The Integration Centre - Connecting Communities Advancing Integration is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland. The Centre specializes in planning, monitoring and advocacy at city, local, national and international levels and provides regionalized information, advice and training services. Evidence-based research influences positive change in legislation, policy and practice. We have more than 250 affiliated organisations as part of our network.
If you would like to find out more about us or if you would like to support our work contact: Helena Clarke, Communications and Media Executive, The Integration Centre, 1st & 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street, Dublin 2, Ireland; Tel: +353 16453070; Fax: +353 1677 0061; helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie; www.integrationcentre.ie
Contents
• World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• Africa Day
• Ireland From an Immigrant Perspective
• Client Reunited with Family after 6 years
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
Saturday, 21st May was World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Louth Minority Ethnic Consortium (LMEC), in collaboration with The Integration Centre, celebrated the day at the Barbican Centre, Drogheda, County Louth.
Guest of Honour, Paul Bell, Mayor of Drogheda, presented certificates to LMEC training participants on the day.
LMEC project leader, Tinu Achioya, said “United Nations World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn how to live together better”.
Africa Day 2011
Africa Day has become an institution in Ireland. An initiative of the African Union, it falls on the 25th May each year. A weeklong series of events with African music, dance, film, history, educational activities, sport and art takes place each year between May 21st and May 29th. The week is a celebration of the diversity and potential of the African continent and it helps to raise awareness of Ireland’s many links with Africa.
This year The Integration Centre participated in a number of Africa Day events. The First was the Family Day including a five-a-side soccer tournament which took place in the Old Belvedere football and rugby club, 28a Anglesea Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.The second will take place on 25th May in Croke Park – the National Inclusion Forum which is to be co-ordinated by the GAA.
Killian Forde, CEO of The Integration Centre said, “events such as these are an important way for communities to come together and learn about each other in a fun and informative fashion. The Integration Centre is very happy to have been asked to participate in both of the above events.”
Ireland From an Immigrant Perspective
This section of our e-bulletin is dedicated to understanding immigrant perspectives of Ireland. This month we interviewed a gentleman from South-east Asia who would prefer to remain anonymous, but for the purpose of this interview will be called Aki.
Aki has refugee status and is a full-time student at Liberty College, studying to become a Computer Networking Technician. He arrived in Ireland in 2008, seeking protection from the oppressive Burmese government. Before embarking on his journey to Ireland, he was actively involved in anti-government protests and struggles for democracy in Burma.
He said, “I have mixed feelings about the integration of migrants in Ireland. The first step to integration for migrants like me is to be legally resident in Ireland. I acquired refugee status within 2 years, but I know of migrants that have been in the asylum process for more than 5 years, these people find it difficult to integrate. The English language is a major barrier for migrants from non- English speaking countries. If migrants could have access to English language supports, then integration would be easier”.
“Ireland is better than Burma in a lot of ways, particularly because of the freedom to live. I look forward to finishing my studies and might visit some Asian Countries, but certainly not Burma.”
Speaking about his home country he said “My wife is still in Burma and I am in the process of family reunification, which the Integration Centre is helping me with.”
He continued “I don’t miss home, although I often think about it and how I could help those back home. Sometimes I miss my tradition and Buddhist religion.”
“It is sometimes disturbing to be a migrant from a minority perspective. In my class in college, I am the only Burmese, and I don’t like the feeling of being a minority in another country. Gaining employment is also not easy for migrants”
Somali man reunited with wife and child after 7 years
The Integration Centre provides information clinics on a daily basis. The largest majority of our clients are refugees and asylum seekers, who understandably need help and guidance in navigating the Irish Immigration system. This month we advocated on behalf of a man that had been separated from his wife and child for several years, below is his story.
Hussein fled Somalia in 2004 and arrived in Ireland to claim asylum. He had become separated from his Somalian wife but later learned that she had been moved from a refugee camp in Ethiopia by the UNHCR and was brought to Canada as a programme refugee. In 2007 his wife, who at this point had been granted Canadian citizenship, came to Ireland to visit Hussein. When she returned to Canada she was pregnant with their child, who was subsequently born in Canada late 2007.
Hussein came to The Integration Centre for help in a process which took many years to play out. Numerous efforts were made by staff to organize an interview for him with the Canadian authorities – none were successful.
Senior Information Officer Ali Dennehy took the case in 2009. The Irish government had refused to allow Hussein travel to the UK (where the Canadian embassy is) but eventually a Canadian official agreed to fly to Dublin. The Integration Centre accompanied Hussein to an interview in the Consulate in Dublin on the 27th of April 2010. At that point he was verbally granted permission to reside in Canada.
Since then, Hussein has had to undergo medical and police checks to secure entry to Canada. Hussein flew out of Dublin on the 11th of May and has now been reunited with his wife in Canada. He is now living with her and their 3 year old daughter that he met for the first time this month.
Ali Dennehy, Senior Information Officer for The Integration Centre said “this story is a prime example of families torn apart for years on end by the asylum system in Ireland. Hussein’s wife was granted status in a fraction of the time Hussein spent in Ireland without status. Denying people the right to live their lives and be with their families should not be let continue and we are optimistic the new government both recognises and will accelerate the procedures”.