A Christmas Letter To Micheal McDowell

national | racism & migration related issues | feature

Friday December 17, 2004 17:24

by Immigrant Rights - Rights for ALL

17,000 non-EU parents of Irish citizen children need some detailed answers

Merry Christmas Minister McDowell...

Photo Series from Residents Against Racism's December 16th 2004 Protest at Dáil Éireann:
• March to Dáil Éireann
• Demo at Dáil Éireann
• Merry Christmas Michael McDowell

Also:
Asylum Women Speak Out at Galway City Council Meeting

During the protest organised by Residents Against Racism on Dec 16th questions were gathered from activists, politicians, and asylum seekers about Justice Minister McDowell's reported 'reprieve' for Irish Citizen Children. These questions were later written as a letter to Minister McDowell by Immigrant Rights Activists....

Background Links:
Minister Michael McDowell's revised arrangements for processing claims for permission to remain from parents of Irish born children.

Irish Times: Immigrants with Irish children may get reprieve

A Letter to Michael McDowell,

Tomso is an Irish citizen child. His non-Irish mother was forced to leave him behind when she was forcibly expelled from this country.

Will Tomso's mother be allowed to return under these new procedures?
Will other parents in similar situations be allowed return?
What about Irish children who were forced into exile when their parents were expelled in the cloak and dagger midnight deportations that McDowell finds so appealling. Will they be allowed to return?

Under the proposed procedures parents must be of 'good character'.

Who determines whether or not these parents are of 'good character'?
Is it McDowell himself who decides?
The ill informed GNIB interviewer?
Or will it be the communities where the Parents live?

This issue is about the rights of the child. All Irish children are born equal, and as such all should be entitled to live in the safety of their own country with the protection of their Parents. This right should not be taken away on the basis of other people's judgements on the personality of their Parents.

Minister McDowell you have refused to allow these parents to work while their applications are processed, and yet you say they must be economically self-sufficient within 5 years. With the growing inequality in Irish society how do you think Parents will be successful?

The cost of housing in Ireland has skyrocketed many young Irish parents cannot become economically self-sufficient. How do you propose that these particular parents become self-sufficient while refusing them permission to work?

Minister McDowell you announced these new procedures saying you were answering a great 'moral force', and yet hours later you launched another cloak and dagger midnight deportation.

During the most recent mass-deportation, were there any Irish citizen children on board that flight?
Were there any Parents of Irish children on that flight?
Will you stop deporting Parents of Irish children while the new procedures are being set in place?
Or will you try and expel as many as possible before they can apply?

Many of these families have fled persecution and great repression from their countries. Many were forced to flee at no notice and without their identification.

How do you expect these people to prove their identification?
Do you expect these people to ask the governments from whom they have fled persecution, to now help them?

Minister McDowell, what do you mean by 'criminal record?'

If these people have fled political persecution will you exclude them from this definition those jailed for politically opposing their government's repression?
Will you include petty offences such as parking tickets in your definition?
What about violation of planning permission? Will this be excluded?

Some families have been waiting up to 8 years for this decision.

Why has it taken you so long? What finally changed your mind? Will this finally be the answer to the questions they have asked of you for so long, or will it be another false dawn? Another empty promise? Another child's broken dreams?
Surely all the families information will currently be held by the GNIB, so why would it take so long to process?
Or is this an admission that the GNIB files are incomplete? That the GNIB have deported people without fully knowing the complete facts about their case?

While your recent announcement is to be welcomed, people should not think that this issue is now resolved. This is only the first step in the right direction. Many more steps must follow.

Merry Christmas Minister McDowell.

However if you do not answer these questions satisfactorily and deal with this issue transparently and fairly, it will certainly not be a happy new year for you.