Anti-deportation picket, Thursday 6pm
national |
miscellaneous |
news report 
Tuesday October 08, 2002 16:09
by Ray
Residents Against Racism have called a picket on the Dail for this Thursday, 6pm, in support of the Onaswano family. The family fled Nigeria so that their daughter Christine would not be subjected to genital mutilation.
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Jump To Comment: 1USI CONDEMN MINISTER MCDOWELL OVER REFUSAL TO REVERSE ONASANWO DEPORTATION ORDER
8th October 2002
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have strongly condemned the decision of Minister Michael McDowell not to reverse the deportation order of Christina Onasanwo and her family back to Nigeria. USI said today that the Minister "is now responsible for any harm that comes to Christina".
June Coghlan, Women's Rights Officer, USI said: "Christina fled from Nigeria in 1999 to avoid the scourge of female genital mutilation. Her life here seemed fantastic after she was got a place in college, but the dream was suddenly ended by a deportation order for the family. As a direct result of this, Christina's mother Elizabeth suffered a nervous breakdown and is now in psychiatric care as she witnessed her sister die from the same procedure.
It is unacceptable that Christina and her younger sister Bolu's lives are being placed in danger by this deportation order. Minister McDowell must now be held responsible for any harm that comes to Christina.
135 million of the world's women and young girls have been genitally mutilated. Two million are at risk every year, which works out at approximately 6,000 per day.
This is an example of both sexism and racism.
What makes this news particularly galling is the fact that at the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women, our Government, along with 189 other governments, signed the Beijing Platform for Action, an agenda of women's human rights. A key aim was to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the violation of the rights of the girl child.
We are making a final appeal to Minister McDowell to show a shred of humanity and allow Christina Onasanwo and her family to stay in Ireland."
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