmese Government will have heard about all the media interest that has been generated in the past few weeks.

This could make things difficult for me if I have to go back.

'Never give up hope'

If I do have to go back, what will happen to my two sons?

I have no money to help them and my family here could not send money to them, nor could they afford to visit.

As you can see, I am pleading to the Home Office to be allowed to stay, so that my sons can have a secure future.

I would also like to thank everyone who has helped us in any way, by praying, writing letters, signing petitions and speaking on our behalf.

It is because of all this that I won't allow myself to give up hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.