|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Press release 30th March 2009 The Let Them Stay group who have supported Pamela Izevbekhai in her struggle to gain asylum in Ireland have called again on the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to grant leave to remain in Ireland to Pamela and her two children. They issued this plea after Ms Izevbekhai discovered that some of the documents supporting the asylum application had been forged. The support group say they stand firm in their support for Pamela and her daughters and believe that the discovery that some of the documents are false does not undermine the veracity of the case. A spokesperson for the support group said: "The fact that's some of the documents were forged is entirely understandable when it emerged that Pamela's husband Tony, was unable to access the genuine documents to support the asylum case. We believe that many fathers would do what Tony did if they felt they had no other option. Our concern has always been for the safety of the girls and for Pamela in Nigeria and we continue to have those concerns. Pamela can be assured that we will stick by her until some form of protection is provided by the Irish state" The Let Them Stay group have also criticised Minister Conor Lenihan for saying that he accepted assurances from the Attorney General of Nigeria that FGM was not a significant problem in Nigeria. Nigeria's own Ministry for Women's Affairs under the Nigerian Federal government reported to the United Nations in 2008 that 32.6 % of women and girls had been subjected to FGM and that 66% of women and girls are at risk of FGM. The report to the UN further stated that the Nigerian government was not in a position to protect girls from FGM. The Let Them Stay Group have said that anyone, including a government official, who states otherwise is acting in a highly irresponsible manner. Their spokesperson said: "All international evidence and even the Nigerian government's own evidence points to the fact that there is a very high risk for girls of being subjected to FGM and that there is little or no protection for women and girls against this violent crime. It is time for the Irish government to accept the bona fides of this case and to provide protection to Naomi and Jemima by granting them and Pamela leave to remain in Ireland." "What a wonderful sentiments from Roddy Doyle on the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Humans Rights." - LetThemStay.org Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street Dublin 2 8th December 2008 Re: Pamela Izevbekhai and her daughters, Naomi and Jemima Dear Minister Ahern I'm writing to you today, two days before the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a certain amount of misgiving but also with enormous pride, because I know that it is more than likely that you will read this letter. I cherish the fact that I live in a liberal democracy, where our politicians are known to us, where we can call them by their first names without causing offence, where even their nicknames are badges of affection. I love the fact that my children are growing up in this country, a place which is a bigger version of their home - a warm, loving, funny, challenging place. I remember reading a short article by a friend of mine, Chinedu Onyejelem, in which he described how moved he was to see Bertie Ahern, still our Taoiseach at the time, walking up the steps of the church in Cabra, on his way into mass. I remember feeling great pride in my country that such a thing, our country's leader mixing with other people, was possible, and that we had organised ourselves in such a way that we could take this simple act for granted. I was watching the News on RTE one day last week, and there was an item on Pamela Izevbekhai and her daughters, a civic reception for them in Sligo. And I thought how profoundly upsetting it would be to see these three people being deported from our country, and how ashamed I would feel if this happened. I'm no expert on law and won't pretend to be, but I can think of no moral reason why Ms Izevbekhai and her children should not be allowed to stay here. I wasn't looking at precedents or statistics; I was looking at two little girls in their Sunday dresses, kicking their heels against the legs of the chairs they sat on. I saw the innocence and beauty, and the glimpse of the future, that we all love to see in children. I am a very proud citizen of Ireland but I hate to think how I will feel if I have to witness these two children being hauled out of my country and sent to a place where they might be maimed. I grew up in a house where the Proclamation of Independence was up on the wall, in the hall, and I don't know how many times I read it or parts of it. I remember once when I was a child counting the number of times the word 'children' appeared in the document. I counted four. I remember thinking that this was amazing, that a document that started with the scary, stirring phrase, 'In the name of God and the dead generations' could also include children, that a call to arms could also be a warm embrace. The Proclamations's call to arms can be consigned to history but, perhaps more than ever before, we need the warm embrace. We are moving into frightening, uncertain times, made more frightening, I think, by much of the commentary and political decisions. Our politicians, I'm afraid, have not, to date, been serving us well. I can well understand that they might feel as uncertain and as frightened about the future as many of us are being made to feel. But I can't think of any other time in my life when acts of generosity and reassurance are so vital. The decision to let Pamela Izevbekhai and her children stay would be such an act. I've never met Ms Izevbekhai and her children but they look like a warm, beautiful family and, at this point in our history, we need all the beauty we can get. Yours sincerely Veronica Cawley, Lord Mayor of Sligo City, is holding a Civic Reception in City Hall, Quay St, in honour of Pamela Izevbekhai on Thursday 4 December at 7.30pm. Veronica recognises of the huge awareness that Pamela has raised regarding the terrible practice of FGM, not only in Sligo, but worldwide. All friends and supporters of Pamela, Naomi and Jemima are welcome to come and join them for this wonderful celebration.
Updated 16/11/2008 A frightening prospect awaits Pamela from the terrifying attitude of the Department of Equality, Justice and Law Reform.Let us all hope and pray that Justice John Hedigan has not forgotten the humane sentiments he had in mind, on 16th. April 08, when he pronounced that "The child's welfare was the paramount consideration" as he gave his decision on a case involving the welfare of a child. On Tuesday, 18 November 2008, Justice John Hedigan will decide, in the High Court, whether Pamela and her 2 infant daughters, Naomi(7) and Jemima (6), can be deported by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Aherne TD, to face the threat of serious and irreparable harm to their lives. The State lawyers, on behalf of the Minister, put forward the frightening proposition that a 3 year-old piece of paper, signed by a former TD and Minister, is of far greater importance than the lives and welfare of 2 infant girls, facing the horrific prospect of FGM, if forcibly returned to Nigeria. They argued that the integrity of our asylum system would be damaged if the validity of three deportation orders were not confirmed. Surely the integrity of our asylum system would be strengthened by providing the protections sought under our Refugee legislation by the mother of 2 infant girls, to ensure their safety from serious irreversible harm. On 19 March 2008, Justice John Edwards granted Pamela a judicial review of the refusal by the Minister to consider her application for subsidiary protection. He also placed an injuction on the deportation orders, dated 25 November 2005, which were signed by a former Minister and TD, Micheal McDowell. However, due to delays by the state in allowing the judical review to be heard, the stay on the deportation orders expired on Wed., 12 November 08. This means that the state can now deport them immediately, unless another stay is granted, or if the state give an assurance that they will not pursue the orders until such time as the judicial review and other cases have been decided upon. However, the state have been postponing the hearing of this judicial review on the grounds that another case, yet to be heard by the Supreme Court, could have a bearing on Pamela's case. Furthermore, such is the importance and strength of Pamela's case that, in September 2008, Pamela's lawyers also made an application under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights to the European Court of Human Rights. The application has been accepted as being valid and on time but we also await a date on which this will be heard. Meanwhile, the state are doing their utmost to have them deported before any of the above these cases are heard. What sort of unjust and inhumane signal is our state trying to show by attempting to deport them beforehand? There are three high level court cases to be heard, one by the High Court, another by the Supreme Court and yet another by the European Court of Human Rights, before anyone knows the final outcome or outcomes. Also, bear in mind that Pamela and her 2 infant girls have now been living and settled in Sligo for almost 4 years - more than half the lifetime of Naomi(7) and Jemima(6), who only know Ireland as their home place. Can a reasonable person risk serious and irreparable harm on a mother and her 2 infants by allowing deportations to be carried out, whilst there are decisions to be made by higher courts? Would not the execution of these orders thwart the course of Natural Justice? Why does the state persist in not seeing the "elephant in the room" in the form of poor little Elizabeth, a sister of Naomi and Jemima whom they never saw, because tragically, she died of FGM when she was only 18 months old? Updated 13/11/2008 Pamela Izevbekhai is fighting for a stay to be put on the orders to deport herself and her 2 infants, Naomi(7) & Jemima(6), which were signed by the former Minister for Justice on 23 November 2005, pending the hearing of a judicial review of the refusal by the Minister for Justice to consider her case under the EU Subsidiary Protection Regulations, which were adopted by Ireland late in 2006.. On 19 March 2008, Justice John Edwards granted Pamela a judicial review of a decision made by the former Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan TD, who refused to consider their cases under new subsidiary protection regulations Justice Edwards also placed an injuction on their deportation orders until 12th Nov 2008 (last wednesday), pending a full hearing of her judicial review. However, Pamela has still not been given a definite date for the judicial review and The State are now refusing to agree to extend the stay on their deportation orders until the hearing. Justice Heddigan, The High Court, Dublin heard arguments on both sides in Wed/Thurs 12/13th Nov but decided not to give his ruling until Tuesday 18th Nov 08. We have no definite time for the ruling but a time will be given at 10am on Tuesday. Furthermore, The European Court of Human Rights have also agreed to hear
Pamela's case in Brussels but it will be some time before the case is listed.
There is also a different Supreme Court case yet to be heard on another
person but the outcome will have a bearing on Pamela's situation. Normally,
a person taking any sort of legal action will always be granted a stay on any
other proceedings, such as deportation orders, until the Court hears and finally
decides on their case. However, this basic human right is being denied to
Pamela and her 2 infants. Our State seems determined to deport them
forcibly and deny them their basic human rights. The State argues
that the other cases can still be heard even if they are deported. If they are forcibly returned to Nigeria, their country of origin, they will The current Minister for Justice, Dermot Aherne T.D is in a position We are deeply concerned for the safety of Naomi (8) and Jemima (6) Izevbekhai if they are returned to Nigeria. The two girls arrived in Ireland in January 2005 with their mother Pamela Izevbekhai. Mrs Izevbekhai's first daughter Elizabeth died on 15 July 1994, only 18 months old, after she bled to death as a result of Female Genital Mutilation. Mrs Izevbekhai and her husband had spent four years trying to protect their two younger daughters from Mr Izevbekhai's extended family who were intent on subjecting the girls to FGM. Mr Izevbekhai's parents insisted that their family honour was at stake if the girls were not circumcised. On at least three occasions, members of the extended family tried to kidnap the two girls and on the last occasion, the children's father was injured when he struggled with relatives to prevent them from taking his children. It was after this incident that Mrs Izevbekhai and her husband decided that she and the children should leave Nigeria for their own safety and they came to Ireland in January 2005 believing it to be a country that would offer their children protection from FGM. The application for asylum was turned down and after an appeal failed, a deportation order was issued. Mrs Izevbekhai's legal team sought and were granted leave to seek a judicial review of the Minister's decision, which was heard in the High Court in November 2007. The court upheld the Minister's decision and refused to allow them to appeal to the Supreme Court. Her lawyers then applied for subsidiary protection Such is the strength of her case that her legal team prepared a case as far as the European Court of Human Rights. However, if neither of these appeals is granted, Mrs Izevbekhai and her daughters face immediate deportation back to Nigeria. The courts have accepted that Mrs Izevbekhai's eldest daughter died as a result of FGM and they have never disputed the fact that there have been attempts to forcibly subject Naomi and Jemima to this cruel and inhumane practice. Third party witnesses who have provided affidavits independently verify both of these facts. Despite the strength of Mrs Izevbekhai's case and the evidence supporting her claims, the State continues in its attempts to deport her and the children to a situation where the risk of sexual and physical violence to these two small girls is clearly very high. Shane Donnelly Updated 09/04/2008 On 31 December 2003, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Act 2003 came into force in Ireland and, amongst other matters, required all organs of this State to perform their functions in a manner compatible with the ECHR. This means that decision-makers must carry out their duties in full accordance with the ECHR. In this piece I will attempt to examine how the Deptartment of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (DOJELR) have applied this important human rights legislation in dealing with the application for subsidiary protection from Pamela, Naomi and Jemima.
All concerned now await a date to be given for a full hearing in the High Court, unless the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform chooses to grant them the subsidiary protection himself. Therefore, our campaign will continue to exert pressure on the Minister to immediately grant them the protection they are seeking justly and not to await possible lengthy proceedings through the High Court.
|
Anger gives courage to tell terrible FGM truth! Missionaries Contradict Nigerian FGM Claims Amnesty Faults Ambassador's FGM Claim Yes, this practice is torture for girls FG calls on Ahern to allow Nigerian mother to stay Robinson fears on deportation threat to family Judge disqualifies himself from deportation case Student film about Pamela's court battle scoops award Link Wednesday, 10 December 2008 13:59 The European Court of Human Rights has postponed a decision on whether
or not it will hear the case of Pamela Izevbekhai. Here are some recent updates on Pamela Izevbekhai from the Civic reception
as well as radio interview. Wednesday November 19th, 2008 Izevbekhai to remain for Strasbourg case Tuesday November 18th 2008 Izevebekhai loses deportation appeal
Sligo-based Nigerian woman Pamela Izevebekhai has lost her High Court bid to prevent her deportation. Sunday November 16th, 2008 Mother makes new appeal to High Court over deportation Nigerian woman seeks to extend deportation freeze http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/nigerian-woman-seeks-to-extend-deportation-freeze-1538125.html Sunday April 06 2008 Link Family left living in limbo as suspected 'economic tourists'Having fled Nigeria to protect her daughters, Pamela finds herself in a very hostile land, writes Antonia Leslie Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters Naomi and Jemima have been in Ireland, fighting for permission to stay, for over three years now. As they have not been given refugee status and are still in a state of limbo, it is illegal for Pamela to either work or to claim social welfare. For the past three years Naomi, Jemima and Pamela had been living at Globe House refugee centre in Sligo, but after recent deportation attempts, they were moved to Dublin, to Balzeskin Reception/Deportation centre in Ballymun. Here, like in Globe House, the trio share a room and have no access to a kitchen or their own bathroom and toilet. Despite this cramped and difficult life style, Pamela has done her best to create a homely environment. As she told the court, as long as they are away from the reaches of her in-laws and their extended family, she knows the girls sleep safe in their beds at night. The room in Sligo was damp and and made Jemima's asthma worse and the three meals a day provided in the canteen, were something the girls fussed over and refused to eat. Small children are difficult eaters, as we know. Smells and familiar tastes are all important. In Sligo the girls have formed deep friendships and have integrated remarkably well into school life, despite difficult living conditions, so Sligo has become their home, with some degree of comfort and stability. For the last two weeks, in the Balzeskin Centre in Dublin, they have been climbing the thin, prefab walls with restlessness and boredom, as they have been unable to go to school. In fact, because of the current status -- that of awaiting deportation -- there is no provision for the girls' schooling in Dublin. Breaches of this condition -- or any other -- could lead to instant arrest and deportation. These conditions are read to them daily. Back in Sligo, Pamela had a tiny fridge in her room. Normally this is not allowed, but due to Jemima's medication, the state gave in and allowed Pamela to have a fridge. Because of this fridge, Pamela was able to use her weekly 38.30 to buy bread, butter and cheese for the girls. Sometimes she stretched this to include peanut-butter or pot noodles, so she could feed the girls in the room. No disrespect to the catering team in Globe house, it's just that, like I said, kids will be kids. Luckily for Pamela though, she is well-spoken, highly amusing and really good fun; it's not all gloom and doom. She is resourceful and has proved her openness, wisdom and loyalty as a friend to many a Sligo native, and not just the odd Dubliner like myself. And it because of her sociability, that she had a few Sligo kitchens that are always open to her, not only to come and eat with the family, but to come and cook a decent meal for the kids. In Sligo, after getting the kids washed, fed and delivered to school, Pamela went to school herself. She hates sitting idle, and has completed various courses, such as digital photography and web design. Pamela at one point was doing 30 hours a week voluntary work for the Sligo Leader Partnership, looking out for disadvantaged, the handicapped and the elderly. She was asked by some gardai in Sligo to join the force, if her asylum application was successful, as part of their scheme to incorporate ethnic minorities. But she says she declined, as she is too big a softy, and would be no good at arresting anyone. She'd let every one go and then there would be anarchy! Saint Pamela? No, I'm describing somebody who is highly principled, kind and a hard-worker. Back in Nigeria she was the same. She worked hard from the time she left her Irish convent school, until she left her position in a major bank to flee to Ireland. Leaving behind her pretty comfortable and spacious home, complete with house keeper, as well as her beloved husband Tony and her only son Adrian. She speaks to both all the time on the phone, yet has not been allowed to see them for the three years she has been seeking protection in Ireland. Tony, on one occasion, travelled from London, (where he visits for work contracts, for his second-hand computer parts company) to Ireland, to try and see her and the girls, but was stopped and sent back to London. Maybe Immigration thought that he would try and stay in Ireland illegally, which, even if he wanted to, he couldn't, as he has spent years building his business back in Nigeria and it would fall apart if he left for good. And besides, he would never abandon his other child, Adrian. When Elizabeth (Pamela's first-born daughter) bled to death after undergoing the ritual of female genital mutilation, Pamela, who had been harangued by Tony's family into allowing this to happen, swore that she would never have any more children. What if they were girls? How could she allow this to ever happen again? The family was big, powerful and determined and she knew it would be hard to go against them. She was already skating on thin ice, as far as they were concerned, due to her uppity non-traditional ways, such as working, and not always obeying her husband or his family. They told her she was not one of them and was nothing but a breeding cow and should shut up and put up. Tony, thank God, was not of this family-view -- he loved, cherished and respected his wife. They met in their very early 20s and it has been a real Romeo and Juliet love story ever since. Pamela is from a very different tribal culture and community in Nigeria than Tony, and she hadn't even heard of FGM before she gave birth to Elizabeth. FGM is not widely talked about, even inside the communities that practise it in Nigeria. Tony stood by his wife from the very beginning, yet made the big mistake of giving in to his family over the FGM of Elizabeth. After the child died, he cut all links with them and, four years on, he and Pamela were in serious discussion and emotional argument over whether to break the no-more-children vow. Pamela made a decision and it was this: If Tony promised her that he would protect her and any more girls that she might bear, with his life, she would have more children. Tony promised without hesitation and took that promise very seriously. When Pamela had Naomi and then two years later Jemima, her in-laws extended an olive branch and asked for a truce, with no mention of FGM at the beginning. Pamela, for Tony's sake, resumed strained relations with her them, but soon the subject of FGM came up again. When could they get the girls cut? Pamela's mother-in-law would organise the whole thing, as she did with Elizabeth, whose death, she told Pamela, was God's will. Pamela declined and voiced her outrage at the mere suggestion. This is where all the trouble began. Pamela and Tony moved house, but the in-laws soon found them. They used to gather outside the couple's home, throwing sticks and rocks up at the windows, shouting that Pamela was a prostitute and raising two little prostitutes as daughters. Then came the abduction attempts, first from the girls' creche, then from the street and, finally, breaking into the apartment that Tony and Pamela had moved to, beating up the maid and lying in wait for the kids to return from school. Luckily, the neighbours heard the ruckus and contacted Tony, who still bears scars on his face from the ensuing fight. Tony would fight to the death like any father to save his children, but it is not possible to be with then 24/7 and how many people could he fend off next time? As for the police, the Federal police do not get involved in FGM disputes, just as some European police forces used to treat domestic disputes 20 years ago. Also, Tony's father was a respected high-ranking officer in the Nigerian army. It got to the point where Tony and Pamela could not let the kids go out and play in the garden for fear of abduction. Pamela gave up her job in the bank to be at home and try and protect them. Tony eventually thought, "right, enough is enough". He contacted a trafficker and raised the money to have Pamela and the kids taken to Ireland. Illegally, I know, but who would blame him? Tony, Pamela and the kids all held visitors' visas to the UK, but Tony has a large extended family there and on a hasty decision decided, wrongly or rightly, who knows, against sending his wife and children to the UK. One of his female cousins who was born in the UK was sent back to Nigeria last summer for "a holiday" and taken by the family and "cut". There is a very big Nigerian Community in the UK. The British home office estimates that there have been up to 66,000 illegal FGMs, preformed in secret within the African community on British soil last year alone. The problem of FGM is not confined to the African Continent. Meanwhile, back here in Ireland, Pamela has another restless night, in her prefab room in Balzeskin centre, wondering what Justice Minister Brian Lenihan will decide. Wondering if she will get a sympathetic judge the next time she appears in court. Then comes the call from Tony and she forgets for a while where she is and why she is here; lost for a while in soothing sweet talk and romantic notions. She describes the burning in her heart when Tony finally hangs up. She lies there fretting, full of all the doubts that any woman would have if her husband was alone and without his wife in the marital bed for three years. If she continued this line of thought, she would drive herself crazy, so she stops and focuses on her slumbering girls. "Tony is a loyal man and devoted father," she says. But even he is cracking up under the pressure of not being able to be there for his daughters and be a flesh and blood husband to his wife. He yearns to be able to visit them from time to time, to see and touch his family. Adrian, who has grown into adolescence without his mother or his sisters, naturally wants the same. Tony, who is a proud man, feels helpless that he can't do anything to relieve their burden and the stress and strain that they continue to endure alone, in a strange and sometimes incredibly hostile land. Sunday March 23 2008 Justice can't be blind this timeThe failure to protect two Nigerian children from mutilation would be a travesty, writes Antonia Leslie I've regained my faith in the Irish justice system. For a good while during the legal battle waged on behalf of Pamela Izevbekhai and her daughters, Naomi, 7, and Jemima, 5), I thought we'd reverted back to some stone age system where evidence wasn't allowed and witness testimony could not be taken into consideration. The only evidence that the High Court could consider was that which had been available in 2005 -- when Pamela applied for asylum and was refused due, I guess, to lack of evidence. I first met Pamela in February 2006 when I was doing a story about her plight for this newspaper. I was given the birth cert and a death cert of her first-born daughter Elizabeth, who died as a result of female circumcision. I also had a copy of the medical report. I found a hospital name and phone number on all these documents, and the signature of a doctor who attended both her birth and death. The same doctor's name was on all the relevant documents. I called the number in Nigeria, a bit apprehensive as to whether it would be valid 12 years on. To my surprise, it was. The doctor was co-operative and remembered Pamela and the tragic death of Elizabeth. He said he knew the family well and said Mrs Izevbekhai senior (Pamela's mother-in-law), was determined, with the aid of some of her powerful family, to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on the girls. He corroborated Pamela's story fully and said she was at risk of reprisal for dishonouring the family. He also went on to express his opposition to FGM, which he claimed was still prevalent among 60 per cent of the population. He said it was a die-hard tradition, and, despite the opposition of the Nigerian Parliament, was still widely practised. The government could not protect people like Pamela, and neither could the police. He said the only way forward was education, and that it would take about 25 years before the practice could be stamped out. He believed that Pamela and her children would be in serious danger if returned to Nigeria. He told me that Mrs Izevbekhai senior, had come to him before and asked him to perform the procedure on other children. He had refused. Coincidentally, he said, a gentleman from the HSE in Ireland had called him the same day as I did, to verify that he was a real doctor and that his hospital existed. I asked him had anybody from immigration or the Department of Justice or anyone else from Ireland ever tried to contact him before. He said no. The doctor wrote to both myself and the HSE rep, explaining the situation about FGM in Nigeria and corroborating Pamela's personal story. He also sent affidavits to her legal team. A month later, I got a phone call from him; he was incredibly distressed. He said he had been visited by "agents of the Nigerian state" and had been directly threatened. He asked me never to contact him again and said he would deny all knowledge of Pamela if he was contacted further. Amnesty International has now taken up Pamela's case as a high priority. Last week, the Department of Justice -- in the name of the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, who is abroad -- declined to make a Subsidiary Protection Order, Pamela's apparent last chance to avoid the deportation of herself and her two daughters. But her legal team went back to court to seek another stay of execution on the deportation order. There was relief all round when Judge John Edwards found that Pamela fitted not just one of the criteria needed for a protection order, but five. I hope and pray that Mr Lenihan will take a fresh look at Pamela's case. What in the name of God has this woman done to offend the State? She's just a mum who wants to keep her children safe. Once all the evidence is looked at, I'm confident that truth will prevail. Justice will be served. The minister will come out of this looking just and equitable. Two little girls will not face almost certain mutilation and possible death. And the years of fear and uncertainty will end for their dignified and courageous mother. |
 |
 |
|
Useful articles related to FGM Wikipedia article on Female Genital Mutilation (Link) Unicef article (Link) World Health Organization article (Link) Razor's Edge - The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation (Link) A VIDEO RAZOR's EDGE A PDF document from UNICEF (www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/fgm-gb-2005.pdf) Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development Link Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development FORWARD Link |
| Contact details: |
Mr. Dermot Ahern TD, Contact us - petitionforpamela@yahoo.ie |