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JRS
Ireland Statement
95th World Day of Migrants and Refugees
- 18th January 2009
In the
Pope’s Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2009,
celebrated on 18th January, he asks:
How can we fail to take
charge of all those, particularly refugees and displaced people,
who are in conditions of difficulty or hardship? How can we fail
to meet the needs of those who are de facto the weakest and most
defenceless, marked by precariousness and insecurity,
marginalized and often excluded by society?
The unspeakable horrors of
the Second World War led to the adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. Article 14.1
proclaims: “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from
persecution in other countries”. However in the light of the
recent sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of these principles,
we need to be conscious that current policies adopted by the
Irish Government and by the European Union are undermining the
right to seek asylum. More restrictive border controls and
policies are denying entry not only to those who are not
entitled to enter, but also to many who would be entitled to
asylum.
Every year hundreds of
people fleeing persecution drown on their way from Africa to
Spain or Italy. Hundreds more suffocate in sealed containers,
starve in locked trucks or are injured by landmines between
Turkey and Greece. Since 1993, there are over 8,000 documented
deaths of people trying to enter Europe. These deaths are the
consequence of a deeply divided and unequal world; they are the
consequence also of border militarisation, unfair asylum laws,
detention policies and carrier sanctions.
In Ireland in 2008
applications for asylum fell to 3,866 - about a third of the
level they were in 2002. Over four thousand people each year are
already refused permission to land and are turned away at the
border. It has been unofficially estimated that 10 per cent of
those turned away may be asylum seekers.
In these times of economic
downturn the call to reach out to refugees, migrants and asylum
seekers become more challenging. Upholding the right to seek and
enjoy asylum involves committing scarce resources to people who
are not ‘our own’. We become fearful. What if there is not
enough to go round? Will migrant workers undercut wages and take
our jobs? Will they ever leave? As the recession deepens, the
allocation of scarce resources to those seeking asylum may be
questioned and policymakers may be tempted to further restrict
access to the territory. People seeking asylum may increasingly
find there is 'no room at the inn'.
It is important and
understandable that states protect the integrity of asylum
systems. This includes measures to combat unfounded claims.
However, if the net result of restrictive measures is that
genuine asylum applicants are denied access to the territory, or
to a fair hearing, then the human costs of such a policy
approach are unacceptable.
Our perception of refugees
and migrants is often shaped by images relating to water –
‘floods’, ‘waves’ and ‘flows’. Such hydraulic metaphors conjure
a picture of vast hordes of people arriving at our shores
unbidden and looking for their seat at our table. In the face of
job losses and cutbacks, fears become more pronounced and are
given expression. The National Consultative Committee on Racism
and Interculturalism highlighted recently that the number of
reported incidents of racism had grown significantly – from 66
in 2004 to almost 200 in 2008.
The metaphors we employ to
refer to migrants and refugees serve to dehumanise them – to
strip them of their individual identities and stories. But each
person’s story is unique and each person’s circumstances are
different. Too often, however, we are not interested in hearing
these stories but instead think only of migrants and refugees as
if they were a homogeneous collective. The images we employ give
rise to fear and mistrust: it is as if refugees and migrants are
a wave that might drown us. But it is not we who are drowning.
The reality of what forces
people to leave their homes is worth remembering – conflict,
violence, persecution and poverty arising from a world system
that is not working. As the global economic crisis deepens, and
climate change impacts more and more on the sustainability of
life in poorer countries, the factors pushing people from their
homelands are likely to increase.
Remember also that richer
countries, including Ireland, assume responsibility for only a
tiny proportion of the world’s refugees: the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that of the world’s
11.4 million refugees, only 1.4 million reside in industrialised
countries. The vast majority of refugees flee to surrounding
countries, many of which are among the poorest places on the
planet.
As the Immigration,
Residence and Protection Bill 2008 returns to the Dáil for its
final consideration, there is an opportunity to reverse this
trend. Without doubt, the Bill contains provisions that should
lead to increased efficiency and be of considerable benefit to
persons seeking asylum. Nevertheless, significant concerns exist
in relation to access to the territory, border controls,
detention, judicial review, humanitarian leave to remain and the
removal process.
On the occasion of the
World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2009 policymakers would do
well to remember the lessons of sixty years ago and ensure that
in Ireland, the right of every person “to seek and enjoy asylum
from persecution”, as proclaimed in the UN Declaration, is not
watered down.
Contact information
Eugene Quinn, National Director, JRS Ireland; mobile: 086
8214888;
www.jrs.ie
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