A GREEN Party TD and a number of women's groups yesterday called on Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan to review a deportation order made against a Nigerian woman who fears her daughters will be subjected to female genital mutilation if they are sent home.
Pamela Izevbekhai, who was arrested in Sligo more than two years ago for deportation after she came out of hiding to see her daughters, last week lost a lengthy legal battle to remain in Ireland and now faces imminent removal from the State.
She still has a chance to remain here if the Minister grants her application for "subsidiary protection", but the order remains in place nonetheless.
After presenting at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) at Burgh Quay in Dublin yesterday, Ms Izevbekhai was given a letter instructing her to appear at Balseskin Reception Centre in north Dublin at 10.30am today, "in order to facilitate your deportation from the State."
She was warned that she must reside at the centre pending her removal, and that if she failed to comply with the deportation order she could be arrested and held without warrant.
Ms Izevbekhai has argued that she has already lost a baby daughter as a result of female genital mutilation in Nigeria and fears for the lives of her other two daughters, Naomi (7) and Jemima (5), if the family is deported.
"Female genital mutilation is a form of torture which has happened to one of my children, and that's what I'm trying to protect my other children from," she said outside the GNIB yesterday.
"We're praying. My children and I are really appealing to the GNIB and the Department of Justice to give us time for the Minister to have the opportunity to look into our case. It's on the Minister's table as we speak, and we're hoping he will look at our case compassionately. We really don't know what else to do."
Green TD Ciarán Cuffe yesterday wrote to Mr Lenihan to request that he exercise his discretion "to allow Mrs Izevbekhai and her family to apply for subsidiary protection, and that you consider granting such an application."
He told The Irish Times this was a "very tragic case" and said he hoped the Minister would consider all the relevant facts. "From speaking to Pamela, I know she is terribly concerned. I think she and her daughters face a very uncertain future if they are sent back to Nigeria," he said.
A number of NGOs called on the Minister to overturn the deportation order.
The groups, including the National Women's Council, Women's Aid and the ISPCC, have written to the Minister expressing concerns for the safety of Ms Izevbekhai's daughters if they are returned to Nigeria.
Ms Izevbekhai was joined by some 20 friends at the GNIB yesterday. One supporter, Shane Donnelly from Sligo, said the family were "much loved" and well-integrated in the community. "Most people wouldn't like to see children being abused, and that's the main reason that people are so concerned," he added.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said it would not comment on an individual case.