National - Event Notice
Thursday January 01 1970

Amnesty For All

national | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice

Thursday September 09, 2004 15:41

by Unity - African Social Forum

africansocialforum at yahoo dot com

Public meeting

Hosted by the AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM
with speakers from trade union movement, Union of Students in Ireland, and special guest speaker facing deportation

Why the government should grant an:

AMNESTY FOR ALL
IMMIGRANTS
Saturday 18th September

2pm Liberty Hall, Eden Quay

The recent referendum on citizenship has created distress in immigrant communities at the negative attitudes directed toward them. Their fears were confirmed when an RTE exit poll found that 36 percent of Yes voters thought ‘the country is being exploited by immigrants’

It is now time to reverse this negative image by recognising positive contributions that immigrants have made to Irish society. A tangible way to do this would be to provide an amnesty for immigrants.

During the referendum debate, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said that ‘When the Citizenship Bill has been passed, we can address the existing people in Ireland without feeling we are creating precedents’ (Irish Times 14th June 2004).

It is now time to act.

Why an Amnesty?

There are a number of reasons why an amnesty should be granted:

Deportations are costly and traumatic. Special planes are chartered. People are forcibly removed. Children who have been brought up speaking English are suddenly uprooted from friends and a familiar environment and have to learn a new language and a new culture.

11,000 families applied for residency based on having an Irish born child. Some withdrew applications for asylum on the basis that being a parent of an Irish child would allow them to stay here.

However, are not the rights of 11,000 Irish children today being rendered ineffective because their parents can be deported? Why should one Irish citizen be forced into becoming a ward of the court, while other have a right to enjoy access to their parent.

Beyond these 11,000 families, there are many more immigrants who have been in Ireland for a number of years and have found themselves in a legal limbo. Many of these have made a major contribution to the Irish economy – whether through working legally or illegally.

However, their illegal status has rendered them open to gross exploitation. One of the major contributory factors for the Celtic Tiger was growth in labour participation rates – due, mainly, to immigrants and women joining the workforce. The number of women entering the labour force has begun to taper off since 1999 – therefore immigrants are likely a still more important role in the future.

According to the Irish Labour Market Review, the largest increase in the medium term in the Irish economy will be in services, which the labour force is set to rise by 18 percent. It is precisely in these areas, that many immigrants currently find work.

They should therefore be granted an amnesty so that they can make a full and open contribution to the Irish economy. Amnesties for immigrants have been introduced in a number of industrialised economies. In 1992, Non- EU immigrants to Portugal who had lived there for six months were granted

an amnesty. It was deigned to benefit the tens of thousands of African who had come from Portugal’s former colonies. Canada introduced an amnesty in 1973 with the approval of all parties and 39,000 people benefited from it. Most recently, a new amnesty has been announced to address the needs of the labour market. Undocumented workers are being given temporary visas and are then eligible to apply for permanent status after 2 years.

In 1986, the US government offered and amnesty. It is again currently offering anamnesty programme for the 8 to 11 million illegal immigrants. It is granting 3-year work visas to previously undocumented immigrants.

Amnesties have been offered for the simple reason they make sense. They recognise the reality that many immigrants will stay here permanently – despite the myth that they are only here as ‘guest workers.

Irish people have benefited considerably from amnesty when they were illegal immigrants. In the 1980s, Bruce Morrisson sponsored a Bill for special visas to be issued to Irish citizens. Almost 50,000 Irish – many of whom were illegal immigrants- took advantage of the Bill. It was the official policy of the Irish government to lobby for Irish illegal immigrants and to seek to have their situation regularised.

Natural justice implies the same situation should pertain here.

The Human Rights Commission and the Irish Bishops conference has already called openly for an amnesty. It is now vital that other organisations in Irish society come forward and support this call.

The African Social Forum believes that a broad coalition should be formed to support the call for an amnesty.

We would therefore like to invite as many groups and individuals as possible to attend a public meeting for a campaign for Amnesty For All.

It will take place on Saturday 18th September at 2pm in Liberty Hall, Eden Quay, Dublin.

African Social Forum:

GLADSTONE OGBONNA; LUKE CHOTO

Tel: 086-3152597

or Joe Carolan

Amnesty for All Campaign:

087 9032281

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Comments (8 of 8)

A Second Amnesty?

by Tony

Wed Sep 22, 2004 18:42

Interesting - a few points.

Not mentioned in this article is the amnesty granted before the high court case.

11,000 were granted residency on an assumption that the courts rejected - nonetheless they were allowed stay.

Now we are being asked to allow another 11,000 stay.

To put this in perspective. This would be the equivalent of an amnesty of 165,000 people in the United Kingdom. Then another 165,000 on top of that. Would British people take this lying down?

QUOTE

(The recent referendum on citizenship has created distress in immigrant communities at the negative attitudes directed toward them. Their fears were confirmed when an RTE exit poll found that 36 percent of Yes voters thought ‘the country is being exploited by immigrants’

It is now time to reverse this negative image by recognising positive contributions that immigrants have made to Irish society. A tangible way to do this would be to provide an amnesty for immigrants.)

In other words - the way to address Irish peoples anger at the mismanagment of asylum and Citizenship is to REWARD those who have abused our laws. If anyone can see the logic in this - would they please point it out to me. I am of the opinion that 11,000 people too many have ALREADY been rewarded for our stupidity and cowardice in delaying the change in our laws that Irish people supported in massive numbers.

The article goes on to discuss immigrants and immigration in post colonial countries such as Portugal. Not relevant for bloody obvious reasons.

The article discusses the contributions that immigrants can make. Again, not relevant. They entered the asylum process - noone forced them. The asylum system is for REFUGEES and NOT economic migrants.

QUOTE (Irish people have benefited considerably from amnesty when they were illegal immigrants. In the 1980s, Bruce Morrisson sponsored a Bill for special visas to be issued to Irish citizens. Almost 50,000 Irish – many of whom were illegal immigrants- took advantage of the Bill. It was the official policy of the Irish government to lobby for Irish illegal immigrants and to seek to have their situation regularised.

Natural justice implies the same situation should pertain here.)

If Ireland owes a debt to anyone so - it is America. It is absurd to maintain a co-relation between Irish migration and contemporary abuse of the asylum process in Ireland by people with no connection whatsoever - historically or otherwise, to this country.

Finally your quote:

QUOTE Deportations are costly and traumatic. Special planes are chartered. People are forcibly removed. Children who have been brought up speaking English are suddenly uprooted from friends and a familiar environment and have to learn a new language and a new culture.

All the more reason why they should be removed as quickly as possible and the strongest argument for them not being here in the first place. And - proof again - that immigration by these people to Ireland to America is incomparable to immigration from Africa (new language and a new culture.
) etc.

gerry

by TT

Wed Sep 22, 2004 17:27

Nigeria may not have a full war going on, but there is ethnic and sectarian violence going on, much of it between Muslims and Christians.
As regards Congo, Ethiopia, and Somalia, we do have refugees from those countries. I know a few of them myself and also some Nigerians. They are good, decent people trying honestly to make a new life for themselves.

Can you please explain ?

by gerry - none

Wed Sep 22, 2004 16:24

cgmurphy at gofree dot indigo dot ie

Ratoath, co. meath

0872 761 675

Can you please explain why over 60% of African so called refugees come from Nigeria, which is not a trouble 'black spot' ?

How come we do not have genuine refugees
from countries like Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia (the real trouble spots) ?

The Nigerians are only economic migrants who can afford to fly to Europe (outside Ireland - as there are no direct flights) and
then select Ireland from their a la carte menu.

No wonder we have a cynical attitude towards Nigerians.

Gerry in Dublin

an african

by concerned

Wed Sep 22, 2004 16:03

Hi I have lived in africa - Zambia and then South Africa for most of my life and think it is laughable and silly yet also sad that there is an african social forum group being set up in Ireland. As an African i know which forum i will be attending and that is the Irish Social Forum. Would people set up an American Social forum here or an Australian one? I think not. Imagine a European social forum in South africa . . .ha . . ha. ..ha. . .some people are silly

african social forum in ireland

by dunk - dub social forum working group

Mon Sep 13, 2004 15:38

fuspey at yahoo dot co dot uk

sep 18th
saturday 2.00 18th september
liberty hall
free
come and find out about issues in africa and how life is here for african people, what are their issues, stories etc
please inform people, call into food shops with flyers and ask them to inform their communities
a related system, which is already gathering momentum and a possible real way to alleviate the suffering, poverty and death in africa

World Bank Bonds Boycott

http://easa.antville.org/stories/400442/
its already supported and endorsed by the municipality of san francisco and many colleges around the world,

also a previous indymedia article about wars in africa

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=63762&search_text=africa%20war

see also south africas indymedia
http://southafrica.indymedia.org/

see you saturday
dunk

so is their agenda is to

by oh alright it's swp bash time.

Fri Sep 10, 2004 15:54

control ldealist youngsters by giving them a newspaper and answers and at the same time utterly discredit everyone?

We mustn't rule out the possibility that they're working for the Man

by Cops or stupid as hell

Fri Sep 10, 2004 15:37

This happens just too often to be down to stupidity or conflicts of personality or ideology. The SWP is controlled by State Agents, there's no other explanation for it.

Sick joke

by Badman

Fri Sep 10, 2004 15:11

Some Questions for the SWP

1. What on earth are you doing trying to set up an African Social Forum in Dublin? Surely you should try to participate in the Irish Social Forum instead?

2. Is this social forum really representative of african civil society or is it just a couple of africans in the SWP?

3. What are the problems with the current anti-deportation groups like RAR and the ex-CARR group that you won't participate in these broad groupings and feel that you have to set up yet another campaign that will inevitably be seen as a front by everybody on the left? Do you really think that this is the best way to build a campaign that can successfully oppose deportations or are you just trying to promote your own party in typical sectarian fashion?

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Comments (8 of 8)