Previous Newsletters

November & December 2011, including Our Year in Review

October 2011

September 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011 

February 2011

January 2011

Nasc is the Irish word for link. Nasc is an independent organisation that works to link migrants to their rights. We reunite families and rebuild lives, we work with communities and we campaign for change. Find out more by visiting www.nascireland.org, and keep in touch between newsletters by “liking” Nasc Irish Immigrant Support Centre on Facebook or by following us on Twitter @NascIreland.

1. Guidelines on access to social housing for immigrants changed following public campaign.

2. February 21st to see launch of report showing immigrant residents face routine discrimination when accessing social protection.

3. Celebrating the reunification of seven families so far this year.

4. "I might as well be sent to the moon": Aleksandra's story.

5. High Court intervenes in case of man jailed for failure to possess a passport.

6. "A racist crime driven by hatred": Remembering Stephen Lawrence, and a petition for the recognition of racist crimes in Ireland.

7. Catherine McGuinness to chair public meeting in Cork about becoming a citizen of Ireland.

My name is Aleksandra. I was born in Latvia. Although Latvia is in the EU now, I am not a citizen of the EU. That’s because my family is part of a Russian-speaking minority that are not Latvian citizens. Even though I have a Latvian passport I am not a citizen of any country. In other words, I’m stateless. I have sat my Junior and Leaving Cert in Ireland, where I have learned English, French and a bit of Irish, however I can’t speak or write Latvian. I believe that each person should be from somewhere. I feel that I am from Ireland.

My mother came to Ireland January 2001 to work by a contract in Ireland, in a company which has now shut down. She worked there until July 2009, when she suffered a minor stroke. She is still recovering from that stroke.

I came to Ireland to join my mum in 2003, at the age of nine. I started forth class in the local primary school, and then I continued my pathway to Secondary School and completed my Leaving Cert there. Now I want to progress to third-level institutions as I personally believe that education is very important in life and also for gaining success in life.

Before I turned 18, I asked to be granted long term residency (which is called “Stamp 4”), so that I would be able to work and study just like all my friends when I finished school. I was told that I was not eligible because the kind of residency permissions I have had since I came to Ireland didn’t qualify me for long term residency. I was told that I would have to apply for a work permit to be allowed to work in Ireland. That was impossible, in the end. I could apply for a special “dependent work permit”, which is free, but you have to fill in forms and documents in order to apply, and that scared the employers I knew – there was just too much paper work.

I sat my Leaving Cert last June. I was so disappointed that I could not go to college, because the kind of residency permission I had been granted (called “Stamp 2A”) obliged me to pay college fees, and it didn’t allow me to work or to apply for any grants. I was offered a place in UCC and was able to defer it for a year.

Instead, I asked to transfer a different kind of permission, which would allow me to study, and to work 20 hours a week. In order to change to that kind of permission (called “Stamp 2”), I was required to attend a full-time third-level institution under the International Student Scheme. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that because I wasn’t allowed to work and save for the fees. I didn’t know what to do, so in June, I got some help from Nasc. They helped me to write a letter explaining my dilemma, and asking (for the third time) for a Stamp 4.

I enrolled in a Business Secretarial course in a local school. I was allowed to do that with my Stamp 2A, and I hoped that I would be able to make changes to my status during that time. This would open all opportunities in front of me. I also wanted to work part time and save money to go to college in Cork, but unfortunately, 2011 passed and I was still not able to work at all.

I wondered what will happen to me, what I’ll do, where I will go. I hold an alien’s passport and I wondered does that mean I’ll get sent back to Latvia. I might as well be sent to the moon, as we have nothing there and nowhere to live in Latvia. Most of my life I have lived in Ireland; this is my home. I was just born and lived in Latvia till the age of six with my mother, but as my mother got a job offer in Ireland, she left and I moved to Lithuania to live with my grandparents. I went to school there for three years until my mother could get me a visa for me to come and join her. Now my grandmother is not even alive anymore.

I personally fell in love with this country, people, and beautiful scenery. I love taking photographs of Irish nature. For my mini-company project in school, my product was a DVD slideshow of Bantry’s scenery with music. If I had a chance I would open a gallery with all my photographs. The first time in my life when I saw mountains was when I arrived to Ireland. I was so fascinated and now I cannot live without them.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened the post on the 10th of January. Inside was a letter from the Immigration authorities saying that I could have a Stamp 4! This means that I can start to work, and to save, and I will hopefully be able to take up my place in UCC next year. Eventually, I hope, I will be able to become an Irish citizen.

5. High Court intervenes in case of man jailed for failure to possess a passport.

We recently posted information about the requirement for immigrants to carry identity documents in the Help & Information section our website. Under Section 12 of the Immigration Act of 2004, as amended, any person who appears not to be European is required to present a passport to An Garda Síochána on request. Many people are concerned that this law requires the Gardaí to treat people differently depending on their appearance – what is called “ethnic profiling.” Ethnic profiling is a reality in Ireland; Irish people who don’t look European have been arrested because they couldn’t identify themselves on the spot. Likewise, studies have shown that black people are more likely to be questioned by An Garda Síochána than others.

Last March, the High Court ruled that Section 12 was unconstitutional; not because it requires ethnic profiling, but because it did not provide for the courts to consider a person’s reasonable explanation as to why they do not possess a passport. This meant that refugees or others who were genuinely unable to get a passport from the country from which they had fled could find themselves behind bars as a result.

The law was amended in August, and it now provides for that someone who has been arrested because he or she can’t produce the required documentation can defend themselves by offering a reasonable explanation. Our last article noted that “It will be up to the District Court Judges to decide what might constitute someone’s having “reasonable cause for not complying with the requirements.””

The Sunday Independent reported on the 22nd of January about the case of an Algerian asylum-seeker who was unable to get a passport from his country of origin ("Asylum-seeker is released from indefinite detention"). The man was arrested under Section 12, and brought before the District Court. The judge refused to accept his guilty plea (or indeed, his defence of "reasonable cause") on the basis that his identity was not known. He was remanded in custody again, in a cycle that was to repeat itself several times over the course of two months. The man was eventually released unconditionally by the High Court, on the basis that he would otherwise be subject to indefinite detention, contrary to the Irish constitution.

If you have ever been arrested or questioned by a member of An Garda Síochána on what you believe was the basis of your appearance, or if you have found yourself in custody for not having a passport, we would love to hear from you (email clairemccarthy@nascireland.org).

6. “A racist crime driven by hatred”: Remembering Stephen Lawrence, and a petition for the recognition of racist crimes in Ireland

Stephen Lawrence was a black British teenager from south east London, who was murdered by a racist gang while waiting for a bus on the evening of 22 April 1993. Some seventeen years later, two of his murders were recently convicted and received “life sentences” of 14 and 15 years respectively.

Mr. Justice Treacy, who had to sentence the men under the laws that applied at the times that the murder was committed, commented that “in modern times, an adult committing a crime like this would be facing a life sentence with a starting point for a minimum term of around thirty years.” This is because the criminal law in the UK has been reformed over the years, to allow for much higher sentencing for crimes that are motivated by racism. The judge went on to note that, “[t]he gravity of this case is, in my view, of a different order from, for example, a murder committed by one individual upon another as a result of some sudden quarrel…it was a racist crime driven by hatred…The high level of public interest in this case is at least in part a reflection of the abhorrence felt by right-thinking people at the nature of this crime. This, too, should be reflected in the sentence.”

There is currently no provision within Irish legislation to deal with racist crime. It is at the discretion of judges to consider racist motive as a factor when determining a sentence in a case; these cases are treated like any other case. Making racism a crime sends the message that racism is not acceptable in Irish society and secures justice for victims.

If, like us, you believe that the Irish Government should take immediate steps to reform the prosecution and sentencing of crime with a racist motivation in Ireland, please sign the Irish Network Against Racism’s petition, which you will find at www.enarireland.ie.

7. Catherine McGuinness to chair public meeting in Cork about becoming a citizen of Ireland.

In May 2011, Nasc and the Immigrant Council of Ireland launched a joint report called “Living in Limbo: Migrants’ experiences of applying for naturalisation in Ireland.”

“The report details the process of becoming an Irish citizen, compares the process here with those in other countries and details the experiences of migrants who have applied to become Irish citizens. For those who are unaware of how Ireland treats migrants applying to become citizens, those experiences may sometimes appear inexplicable. While other countries encourage migrants to become citizens in order to share those countries’ values, Ireland could be seen to be using the process and its injustices as a way to prevent people becoming citizens.” (From the Foreword by Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy)

Since that time, the Minister for Justice & Equality has initiated changes designed to speed up the process – a valuable first step in the right direction. However, many of the concerns described in the report remain very real. The High Court recently issued a judgment in compelling the Minister to administer decisions on delayed applications for naturalisation. The plaintiff had been waiting for a response to his application for naturalisation since 2008.

We are delighted that former High Court judge and member of the Law Reform Commission, and recent appointee to the President’s Council of State, Ms. Catherine McGuinness, has agreed to chair a public meeting relaunching the report in Cork, on the 13th of March next. We see this is an opportune time to reassess the findings of the report, and to continue to explore the question of how our society should respond to the challenge of fully including its newest members.

If you would like us to include an item in our next newsletter, please email clairemccarthy@nascireland.org.