| From Unity, 26 May 2007 |
EditorialRefugees entitled to protection of UN conventionOn Tuesday this week a protest took place regarding the imminent extradition of a young mother and her Ulster-born child. Lordorice Djountso and her one-year-old daughter had their application for refugee status rejected, and two months ago the immigration officials took her and her daughter out of Northern Ireland and sent her first to Dungavel Deportation Centre and then to Yarls Wood detention centre, action that in itself would be traumatising. From this centre they will be deported to Cameroon. Lordorice came to Belfast in 2005 from Cameroon, where it is said that she was raped and her brothers were murdered. Since coming here she has settled in south Belfast and become part of the community. Her case was turned down by the Home Office because there was “insufficient evidence”; however, Barbara Muldoon from the Anti-Racist Network stated that “compelling evidence of harm was completely discounted by the Home Office.” The South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell, who was supporting the protest, said that he had been privy to the Home Office reply and was not optimistic about the chance of Lordorice and her daughter being able to live in peace in south Belfast. The organisers of the protest were approaching the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to intervene on behalf of Lordorice and her one-year-old daughter, Imelda, who was born in Belfast. A refugee is defined under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) as a person who, “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” Lordorice and her daughter should be protected under this convention. This comes in the same week that Margaret Hodges made a call in her own constituency regarding housing allocation, which stated that “we should look at policies where the legitimate sense of entitlement felt by the indigenous family overrides the legitimate need demonstrated by the new migrants,” thus outdoing the British National Party, which has twelve council seats in Barking and Dagenham Council. Margaret Hodges’ comments were condemned by the church, local community leaders and some Labour politicians, who said there is a points system in place that gives reasonable preferences to those most in need. They also said that the shortage of social housing and the sale of council houses was the major problem, with about 1½ million families on the council waiting list. The Refugee Council also pointed out that asylum-seekers were not entitled to council housing. However, Margaret Hodges’ comments will undoubtedly fuel racist ideas, creating myths that people pick up instantly to scapegoat others for the problems that are created by Labour housing policies. One remark that shows up the potential racism was made by Robert Jones, an unemployed ex-soldier living in a flat in the constituency with his family, who said that housing, drugs and crime are a problem and “I don’t think enough priority is given to us whites.” |
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