Civil Rights for Asylum Seekers

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Wednesday January 21, 2009 21:33 by Joe Moore - Cork Anti Racism Network mapuche at eircom dot net 087-2994796

The Cork Anti Racist Network will launch a campaign for civil rights for asylum seekers at a public meeting on Monday 2nd February at 8.00pm in the Victoria Hotel, Patrick St. Cork.
The meeting will be addressed by Dr. Ronit Lentin, Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator, MPhil. in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Dept. of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin and Uche Odinukwe, Nigerian Activist.

Do you know that, in Ireland, asylum seekers are denied the right to work. Instead they are given €19.10 per week to live on. Many are fully qualified professionals, who want to work, and would be assets to society, and add value to the economy.

Do you know that asylum seekers have no say over where they live. The majority are in what is called Direct Provision, which is hostel-type accommodation, often in isolated areas, such as Drishane Castle, Millstreet and Kinsale Road, Cork. In these centres, three or four single people share one room. These people are often from different countries, speaking different languages, and with different cultures. Two single parents share one room, with their respective children, with neither having privacy. Meals are at set times, with residents having no control over the menu. These centres are controlled by private security, who discourage contact between the residents and the local community-their neighbours.

Do you know that all asylum seekers over 18 years are denied access to education. Children who complete their Leaving Cert. cannot continue their education to 3rd level. Instead they are given €19.10 and left to vegetate.

Do you know that the majority of asylum seekers in Ireland are denied refugee status. After years in the system without rights, they will eventually be served with a deportation order. When this is executed, men, women and children, who have committed no crime, are put in prison prior to deportation. On the specially chartered flights, each person is accompanied by at least two immigration police. Medical staff are also present on the flight-not to attend to people's health-but to restrain those who resist.

All this is carried out in the name of the Irish people-a people with a long history of emigration.

Cork Anti Racism Network says enough is enough; civil rights for asylum seekers now.

We demand,
1. The right to work.
2. The right to education.
3. The closure of all Direct Provision centres.
4. No deportations.

Please show your support by attending the meeting and joining the campaign.