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Christmas Is a Time of Isolation

Metro Eireann, January 2008

Sandy Hazel hears from the professionals who work and volunteer with Ireland’s asylum seekers in the direct provision system

Deo Ndakengerwa, policy and campaign officer with the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), feels that direct provision centres will never be able to offer a decent Christmas experience for residents.

“The type of accommodation that asylum seekers in Ireland receive is not conducive to any type of celebration,” he says. “There is a chance that residents would enjoy Christmas more if they were given an opportunity to join their families. This is the joy that Christmas brings to other people.

“Christmas is about families getting together and celebrating with a meal cooked together and shared. This is not generally available to direct provision residents. Instead they can experience loneliness. They may have friends or separated family in other parts of the country but with finances tight a ticket to visit is too expensive. There are also strict house rules in various centres on visitors, even for family.”

The Christmas welfare bonus to asylum seekers is not enough, according to Ndakengerwa. “This extra cash will not be used for treats; the parents especially will hold on to it for basics such as bus fares, phone calls, photocopying and school extras. Ireland and Denmark are the only two countries in the EU who will not allow asylum seekers to work. If asylum seekers were allowed to work, then they could make a contribution.”

Ndakengerwa also stresses the point about cooking and says that it is a fundamental freedom that is being denied to residents. “By refusing residents the liberty to cater for themselves it is eroding their rights,” he says. “There is a generation of children living in these centres who have never seen their parents cook. When a mother cannot prepare a meal for her child it is not good.” “Many hostels are well run and the management are receptive to people’s needs,” says Roisin Boyd of the IRC. However, she feels that an independent appeals and complaints procedure is going to be an absolute necessity in the delivery of direct provision accommodation.

“In the case where centres are run by families, it can be very difficult for a resident to have a grievance heard or acted upon,” she says. “Food which will reflect the residents’ cultures and food preparation is an important issue in hostels. If children come home from school hungry and there is no meal until 5pm then the kids are ravenous. There are restrictions on food being kept in rooms so it can be really difficult, especially for mothers with children.

“This lack of control and having a grievance procedure are issues that we at the Irish Refugee Council are working on with the government committee for rules and procedures at the moment.”

Sr Breege Keenan works with asylum seekers in Ireland through the Vincentian Refugee Centre in Dublin. “The big thing for many asylum seekers at Christmas is a time of isolation,” says Sr Keenan. “No matter what special treats are laid on for them, there is that feeling of total separation and the loneliness of not knowing how their family is coping back home. “For the best of us, Christmas can be a depressing time, but even we can go and shop, travel and meet loved ones. We have the choice. But an asylum seeker can get hit hard at Christmas time; they do not have the comfort of companionship or time spent with friends.”

Robert Habimana from Burundi is a volunteer with the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, Nasc, in Cork City. “It can be difficult to make everybody happy,” he says, “but many residents that I have spoken to have said they are satisfied. It is harder for those with kids as they do not have the freedoms or resources to give them a better time.

“The hostels cater for Christmas with special food, as they would cater for Muslims. For example, at Ramadan there is food prepared in advance for evening eating. Most of the residents at accommodation centres in Ireland do not have the privilege of cooking for themselves. It would help many residents if there was an activity planned for the day itself as then it would be a more inclusive celebration for all.

“But the biggest wish we hear is that people would like to cook for themselves. If they were then allowed to invite friends or family to their centre it would enable them to actually enjoy it as a festive occasion.”