Bring Back Great's Family

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Saturday September 01, 2007 08:43 by Joe Moore - Cork Anti Racism Network mapuche at eircom dot net 087-2994796

Launch of Cork Group

A public meeting to launch a Cork section of the Bring Back Great Campaign will be held on Thursday 27th September, at 8.00pm in the Victoria Hotel, Patrick Street, Cork.
The meeting will be addressed by Councillor Cionnaith OSuilleabhain, Sinn Fein, Clonakilty Great Support Group and Roseanna Flynn, Residents Against Racism, Dublin.

On 14th August the government deported a six year old autistic boy, along with his mother and sister. Great Agbonlahor had been living in Ireland for over four years with his mother Olivia and his twin sister Melissa. Since being diagnosed with autism, he had received the education and therapy he needs. But the family have now been deported to Nigeria, even though the children have never set foot in Africa. In Nigeria, Great will have no way of getting the treatment he needs. In fact, there is a danger that he could be dealt with as an outcast, and his family as if they were "possessed" by devils. As a result Olivia decided she had little option but to relocate to Ghana in order that Great might receive some level of treatment. They travelled to Ghana on Friday 24th August.
The order to deport Great's family was one of the last decisions made by Michael McDowell before his political career was ended. The new minister, Brian Lenihan, once had a reputation for supporting the rights of children. He has now shown himself to be as heartless as McDowell was, attempting to ruin the life of an autistic child.
Thousands of people around Ireland signed petitions calling on the Minister for Justice to let Great and his family stay. People from all walks of life supported him. Now he needs your support to force the government to cancel the deportation and allow the family back.
Legal proceedings are underway to overturn the deportation of Great's family. In the meantime Brian Lenihan still has the power to reverse this deportation. In March 2005 Leaving Cert student Kunle Eluhanlo was deported to Nigeria in his school uniform, but popular pressure made the government allow him back to Ireland, and he has lived here safely since. If you believe in human rights, and above all the rights of children, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Councillor Cionnaith OSuilleabhain, a Sinn Fein member of Clonakilty Town Council and a prominent member of the Great Support Group in the town and Roseanna Flynn the spokesperson of Dublin based Residents Against Racism, will address this meeting, which is the public launch of the Cork Bring Back Great Campaign.
The meeting is organised by Cork Anti Racism Network.