Mosney mother and daughter appear in asylum seeker documentary tonight

Toninght (Wednesday) sees the broadcast of 'Céad Míle Fáilte', one-hour documentary that assesses the Irish welcome given to people who have arrived here to seek asylum: an exploration of the Direct Provision system as seen through the eyes of those least able to criticise it.

Céad Míle Fáilte focuses on four individuals fleeing trauma and domestic abuse, who are seeking refuge in Ireland. Through their direct experiences, viewers will acquire an acute understanding of what asylum seekers have had to face and, in the process, gain a truer perspective of the labyrinthine system known as Direct Provision.

These asylum seekers include Sedurida from Uganda, who lives with her daughter, Precious, in Mosney, and is appealing her asylum decision. Her first daughter died from FMG, and she is trying to escape that fate for Precious. She works at Keelings and studies criminology at Ballsbridge College. This docuemntary tells Sedurida's story and others who are waiting to hear about their asylum application. 

Designed in the year 2000 as a temporary, six-month solution to the growing number of applications, Direct Provision now houses over 7,000 asylum seekers in 39 accommodation centres across the Republic, including an estimated 2,000 children. Adult asylum seekers currently receive bed and board and a weekly allowance of €38.80, while children receive a rate of €29.80 per week.

Each of our contributors describes the conditions as akin to ‘living in limbo’, because of the nagging uncertainty that hangs over each of their applications. One key contributor compares the system to life in an ‘open jail’, before shaking her head in dismay: ‘Except prisoners know what their release date is.’ Some asylum seekers have been ‘in the system’ for years, and their children know no other life other than that of a compound and its canteen.

For those who are caught in this indeterminate loop, Céad Míle Fáilte reveals how their state of mind is affected, and whether living conditions have improved in the accommodation centres since the release of the McMahon Report in 2015. Notably, too, the documentary looks at the reasons why these four individuals left their countries of origin in the first place and asks what life they yearn for here in Ireland?

The key contributors in Céad Míle Fáilte come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds; and their experiences of rural and urban accommodation centres differ. Two arrived from the African continent with children, a third is hoping that, if given permission to stay, she will be able to invite her two children to join her in Ireland (four years after fleeing Zimbabwe). The documentary looks at the lengths and risks that these four people have undertaken, as well as the family members they have left behind.

It shows how difficult it is to survive on a small weekly allowance, and how long they can expect to wait before a decision on their application is made. By capturing the personal testimonies of those who remain buried in the system, hidden in plain sight, Céad Míle Fáilte asks important societal questions of our audience.

Are we benevolent, or are we too easily disposed to suspicion and enmity? This documentary shines a light on an issue that is very much in the public eye, although the actuality of it has been largely ignored. Céad Míle Fáilte draws comparisons with our own history of emigration, and the importance too of integration. It offers an insight into the plights of thousands of people: people with whom we rarely engage, but who merely wish to make a happier, safer life here.

Martin Danneels is director of the acclaimed RTE2 ‘Reality Bites’ documentaries Born Addicted and Ireland’s Sulky Racers. He recently directed the ground-breaking documentary for RTE1, Will Ireland Survive 2050? 

The TG4 documentary airs on Wednesday 12th February at 9.30pm.