Protest the Nigeria mass deportation - Thursday, 10.30 am

dublin | racism & migration related issues | press release Wednesday May 27, 2009 10:56 by Residents Against Racism

Group condemns unprecendented second deportation with a month

Residents Against Racism is preparing to protest a second mass deportation to Nigeria within a month - a move the group describes as unprecedented.

Supporters will be gathering at the Garda National Immigration Bureau, Burgh Quay, from 10.30 a.m. Thursday 28th May after growing evidence has emerged of further deportation plans. They follow on from a joint Irish-British operation staged on 29th April where 25 asylum seekers were removed, at least one of whose legal process was ongoing at the time.

Residents Against Racism spokesperson Rosanna Flynn says "Every time these deportations happen it means families being torn apart. Once again we are seeing a number of fathers of Irish citizen children under threat. These children need their fathers, yet the government seems to care more about maximising deportations than it does about families."

"The idea that Nigeria is a safe country to return people to, as the government would have us believe, is nonsense," adds Flynn. Nigeria is one of several 'countries in turmoil' named in a March 2009 UN report as experiencing unrest or conflict in 2008, reflected in a rise in asylum applications internationally, despite a fall in Ireland.

Residents Against Racism, established in 1998, is a long-standing critic of the politicisation of the asylum process in Ireland. It argues that it is fundamentally a human rights issue and should be given over to an independent body, like the Human Rights Commission, operating free from political interference.

[Note: A further protest will be held Friday 29th May, 10 am, at the Four Courts, to support the Izevbekhai family's ongoing legal case against deporation to protect the two daughters from the threat of FGM. See separate event entry for more details]