Living In Ireland

Living In Ireland: Asylum Seekers Dairy: By Chris Okafor

Living In Ireland: ASYLUM SEEKERS DAIRY

Majority of non-nationals in this country are bogus asylum seekers. This used to be the words of the erstwhile Minister for Justice, Michael Mcdowell before thousands of immigrants in Ireland were given unanimous permission to remain in the state based on parentage of Irish Born Child otherwise known as (IBC).

In late 2004 when this announcement was made and subsequently implemented, a lot of these non-nationals (no apology to Irish press) particularly from Africa lived under perpetual fears. Fears that one could be deported back to his/her respective countries especially when one asylum case has failed. The fear is further confounded almost every morning when the postman arrives in your resident with a mail bearing your name. It was such scary but thank God, those dreary days are now history. I guess Beverly Sills was damn right when he say that" There are no shortcuts to any place worth going"

The Irish Government have been tremendously fair in every ramification on the ways and manners the asylum issues were dealt with in this country. People with families or rather with Irish born children were asked to look for suitable accommodation such as flats, apartments and duplexes depending on the size of their families. In addition to this, there is free medical care for all and I am sure it is only the Finance Minister, as at the time, would be in better position to tell us precisely the amount of money being spent weekly for the upkeep of these august visitors.
Soon, the once fear-stricken and homebound asylum seeker began to know their rights, privileges, benefits and entitlements due to them as parents of Irish born child.
Firstly, there were child benefit or is it mother benefit which is paid monthly to the parents of IBC in spite of the weekly magnanimities which invariably can explain why so many people became so weak such that they cannot work but prefer to do trivial courses in unrecognized schools in lieu of gainful employment.
Child Benefit has coursed a lot of problem among African families in Ireland including divorce and endless fighting among couples. They want to lay claim to this unexpected windfall. They knew what it takes to be in Ireland to enjoy these goodies which can hardly happen anywhere in modern day Europe.
Suddenly and without warning, families began to increase the number of their children as more children means more weekly allowance and more monthly child benefits. There is no more control over what we have in between our legs and the priority is more money. It certainly look like parents couldn`t train their kids anymore if this benevolence is not in place and who could have thought that asylum seeker could have immersed so much privileges where houses are being given and so much money to cater for their imminent expenses.

These persistent widespread misdemeanours were a rude shock to the government, which shows, to a large extent, a proportionate abuse of their social welfare system.
Before very long, most of them began to display some unacceptable behavioural dispositions that are completely awful and alien to most Irish people. Shoplifting, driving without insurance or road tax and fighting among couples became the order of the day.
Living In Ireland has become one of the greatest things that have ever happened to a number of non-nationals in this country because 70% of them have lived in other European countries but cannot lay a single claim to the aforementioned benefits. In facts, it is just too good to live in Ireland.
This is the only country where you see an African that takes a great pride in sleazy little jobs he does to support the families and this is apparently the kind of job that shame or personal pride would not permit him to do for all the money in their respective countries. Working in a factory or driving a taxi is the most lucrative job to be proud of in Ireland as far as non-nationals are concerned. In fact, you don`t belong as far as you are not driving a taxi or have a job in the factory and those that have all these are the big boys and big girls.

The irony is that no one would ever tell you the truth especially Nigerians that I have met. Some would tell you, they used to be a bank manager others would tell you they have worked in oil companies and some would bluntly tell you they used to be millionaires before they came to live in Ireland. Great! So if you are that rich, what exactly are you doing in here?
To many, greed and inferiority complex is one of the numerous reasons why it is so good to be here. This is basically true because countless number of them knew without being told that they couldn`t have live the way they are living if they are not in this country. They probably wouldn`t dreamt it.
Because of these greed and complex, some has resorted to engage themselves in blizzards of endless debt in order to impress the people around. How discourteous can one be? Impress? Who are you trying to impress when virtually all you have including television sets and chairs at home are on 5-6yrs finance?
Different people and different characters. And what about the profane self acclaimed men and women of God in Ireland? They are pastors that like to play God. Whenever you see them or their wives and say good morning as a way of greeting, they would turn majestically and replied" bless you" as if you wont be blessed without them proclaiming it.
While most of them are truly what they said they were, others are born crooks and thieves who use every means within the limit of their power to brainwash people for ceaseless offerings, tithes and sowing of seeds all in the name of salvations, miracles and healing. They misinterpret the Holy Bible to suit their selfish purposes.
Have you ever seen those that sees themselves as first generation African-Irish? They are here in Ireland. They are those that transform their bodies in order to be white overnight. They are the dreadlock Rasta's, tattooed men and women with earrings on both sides of their ears. The walk as if one of their legs is shorter than the other. You dare not remind these people about their country of origin because that is "BUULSHIT" .Their English is full of grammatical errors in addition to unguided utterances as they often " wanna and gonna".
Finally, let's do some examination of our conscience. Is there any qualification that you possessed that Mr B does not have to purchase that 2009 car thereby subjecting yourself to endless debt? Are you sure that this car would make you somebody from nobody that you are? Does it appreciate or depreciate? How do you cope with it in the presence of the current economic recession? Could this be a problem or promotion? I guess it is about time to rethink.
Chris Obiajulu Okafor
.....is a freelance writer and a Nigerian that lives in Ireland.

chrisokafor@myself.com

Chris Obiajulu Okafor was born in Ogwashi-Uku in Delta state of Nigeria few months before the outbreak of the protracted Nigeria civil war. He had both his primary and post primary education in Ogwashi- Uku and later studied Mass Communication in the University Of Lagos.He came to Ireland in 2002 where he is presently living with his wife and 3 children. Chris is a journalist and a creative writer that has participated in many comtemporary issues both here and in Nigeria.

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