Grace Efe Afekhai and her Son - Let Them Stay!

by Residents Against Racism Tue Aug 17, 2004 16:06

LET THEM STAY!
Sick mother and child face deportation

The government is currently trying to deport Grace Efe Afekhai, a Nigerian woman, and her son. If they are deported, their health and their life would be in danger. They need your support so that they can continue to live safely in Ireland.

In April 2002, Grace was due to undergo female genital mutilation, a horrifying practice that is traditional in much of Nigeria. In many cases, it results in the woman’s death. Grace’s sister and cousin died from it, and Grace’s husband didn’t want her to undergo it, as his first wife had also died from it. Although Grace was seven months pregnant, three men forcibly took her to a woman with no medical qualifications, no sterilised instruments and no anaesthetic to perform the mutilation. Luckily, Grace managed to get away.

Her son Daniel was born prematurely the next day. It was discovered soon after that Grace had cancer of the ovaries. Local religious leaders said that the cancer was a punishment for refusing to accept genital mutilation. The only way she could get help and proper treatment was to flee the country. Herself and her son ended up in Ireland.
Grace has since been getting cancer treatment in the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Her son has been diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia, which needs constant monitoring and treatment. With proper care, people with sickle cell live into their forties, but in Nigeria, Daniel would be unlikely to live beyond the age of 20.

When Grace applied for asylum she was interviewed by a male official, and had to go into very personal and intimate details in front of him. He told her he didn’t believe that she would be subjected to genital mutilation: just one example of the ignorance often shown towards asylum seekers by the officials who decide their fate.

If Grace and her son Daniel are deported, they face pain, ill health, and quite possibly death. Their only hope now is for the Minister for Justice to cancel their deportation and give them permission to live here on humanitarian grounds. Please support the campaign calling on him to do that, so that Grace and Daniel can stay in Ireland.

Sign the petition demanding that the Minister for Justice let Grace and Daniel stay.

Write to the Minister yourself:
Michael McDowell TD, Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform, 72/76 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Phone: (01) 618 3491 or (01) 498 8084. E-mail: [email protected]

The rise of racism in Ireland in recent years has been actively aided and abetted by the state. Ministers and TDs have whipped up racist prejudice to divert the blame from themselves for the problems faced by Irish society. Government response to those fleeing political and economic injustice has been to deport them as quickly as possible, with little regard for their rights under international law. Gardaí and other state officials have been guilty of racist abuse, both physical and verbal.

Residents Against Racism was set up to fight against state racism, and to oppose all manifestations of racism. In recent years we have successfully campaigned in support of refugees facing deportation, Garda frame-ups and other forms of harassment from the state. Our supporters include Joe Costello TD, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, Joe Higgins TD, Tony Gregory TD, Michael O’Reilly (ATGWU), the Association of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ireland and many other individuals and groups.

If you are facing state racism in any form:

Contact us on our 24-hour helpline: 087 6662060 or 087 7974622.
We need you to support our work:

Come to our stall: ?every Saturday, 12.30-2 pm, Bank of Ireland, Westmoreland St, Dublin.

RESIDENTS AGAINST RACISM
24-hour helpline: 087 6662060 or 087 7974622
c/o 12A Brunswick Place, Dublin 2 [email protected]

by Steve Tue Aug 17, 2004 17:29

This makes you wonder how many similar cases there are to this, that no one hears about. It's sickening if you think about it.

by obvious Fri Aug 20, 2004 14:12

Lets get the root of the problem. Genital mutilation and other repressive policies are what is wrong here, not Irish policy. Without tackling this first this kind of suffering will be with us forever. So get out of your ideological straight-jacket and try and see the bigger picture.

Another factor I suppose is that it might be construed as 'islamophobic' to condemn this practice.

by dowhatwecan Fri Aug 20, 2004 15:59

And in the meantime these women will just have to go back and suffer, will they?
If we can provide santuary in the meantime, then we should do so.

by paulc Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:12

fgm was the main topic at the last carr/rar meeting, problem is as up to now fgm hasn't happened in this coutnry so its not illegal an aim of the grouping is to get fmg made illegal here

by Fergal Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:15

No need, as it would already fall under the offense of causing serious harm, for which "consent" (very much a term to be placed in inverted commas in the context of FGM) is not a defence.

by Z Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:27

> Genital mutilation and other repressive policies are what is wrong here, not Irish policy.

FGM is not a 'policy' but a tradition

>Without tackling this first this kind of suffering will be with us forever.

And how to 'tackle' it? By deporting women and their children to be mutilated, as McDowell would have it?

> So get out of your ideological straight-jacket and try and see the bigger picture.

Indeed, yes! And do the humane thing and allow these women to to stay.

> Another factor I suppose is that it might be construed as 'islamophobic' to condemn this practice.

Perhaps you need get out of your own 'ideological straight-jacket' and realise that it is done to both Muslim Nigerians and Christian Nigerians.

Educate youself, please.

by obvious Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:27

A "tradition"?

The Islam reference was in relation to the excuses made by many people on this site for a variety of issues, check out the RESPECT thread.

Is all "mutilation" a crime? What about a backstreet male circumcision. Its all in the definitions.

Once again I think she should stay but the root of the problem is not in Ireland.

by Caoimhe - RAR Mon Aug 23, 2004 17:59

The main problem facing Grace and her son right now is the fact that FGM is not considered grounds for asylum here in Ireland. Therefore obvious, Irish policy is a HUGE problem right now. FGM is a life threatening tradition and is being practised on girls at younger and younger ages in many different parts of the world. FGM is a life threatening tradition. It often causes massive health implications not to mention the pain and trauma of the mutilation itself. While as far as we know FGM is not being practised in Ireland right now, that is no excuse for our government not to take a stand on this issue. It has happened to millions of babies, girls and women around the world and continues happening and won't stop until something is done about it. I don't know all of the answers. I have never lived in a country where FGM is practised. I don't fully know how u wud go about changing such a deep rooted set of beliefs and morals in certain cultures, however i do know that i completely disagree with the practice. It is barbaric, and it is done to try to make women submissive and passive, while at the same time risking their lives not to mention all of the side effects. Irish people need to make a stand against it and they need to stand with the women who are coming out against FGM from the cultures and tribes which practice it. FGM needs to be made grounds for asylum, and recognised by this state as the massive human rights abuse that it is. It is 'gender based sexual persecution' and yet our government has no problem in standing by and forcefully sending women back to their countries of origin to go through this horrifc mutilation. Therefore to say that Irish policy "is not what is wrong here" is just plain ignorant.

Oh and by the way obvious, male circumsision is done for hygiene reasons and for tradition (of course i disagree with backstreet clinics b4 u start off on one). Male circumsision is not done to make a man lose all pleasurable sensation in his genitals. It is not done to make men passive and submissive and 'faithful'. It does not pose the same health risks as Female Genital Mutilation does. And ne way why did u even mention it in de first place, it has nothing to do with Grace's case.

by redjade Mon Aug 23, 2004 18:13

''Once again I think she should stay but the root of the problem is not in Ireland.''

by root of the problem, I assume you mean patriarchy?