Children at west Dublin asylum seeker accommodation witnessed friends being ‘put in the back of a black van’

Children living at an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre in west Dublin said “everyone was crying” and they were prevented from saying goodbye to their three friends who were picked up by Garda immigration officers for deportation on Wednesday morning.

Three siblings, Amira (14), Richard (12) and King (7), were among 35 people, including two other children, deported on a flight from Dublin to Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday night.

They had lived at their accommodation, provided by the IPAS in west Dublin since January 2022 with their mother and father and attended schools six Luas stops away.

On Thursday Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said returning people whose applications have been refused and who have had deportation orders issued against them is “the foundation of any modern rules-based immigration process”.

On Friday afternoon, the children’s classmates from St James’s Primary School and CBS James’s Street having arrived home, described what they witnessed on Wednesday morning.

“I was downstairs having breakfast,” says Kimberly (7). “I saw five men come into the place and they go to their room. Then I saw the girl crying. They were putting their things in the van. I feel sad now.”

Her mother, Pearl Chitatariso, was on her way home from work at 8am when she got a call from a friend getting Kimberly and other children ready for school. “They were crying. They told me their friends were being deported. The children were so hurt. They said they could not say goodbye to their friends. It was very traumatising.”

Farhiya Ali, a mother living with her four children in the centre, said: “The kids were coming down for breakfast when these five men wearing cargo pants, big jackets arrived.

“They came into the third floor, stood in front of the bedroom door, took the three kids back in and told them to pack up. We heard them say: ‘You are going to be deported’. As soon as the other children heard then they were all crying. It was such a horrific scene.

“The family were not given time to process what was going on. It was all in 15 minutes. They were put in the back of a black van. For my kids to witness that it was not good. The way the situation was handled was traumatising not only for the children but for all of us.”

She said one of her children will not come out of his room. “They think the gardaí is coming to get them next. To do that to children, that was real injustice.”

A number of the children, gathered around in their St James’s primary school uniforms on Friday, said they tried to say goodbye to Amira, Richard and King but were prevented from talking to them.

“We knew they were going to the airport,” said a girl, aged about eight. “Everyone was crying. When we tried to say goodbye the five men said we shouldn’t even talk to them. They were making them ignore us. They didn’t let us talk to them.”

Another girl said: “They were very sad. The mum was crying. They were carrying their bags. It was bad. They won’t let them in Europe again.”

Asked how the process could have been handled differently Ms Chitatariso said: “I believe they should have waited until the other kids have gone to school. Now it is something that they won’t forget. They keep on talking about it.”

Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council said: “Deporting children as they prepare for school is shocking. This is not what Ireland stands for.

“We urge the Government to work with families in these situations, explore voluntary return more thoroughly and provide support, guidance, and sufficient time – currently just five days – for people to consider this option.”

The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment.