Tomso is an Irish Citizen in Hiding - His Mom Was Deported

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday September 16, 2004 16:08 by redjade

photo and commentary by redjade (c) Background information on the situation facing Tomso, whose non-Irish mother has been deported leaving him in a vulnerable position.

Tomso, Irish Citizen

Tomso's Nigerian mother, Angel, went to the Garda Station to 'sign-on' - as she did regularly since she came to Ireland over two years ago - little did she know that the Guards had decided that her day was up.

Perhaps she received letters alerting her of her impending deportation -- perhaps not, this is not clear. Either way, she left her son, born in Ireland and therefore an Irish Citizen, with her 'sister' in the centre of Dublin until she was done with her errands for the day.

The Guards informed Angel that this was her day to be deported -- she protested that she was not informed prior and that she was without her son. The Guards did not care and put her on a plane back to Nigeria with more than a dozen others -- leaving Tomso behind.

If Angel had brought 17 month-old Tomso with her to the Garda station to sign-on, the Irish State would have deported him with his mom, just as they have regularly deported Irish Citizen children with their non-Irish parents before.

Over the next 24-48 hours the Irish media discovered Tomso's story. The first media stories reported that Tomso was a she not a he; was 7 months old not 17 (although the Guards may have been refering to another possible missing Irish Citizen child); and with his father in Ireland, even though his father is not Irish and not in Ireland.

When Angel's 'sister'-babysitter panicked and did not know what to do with a boy that was not her own after his mom did not return she contacted Residents Against Racism. In fact, two women have been taking care of Tomso since his mom's deportation -- neither of the two women are biologically related to Angel or Tomso. 'Sister' is a word that many Nigerian women use to refer to a trusted female friend -- the Irish Times mistakenly implied that Tomso is with Angel's biological sister.

RAR went to the media with the story and the Irish Star and The Sunday Times reported on Tomso's plight, and many of the original inaccuracies in the media were corrected by these stories.

It was also reported in one article that the Irish State is not concerned about Tomso's welfare because they detect no current signs of abuse. But the Irish State has had no contact with Tomso since they deported his mom. Luckily for Tomso, however, two friends ('sisters') of his mom give him loving care and thanks to them, not the Irish State, Tomso is fine for the moment.

Tomso's caregivers are Asylum Seekers themselves and could soon face deportation. If they were deported to Nigeria there is no guarantee that Tomso would be reunited with Angel (his mother) because the Irish State has had no contact with either Angel or Tomso.

Question: Can an Irish parent arbitrarily give their child to another person?

Answer: No, of course not. Parents cannot simply give their children away. At least, not without going through the proper government child welfare agencies, regulations, etc. Doing so without going through the proper procedures would itself be considered abuse of the child. Yet the Irish State is unconcerned that it knows nothing of Tomso's condition or whereabouts. See: http://www.adoptionboard.ie/adoption_law.htm

Remember, Tomso is an Irish Citizen and a minor. Perhaps it is too easy to jump to the 'Racism' accusation since the Irish State has a long history of being unconcerned about the welfare of its children.

Currently, Tomso is in good care with Angel's 'sisters', but this is not a long term solution that is best for the child. It is highly likely that these 'sisters' will be deported eventually and, as it should be obvious to all, the best place for a child is with his own mother.

These 'sisters' intend to keep their promise to to Angel to keep Tomso in his native land, where he will be safer than in Nigeria. This is at great risk to themselves and their own legal situation with the Irish State.

It would be ironic if the Irish State were to be concerned with Tomso's welfare today, since they would have deported him with his mom if they had the chance earlier. Yet, the Irish State is obligated by law to be concerned with his well being -- as much as Angel's 'sisters' are obligated to alert the Irish State of his condition and whereabouts.

Today, the Irish State is not currently looking for Tomso and the 'sisters' currently continue to hide him from the government.

Tomso's story is why Michael McDowell and the Irish State needs to 'regularise' the families of Irish Citizen children (I'm not sure if 'Amnesty' is the correct word for this situation) and allow them to stay in Ireland and live as citizens. Otherwise, there will be a long future of Tomso-like stories -- breaking up of families, missing children and possibly worse for the lives of those deported.

Presently, two women are taking care of and hiding Tomso from the Irish State so he can stay in the country of his birth, the Irish State seems unconcerned with his wellbeing, Tomso's mom is forbidden from entering Ireland again and Tomso is without his mother. Everything now seems to be a catch-22 for Tomso. Nonetheless, a Son has the right to be with his mother, no?

Tomso, and other children in his situation (and the approximately 19 other Irish Citizen kids that were recently deported) are stuck in a situation of Michael McDowell's making. If the Irish Left is to make an issue of 'Asylum' or 'Normalisation' for the families of Irish Citizen kids (who happen to have non-Irish/non-EU parents not allowed within the borders of the Republic of Ireland) it has to do so with an attitude of respect and delicacy to the involved Asylum Seekers and their complicated legal situations. It cannot be just the 'issue of the day' to adopt and forget about when the issue gets boring.

Childrens lives and families are at stake.