05.09.2017
‘I Promise I will Not be a Foreigner in my Next Life’ – Moving Direct Provision Speaker Series Begins
A highly significant new speaker series got underway in Christ Church Cathedral yesterday evening (Monday September 4). ‘What’s the Story? Lives in Direct Provision’ enabled four people to tell their moving and personal stories of their experiences of living within the Irish Direct Provision System.
A large crowd gathered in the cathedral’s Music Room to hear tales of isolation, fear of being moved to another centre and anger at the asylum system. But there were also words of hope, opportunities grasped and friendships formed. The cathedral is offering the chance to hear more of these important stories on the coming two Mondays (September 11 and September 18) at 6.30 pm.
Introducing the evening, the cathedral’s Dean’s Vicar, the Revd Abigail Sines, said the aim of the series was to give people who don’t normally have the opportunity to share their stories a space to speak about their lives. The themes of the talks centred on family, home and time.
Marie Claire Mundinjong is from Cameroon and has been living in Ireland for three years. She spoke about the difficulties in creating a sense of home when living in Direct Provision. She is currently living in Mosney, the fourth place she has lived here.
Living in Direct Provision means having no autonomy and no choice, no sense of permanence and no idea where she will be moved to next, she said. “Home for me will be a place where you can feel secure and free to make decisions in a state of wellness and physical wellbeing and be able to enjoy life… and to reflect our own values, identity, beliefs and cultural identity and the history of a generation,” she explained.
It was not possible to create a sense of home in the Direct Provision system, she said. The lack of a permanent address means that people cannot access some services and children feel embarrassed and ashamed. “If you don’t have a permanent address, you don’t belong to any community,” Marie Claire explained.
Zuhur Muse is from Somalia but was born in the United Arab Emirates. Aged 22, she came to Ireland alone and has been living here for 18 months. She has lived in three centres so far. She talked on the issue of time.
She felt she was losing track of time. “I didn’t feel I was doing something meaningful. I felt I had lost time. I had lost the meaning of life,” she explained. “I have a fear of getting to know people. Without family, it was a tough challenge. For a girl with a hijab it was a challenge.”
Things changed for Zuhur when someone advised her to take a course with City of Sanctuary and she took part in the MELLIE (Migrant English Language, Literacy and Intercultural Education) Programme in DCU. She is also studying at Dun Laoghaire Community Training Centre.
“I’m using my time meaningfully now. There is one thing I realised – time is a very scary thing. I’m only 22 but it didn’t feel like I’m enjoying my life… I will try everything now. If anyone tells me to try something, I say yes. I say yes to everything before I know what it is. I can use my time wisely,” she said.
Taqwa Alhariry from Syria has been in Ireland with her mother and two of her sisters for nine months. She said Ireland was like a dream for her. She had heard about it from a friend five years ago but knew nothing about the country.
Her journey to Ireland was long. They walked from Syria to Turkey where she lived for 13 months. They were among about 50 people who crossed from Turkey to Greece in a small boat. The journey took three hours and she spoke of her fear of being “swallowed by the sea”. After nine months in Greece she got a call to say that the Irish embassy had accepted them. “We were so happy to come to a country that speaks English. We were frightened to go to Germany or France because we don’t speak the language,” she said.
She has five sisters and one brother altogether but they couldn’t move together. She said she is so happy here and hopes the rest of her family can join them. Her dream for the future is to become a journalist. “I like reading and writing. I see what is happening in this world, particularly after what happened in Syria. Living in Turkey and Greece I heard a lot about Syria… I have heard so many stories. Some people didn’t make it from Turkey to Greece. Many drowned in the sea. I’m so happy we reached safety. I’ve met journalists and they advised me to sit and write it down. I feel I have to tell all the world what happened with people from Syria,” she said adding her thanks to the Irish people and Government.
Christiania Obaro is originally from Nigeria and has been here for three years and eight months. She now lives and Mosney. She brought the talks to an emotional close with her poem on the theme of time. In it she reflected on the idea that time was passing her by. She had been living in a troubled world of hatred, discrimination and violence and was now in a world populated by lawyers and officials which she often couldn’t understand, she wrote.
‘”I promise I will not be a foreigner in my next life. I promise to be born Irish,” she said in her poem, which left many present close to tears.
Later Christiana explained the effects of living in Direct Provision on children. She volunteers with a Foroige Club in Mosney and said the children fear that their school friends will find out that they live in Mosney and “eat free food” and then be treated differently. She said the children carry a lot in their hearts.
The opening night of the series was celebrated with food provided by Ellie Kisyombe and Our Table whose goal is to facilitate change in the Direct Provision system through conversation over food.
Admission to the talks in Christ Church is free but donations are invited to Dublin & Glendalough’s Refugee Accommodation Project which is coordinated by the Irish Refugee Project and provides transitional housing and support programmes for those exiting Direct Provision.