On 25 occasions over the past 18 months, Kennedy George has packed his suitcase and headed to Dublin’s Burgh Quay to be deported from Ireland. Each time, the 21-year-old Sierra Leone soccer player has had his deportation cancelled at the last minute.
The official reason given by the Garda’s National Immigration Bureau is that his travel papers are not in order. Privately he has been told the authorities fear a human rights challenge in court if they send him back to war-ravaged Sierra Leone. ”I’ve been in limbo ever since I got the deportation order in December 2004,” he says, limbering up for football training with the multi-ethnic Dublin side, Sport Against Racism Ireland.
But now the amateur footballer is set to become the first asylum seeker in the republic to be offered deportation to a ”third country”. He and his supporters believe the offer is going to be made by the Department of Justice so it can deport George without facing accusations that they have sent him to an unsafe country.
George fled Sierra Leone after witnessing the murder of his brother, Kamala, and the rape of one of his sisters by the now disbanded Revolutionary United Front militia. In the aftermath of the RUF attack on a market in Kono, in eastern Sierra Leone, George returned home to find his father had been beaten to death. Shortly afterwards, he says, he made the decision to flee the country and ended up claiming political asylum in August 2001 after leaving an aircraft as it was refuelling at Shannon airport.
”I was 17 when I got here and I went into full-time secondary education. I got my Leaving Cert examination and made many friends in Dublin.
”The problems started when I turned 18 and was deemed an adult. The authorities tracked me down to my home in Rathmines and eventually, in December 2004, I was given a deportation order. Every few weeks I get letters to come in person to the GNIB headquarters. Every time I go there I take my suitcase with me in case this will be my last visit. And every time I turn up they tell me to go away as my papers aren’t in order.”
George was a promising footballer when he arrived in Ireland five years ago. He was soon talent-spotted by St Joseph’s, an amateur club in the Leinster League Division One. But for his limbo-like legal status in Ireland, George could now be playing semi-professional football in the Eircom League.
”In 2003 I was picked for a three-day trial at Bray Wanderers [an Eircom League side]. I wanted to become a semi-professional at the club. But they told me they couldn’t sign me because my papers weren’t in order. In just over a year I had scored 23 goals for St Joseph’s and I think Bray was keen to have me on their books.”
On 23 May, George will pack his suitcase again, leave his Rathmines home and travel by bus to the GNIB headquarters on Burgh Quay. He accepts that his native country is now a democracy and that the RUF has been destroyed as a fighting force, due in large part to British military intervention. ”My country is still very, very dangerous. I have had no contact with the remaining members of my family. I don’t know where my mother is or even if she is alive or dead. I am effectively an orphan here in Ireland, which I have made my home. One day I will go back to Sierra Leone, but not at present — I have nothing to go back to.”
George has won the support of Labour TD Eamon Gilmore and Sport Against Racism Ireland. Frank Buckley, SARI’s spokesperson, describes George’s situation as ”a total and utter” farce. ”They won’t dump him back in Sierra Leone because the authorities here say it’s not safe. Well, Ireland is a safe country. Why not keep him here where he will be safe.
”The absurdity of all this is that neither Kennedy nor SARI has been told which countries the Department of Justice are offering him. Are they in Europe? Are they in Africa? Are they in South America? It’s not only deeply unfair on a young man who has lots to offer Ireland, it’s also farcical.”
Gilmore has made several representations to the Department of Justice on George’s behalf. ”There about 150 young men and women in Ireland who are in this situation. When they came here as asylum seekers they were children who went to school in Ireland, made new friends, were building a new life. Then it seems when they turn 18 suddenly they are no longer welcome. This young man is a great talent on the football field who wants to contribute to society. He is on a sporting mentoring programme and coaches kids. But while he is in this limbo he cannot build a future. He should be allowed to stay here because he has shown his commitment to Irish society.”
The Observer made repeated requests to the Department of Justice last week asking if it could define a ”safe” country and if the practice of deporting to a third country would become more widespread, but no replies were given.
George is taking his mind off his next trip to the GNIB by preparing for a local ”world cup” tournament in Dublin, which begins at the end of May. It involves immigrants and asylum seekers from 36 countries. There aren’t enough Sierra Leone footballers for a team, so George will play in an Iranian exiles’ eleven.
Today, however, George is wearing the colours of the Northern Ireland international football team. He points to the shirt and adds: ”Maybe they should deport me to Northern Ireland as a ”safe” country. Then I can play in the league up there.” – Guardian Unlimited Â