Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters Naomi and Jemima have been living in Sligo since January 2005. Pamela fled Nigeria for fear of persecution from her in-laws. She lost her first female child, Elizabeth, in 1994 due to female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was just 18 months old. Pamela had a second daughter, Naomi, in 2000 and a third, Jemima, in 2002.
Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters Naomi and Jemima have been living in Sligo since January 2005. Pamela fled Nigeria for fear of persecution from her in-laws. She lost her first female child, Elizabeth, in 1994 due to female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was just 18 months old. Pamela had a second daughter, Naomi, in 2000 and a third, Jemima, in 2002.
Pamela came to Ireland in 2005 after attempts were made by her husband’s extended family to forcibly remove her daughters and subject them to FGM. This is very clearly a case where there is a real danger to the lives of Pamela’s daughters, Naomi and Jemima. It appears beyond dispute that there is a strong possibility of FGM being inflicted on these girls.
On 18 November 2008, a decision was made to reactivate a deportation order for Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters. The European Court of Human Rights will consider this matter at its meeting on 9 December and has informed the Government that this family should not be deported to Nigeria before midnight on 10 December 2008.
How can we as a society permit such a thing to happen to two children who have grown up in Ireland and now consider our country to be their home? The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) is calling on Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern and Taoiseach Brian Cowen to directly intervene and quash this deportation order for good. This is a case where two children need to be protected, not just between now and 10 December but from now into the future.
Ashley Balbirnie
CEO, ISPCC
