Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ATHLONE STUDENTS WILL hold a demonstration outside the Department of Justice next week to protest the deportation of two students from the college.
Deportation orders issued to Azwidohwi David Nesengani and Fortunate Nesengani, who are from South Africa, are set to take effect on 2 September.
The couple have been in Ireland for four years and live in Lissywollen Direct Provision Centre in Athlone, Westmeath. Athlone Institute of Technology Students’ Union (AITSU) said it strongly believes David and Fortunate’s lives “will be at risk” if the deportation orders are not reversed.
Before coming to Ireland, AITSU said Fortunate had to flee Zimbabwe as a child to avoid recruitment into the Zimbabwe Liberation army.
When she married David she faced xenophobia from the community, experiencing beatings and her house being burned by a mob. David has also experienced xenophobic attacks from the community, with his house being burned. She suffered a broken leg due to these attacks and could not get treatment for this injury until she came to Ireland.
The student union said David previously worked as a community liaison officer in South Africa and “he fears he will lose his life from political party members if returned”.
AITSU also expressed concern about sending the couple back to South Africa during the pandemic. Last week South Africa’s coronavirus case numbers passed 500,000, representing more than 50% of all reported cases in Africa’s 54 countries.
“We truly believe to follow through with these deportation orders is signing the death warrant on our two students’ lives,” the union said.
David is a second-year student studying BA Applied Social Studies in Social Care in AIT, after passing first year in the institute with high marks. He previously completed studies at Moate Business school in 2017 and 2018.
AITSU said he has dedicated much of his time in contributing to community initiatives and volunteering with non-profit organisations.
Fortunate Nesengani is an access student who has come through AIT on the Sanctuary scheme, which grants scholarships to refugees. She has also completed further studies at Moate Business School and is an active member of the church Sunday school.
Throughout the pandemic Fortunate has been making masks for the other residents at their direct provision centre.
President of AIT Students’ Union Áine Daly said described the couple as “two bright, extremely compassionate individuals who have given so much to our community and have so much more to give”.
She made an appeal to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who students have also written to about the case: “Please do not take this opportunity away from them. As College of Sanctuary students, protection must be available to them to continue with their education and to have the privilege of sustainability of life.
“They are two members of the AIT community and these orders have us heartbroken, Please Minister Helen McEntee revoke these orders, let David and Fortunate continue to be active members of our community and continue in their education. Please let them stay.”
The protest will take place outside the Department of Justice in Dublin on 18 August. AITSU said strict social distancing will be observed and there will be limited capacity for attendance.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
That may be true but you can’t have students deciding the immigration status of anyone. There are appointed government officials who do that. Cant be reversing every ruling cause people protest. Imo it sounds like they should stay but it shouldn’t be reversed cause people feel it’s unjust if so the whole system is pointless. There will always be people who will say “let them stay, that’s a terrible decision”
” Students’ Union (AITSU) said it strongly believes David and Fortunate’s lives “will be at risk” if the deportation orders are not reversed.”
OK, but what does the Department of Justice say? Maybe they know more than you do…
@Tony Garcia: exactly, there are trained professionals who are doing there job and it’s South Africa not a war torn area or a repressive country. System will breakdown if you just say ok never mind stay in Ireland cause people are giving out and protesting.
@Mark Dit: Let’s not forget that there are trained professionals who have access to all the facts, information and documentation about the case…
@Tony Garcia: not true. I worked in the Department of Justice. They don’t know/believe/care about what might happen these people. They let them build lives here and then snatch that away from them. How is that fair?
@Jen: Sorry, you are right, they are all Nazis over there…
@Tony Garcia: God forbid someone would want to have a discussion with you, like an adult. I hope you never find yourself in a similar position.
@Tony Garcia: what from a free democratic country ?
@Tony Garcia: your Republican view points offend me. Also anyone who goes around social media with that profile pic should know (consdering the amount of times those 1st and 2nd amendment rights are mentioned around the world daily) that we have similar constitutional rights here so the students can protest for what they believe are rights. I don’t personally agree with their protest but it is their right so if you get so easily offended by that protest then I think you know where I’m going to tell you to go.
@Tony Garcia: You’re a guess here as well. Never forget that.
@Mark Dit: you obviously never had any dealings with Dept of Justice and Equality officials..they are not “trained professionals” at all.. They are civil servants.
I’ve lived and travelled all over Southern Africa, I’ve never known any people lose their lives or murdered because of their political beliefs ( post apartheid of course) . Its a fully democratic country and elections are very open and well run. I think the South African embassy would quickly clear up all of this.
@Philip Siggins: 100s of Zimbabwen immigrants were lynched in South Africa by mobs of xenophobic rioters over the last decade, the south African government has to sent in troops to protect immigrants when it gets bad. Immigrants murdered, their shops and houses burnt to the ground. South Africa can be very xenophobic and violent at times, riots keep breaking out.. A combination of high unemployment and poverty and an easy excuse, sometimes by politicians themselves, to divert attention away from domestic political failures, and blame a foreign scapegoat.
How did you not know this!?
2008 – https://youtu.be/-aw7Jt5KPFg and last year – https://youtu.be/vDqcUbQ3YvI
A lot of the Zimbabwen immigrants feld Zimbabwe because its a dictatorship, they are often supporters of the wrong political group.
@Philip Siggins: I have heard some stories like that from South Africa…Many more in Zimbabwe. In reality it was the whites and farmers who were under threat. Look what happened the Zimbabwean economy! Hyper inflation. Government are now begging white farmers to return.
@Philip Siggins: I think you’re misinformed Philip!
@Robbie “In reality it was the whites and farmers who were under threat.”
And 20,000 – 30,000 mainly black Zimbabweans were killed in the Gukurahundi killings when Mugabe ordered his militants to attack and kill the opposition. Many Zimbabweans fled the country then and started new lives in South Africa, where they are now attacked and killed by xenophobic rioters, the last outbreak of violence was in Sept 2019
“I will be Hitler of the Times. I’m am still the Hitler of the Times” – Mugabe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz9hevsb2Ao
Hopefully now hat he is dead things will improve.
@Fergus Lynch: no YOU haven’t a clue.. why don’t you look at all the white farmers being murdered in Sth africa right now. But if a white farmer came here and claimed asylum they would not be entertained.
@David Jordan: I don’t doubt that violence at all. I remember the beatings even Morgan Tsvangarai got from the ruling party. Mugabe ruled with an iron fist within a so called democracy.
However..the land reclamation and subsequent redistribution against a dwindling white population of farmers was horrific. Approximately one third of the farmers left. Year after year it got worse until the Government now are actively begging them to come back.
@David Jordan: if that’s the case as a refugee why not travel to a very peaceful country like Botswana, Namibia, or Lesotho. For your information xenophobia is rampant in many African countries, SA is not unique in that aspect. Riots are very infrequent and xenophobia is just one of many gripes the people have with government. No country is perfect but if I choose to go there when there are many alternatives I have to live the consequences.
@Fergus Lynch: Fortunately I don’t have to reference Wikipaedia for information. Most of these political assassinations are in party fighting, a power struggle mostly happened around 94. Its totally different set up now and funny the article is very light on information regarding which party they associate with. They don’t across as high profile political characters that would warden been assassinated
There is a government Department that deals with these cases.we cannot have a student’s union making decisions about immigration. If the law in this country says that they have to go so be it.we cannot support our own not alone people who should not be here
We would never have these cases if the application process was sped up and people were either granted asylum if genuine or deported as soon as possible if bogus. No endless appeals slowing up the system and extra profit for direct provision owners. Maybe some amnesty could be given for people already years in the system due to our governments incompetence but it should be fixed immediately before we inevitably have more cases like this.
South Africa is a first world country. Why are we accepting asylum seekers from there? We’d not accept asylum seekers from the US or Canada. Its no different.
@Ciara Ní Mhurchú: 100s of Zimbabwean immigrants were lynched in South Africa by mobs of xenophobic rioters over the last decade, the South African government has to send in troops to protect them when ever it gets bad. Last year 12 immigrants were murdered in anti immigrant riots in Johannesburg, their shops and houses burnt to the ground.
2008 – https://youtu.be/-aw7Jt5KPFg and last year – https://youtu.be/vDqcUbQ3YvI
20,000 Zimbabweans were killed in the Gukurahundi killings when Mugabe ordered his militants to attack and kill the opposition. Many Zimbabweans fled the country then and started new lives in South Africa, many gained SA citizenship, but that does not stop rioters attacking them every few months.
So it is credible they feel unsafe.
I should also point out that 82% of of Zimbabwean asylum seeker claims were rejected up to 2018. There were 443 Zimbabwean asylum seekers in Ireland at the end of 2019.
@David Jordan: Thats an issue the South African government need to deal with. There are Irish people in fear of being murdered by fmdrug gangs here. They can’t claim asylum in South Africa or the US etc. Its an issue governments must deal with.
Whose paying for all this quality education
Like clockwork every time people have been denied asylum and are about to be deported up will go the petitions demanding more reviews of their case, the same people who complain about how slow the system is yet refuse to accept any outcome they disagree with
They are here to better themselves and better their lives and they should be no problem with that.
@Craic_a_tower: Whats the point in having a system in place for asylum seekers were if the application is denied they just keep on prolonging it through endless appeals. In this article, its not clear if the 2 are from Zimbabwe or just the woman. Is he from South Africa? That’s probably why the asylum application failed!
@Craic_a_tower: As we usually at odds, i have to say I agree with you
Enforce the Dublin Agreement.
I’m sorry but there is no threat to them in Sth africa. Apart from perhaps the corona virus. There are no wars , their government is democratically elected.
@Patricia O’Reilly: Can’t speak for them personally but South Africa is an exceptionally dangerous country. I believe it recently surpassed DRC as the ‘rape capital of the world.’ It might even be one of those countries DJT alluded to as ‘excrement openings’
Worked in system for years, very few genuine refugees rock up here, economic migrants . I’m sure these are good people , but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Of course if our system was efficient , there would be little gravy for our friends in the legal profession and that’s what it’s all about
There are 7000 asylum seekers in direct provision if everyone of them gets a house at a cost of approximately €200,000 it will cost billions to look after them.Look at the trouble in Balbriggan at the moment with housed Asylum seekers
Ireland is not a country of unreasonably people. We pay people to run our emigration system. We trust that each emigration official gives a fair and partial decision. Decisions made must count for something otherwise even our broken system takes another hit. No Irish official in my option would send another human being into danger.
David and Fortunate look fit and happy after 4 years in direct provision. With a September 2 deadline only three weeks away only ministerial intervention will override this emigration order. All civil servants are on annual leave so protesting outside empty government offices during a pandemic is pointless.
Only FFG Minister Helen McEntee can save this couple. Overriding work done for 4 years by emigration staff. Its a tough choice. I hope her decision is guided by Christian charity and Irish values.
@leartius: You need to learn the difference between immigration and emigration.
All civil servants are on annual leave?? Since when?
@leartius: You do realise the regular civil service don’t get six weeks off in the summer like the TD’s? I don’t think we would be reading about or discussing the case if the students were not going to protest, so I’d say it will still be as effective as it ever would be!
They will be able to use their great skills acquired at great cost for the benefit of their people back in sunny South Africa one of the worlds most in inclusive states, according to the flag anyway as long as you are not a white farmer, and the ANC will welcome them home with open arms,Beautiful story.
Fortunate is a college friend and class mate in the previous academic year. They will add so much to irish society. Earning degrees to better themselves and to work in ireland. Fortunate wants to be a nurse and David a social worker. But yet we allow others to come and sponge from the state. To Rob and steal. But deport a potential social worker and nurse. Absolutely ridiculous!!!
have your say