POST DEPORTATION FOR AFRICANS THAT LIVED IN IRELAND {the Forgotten Deportees}

Hello Readers, Catherine Reilly B.A., M.A. is a freelance writer, journalist and for years she has wonder what it’s like for people that are being deported home from Ireland back to their home Country do cope, survive and share their experiences this lead her on the journey to the “Continent of Africa”. www.catherinereilly.com As a journalist Catherine has wonder, curious, about what happened next in the lives of these people deported. The lives of people who spent years in Ireland but had to leave, mainly through deportation. The project was supported by “Mary Raftery Journalism Fund. Many deportees are failed asylum seekers who have typically spent years in Ireland in a protracted process and then, quite suddenly, find themselves uprooted in what can be a very bruising process psychologically. Most of Ireland’s deportation exercises are to Nigeria, given that this is the main source country of asylum seekers to Ireland. As is well known, Ireland has a low record of granting international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) therefore many people find themselves having to consider leaving Ireland voluntarily or indeed waiting until a deportation order is served and carried out by the Emigration Unit. Between 2005 and 2012, some 2,259 people were deported from Ireland, including 973 Nigerians. Earlier this year, Catherine heard that the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund was looking to support investigative journalism under the theme of ‘Migrant Issues’, and in this year of ‘The Gathering’, I thought it was opportune to take a closer look at the lives of people who are essentially “The Gathering’s Uninvited”. By that, I mean that these are people who established connections with Ireland – who had kids born and predominantly schooled here – but who were not permitted to stay and are unlikely to ever gain permission to return. Funmi, who lived in the Mosney Accommodation Centre for 3 years before being deported in December 2009 is back in Lagos, Nigeria. Catherine met Funmi, a single mother and her six year old daughter Claire was born in Drogheda, but after the 2004 referendum on citizenship and consequent legislation. Therefore she was not accorded Irish citizenship. Funmi, who spent three years as an asylum seeker in Ireland, has struggled for employment and a decent living environment since being deported in December 2009. Claire has had malaria on a number of occasions (indeed children who were not born/had not previously lived in malarious regions are particularly vulnerable to contracting malaria) and she often asks of Ireland. I was asking Funmi about the strong GDP growth that Nigeria has recorded in recent years and she said it was “make believe” because most people have not been benefiting. The length of time she had spent in Ireland seemed to have exacerbated her difficulties in finding a foothold in Lagos – she didn’t seem to have a good support network and relied on loose acquaintances that were not always what they seemed. Her asylum claim had alleged that a family member threatened her pregnancy as Claire’s expatriate father was a Muslim and her family was Christian. Certainly, if this were the case, it will have contributed to the isolation she is experiencing. Catherine also met mother-of-five Noruwa, who had triplets in Ireland. Extraordinarily, it was only at the point of delivery at Waterford Regional Hospital that it was discovered that she was, in fact, having triplets and not twins as expected. Her triplets were named David, Joshua – and Miracle. It was an amazing story which Noruwa narrated really well. Again, the triplets are not Irish citizens because they were born post-changes to automatic citizenship by birth. According to Catherine she was struck when visiting Noruwa, however, was the demeanour of her 10-year-old Paul. This family had lived in Ireland for over five years until deportation in March 2012, so Paul has, to date, received most of his schooling in Ireland (in Drogheda). He seemed lost in thought, confused, and missing Ireland. On another note, Catherine also met a number of parents of Irish citizen children who are waiting over two years on visa applications to return under the terms of the 2011 “Zambrano ruling at the European Court of Justice”. This ruling concerned a case from Belgium and essentially found that the non-EU parents of EU citizen kids should be granted residency and work permits in the countries of nationality and residence of their children. The parents I met had a broadly similar profile - they had left Ireland voluntarily after the 2003 Supreme Court ruling in the L and O case, which found that parents of Irish citizen kids did not have an automatic right to residency and could be deported. She thought their current predicament, and that of their Irish children, will surprise people, as it’s an under-reported issue. People have wondered about my impressions of Lagos. Her journey to Nigeria gave her an opportunity to meet many friendly people, hard working and challenging environment. Lagos as we all known is chaotic and underdeveloped; though she appreciate there are some fine houses in the small number of upmarket areas. She thinks the rich-poor divide that exists in Nigeria is infamous at this stage. Though Nigerians always hope for better, and believe God will help them, the current mood is not so good – and this was not what I was expecting. She had read about Nigeria’s strong GDP growth and Chinese investment etc but it seems economic growth is not alleviating the widespread poverty that exists. People have also asked her whether she think it is a country that generates valid asylum/protection claims. My impression (and clearly Lagos is one of the safer regions) is that there would definitely be valid claims arising from Nigeria. However, there is no doubt, to my mind, that huge poverty/unemployment would cause some people to invent stories in a bid to begin a more stable life for their families elsewhere. This obvious challenge the authorities assessing such claims in Ireland, for example, but while they may be correct in dismissing many claims, they may ultimately underestimate the amount of sound applications for international protection. As for myself being a Nigeria, strongly believe that everyone coming out of the Country to seek asylum deserve a chance to live on the Irish Soil, reader I want you all to follow Catherine in The Irish Times, and read more of her work, materials, write-up and shared experience of her “Journey to the Continent of Africa months to come.