Seeking Asylum

Think for a moment: General Cowan of Eireann-FF has ordered all the houses in Tallaght to be knocked down only for a select few to be re-built. Gen Cowan then allows members of Eireann-FF only to live in these re-built homes. What if Gen Cowan (of Eireann-FF) then decided Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was to be acceptable in Ireland? After that perhaps Gen Cowan may decide that women who are guilty of adultery should have stones thrown at them, until they die.

The above scenarios will never happen in Ireland, however if they did it would make any reasonable person here want to seek asylum in another country. The department of Justice must take forms of Human Rights abuses, such as those mentioned above, seriously when deciding any application for refuge. For many asylum is the only option people have to live a normal life, in a country that recognises people’s rights. Our government should not be acquiescing with governments around the world that abuse Human Rights.

It’s not the fault of the Irish state that horrible events are happening in Africa (and beyond) however we should have a moral interest in accepting that those who come to seek asylum here are doing so to avoid torture and possible death. How can we, as a free democratic country, condemn Human Rights violations around the world and then on the other hand refuse refuge to those who need it. We must be consistent in our actions.

Bob Geldof was honoured in the 1980’s for alerting people to Africa’s problems, mainly famine. However Africa has far more problems than starvation. Political violence and despotic regimes have handicapped development. Want some examples? Zimbabwe, Kenya, DRC, Chad, Rwanda and many others I could mention are countries struggling to improve their development. You only have to read about these countries in the newspapers, on a regular basis, to grasp the scale of the problems being faced. These are just a grain of sand in the desert of complications that exist in the vast continent of Africa. But do we ignore our fellow humans there? Or do we try and give those seeking refuge some respite?

I’m sitting listening to some Ska tape I made years ago. ‘This is bliss’ I’m thinking. But there is a knock on the door: my sister, Eithne, is beckoning me to the radio. Marian Finnucane is interviewing Pamela, who is seeking asylum for herself and her two children, from Nigeria. She is trying to get permission to stay here and there are fears that the department of Justice in Ireland will send them back to an uncertain future in Nigeria.

Ireland has a limited reach globally however we should act in a caring and decent way to those (African or not) who seek asylum. By throwing out people who have gone through hell to leave their country we, Ireland, are saying ‘Yes’ to torture and inhumanity. It would be good if governments, no less our own, would understand the benefits of allowing people seeking sanctuary, away from harm. Of course anyone guilty of manipulation of our benefit system should be fully prosecuted. But not everyone trying to escape torture or death is interested in ‘fiddling the system’ here. We have the capacity to, and we should, offer our support to refugees and not reject them!