Opinions?

road_high

What do people think of this story? Reminds somewhat of Kunle from Dublin:rolleyes: .Somehow my sympathy is pretty lacking reading this story...
Guess I would have to hear more about the circumstances of his refugee status before I can reserve final judgement though, but this country ain't a charity shop either.
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http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=2594&ArticleID=1828794
Love-starved man goes on hunger strike
A REFUGEE desperate to bring his wife to Kilkenny is spending his fourth day on hunger strike.
Ameen Banko is Kurdish and is from Syria and has been living in Ireland for almost four years. He has been granted refugee status and is trying to bring his new love Nerrin to Ireland. Ameen married the 23-year-old by post in May and has met her twice in Turkey.
"She is my wife and I love her very much. All I am looking for is a decision. I cannot go back to Syria because the political situation is too volatile and I would be in danger. I applied to bring my wife Nerrin here under the family reunification scheme last August but I am still waiting for a response from the Department of Justice.
"I really want to know how long it will take to bring my wife here. Will it be ten years or twenty years. I can't wait any longer. I need the department to make a decision and I feel that I am being forced into making a protest.
"I haven't eaten any food since Sunday morning and I am not going to eat again until I get a decision from the Department. If anything happens to me it is their fault. I am feeling tired and hungry and weak but I'm not going to eat until I find out my wife's future," he added.
Director of Dochas in Kilkenny, Father Willie Purcell told the Kilkenny People that he would have grave concern for Ameen if he continued his hunger strike. "I have advised him to come off it for health reasons. Physically he is okay but for as long as he continues it I will have grave concern for him.
"He is currently on a list and ultimately it is up to the Minister of Justice, Michael McDowell to make a decision on the case. It is difficult for us to understand where he is coming from when we have easy access to our families. Ameen is just waiting at the moment as he is in a limbo type process."
A department spokesperson said that he would not comment on individual cases and added that each case is treated on its own merits. However the average waiting time is between 18 and 24 months. It is understood that the department did not receive the application in question until last February.

JohnMc1

I hope the Dept of Justice doesn't cave because if they do you it will create a huge problem. Can they be considered legally married if they did it by post?

Nightwish

If he loves her so much why doesnt he stay with her in Turkey?

JohnMc1

Nightwish wrote:

If he loves her so much why doesnt he stay with her in Turkey?

Maybe because he wouldn't be able to draw Irish welfare if he left.

road_high

Apparently he married her while was here (by proxy or something) according to KCLR! So I don't see why the hell the Dept should give an inch; it's not like he married her before he came. Madness in my opinion..

JohnMc1

mfitzy wrote:

Apparently he married her while was here (by proxy or something) according to KCLR! So I don't see why the hell the Dept should give an inch; it's not like he married her before he came. Madness in my opinion..

He married her by mail i believe. They shouldn't cave in otherwise it would set a precedent. He wants to be with her so bad he can leave. They shouldn't let her in so they can procreate every 9 months and drain the economy like what goes on in the US. Unfortunately Europe can be very liberal so I wouldn't be surprised if they cave.

Hmm_Messiah

some of the posts here suggest only too well that bigotry is alive and well. I guess its ok to joke about this man's situation, it's not like we know him or anything. He's not one of us.

But I at least can appreciate his concern - which seems to be more with the red tape bureaucracy that Irish institutions love. I am familiar with it in a much different guise - trying ( unsuccessfully) to get my housebound mum the "household benefits", or a home help etc etc.

I've not resorted to protesting by hungerstrike, but I see any person who does, even if ill-advised, as having courage in their convictions.

Wanting your wife close to you does not seem such a foreign notion.
Wanting any person close to share your life with seems to me a reasonable human desire.

The circumstances of the marriage seem strange, but my brain can allow a little for cultural difference, and for difficulties of being a refugeee that I might not really understand. Marriage by proxy is a common enugh thing (its allowed in catholic marriages for example)

Telling him to go to Turkey to be with her actually reminded me of when Irish women were told they had no authority over their own bodies and if they wanted abortions to " go to England".

I can't imagine any person here feeling they have a right to something (and one enshrined in international code) but being told to go elsewhere would find any solace is such a dismissal of their worth.

I dunno if his wife is entitled to come live with him, thats for the Dept of Justice. I hope though I might empathise with any one who is frustrated by how "the system" treats people sometimes.

JohnMc1

Hmm_Messiah wrote:

some of the posts here suggest only too well that bigotry is alive and well. I guess its ok to joke about this man's situation, it's not like we know him or anything. He's not one of us.

But I at least can appreciate his concern - which seems to be more with the red tape bureaucracy that Irish institutions love. I am familiar with it in a much different guise - trying ( unsuccessfully) to get my housebound mum the "household benefits", or a home help etc etc.

I've not resorted to protesting by hungerstrike, but I see any person who does, even if ill-advised, as having courage in their convictions.

Wanting your wife close to you does not seem such a foreign notion.
Wanting any person close to share your life with seems to me a reasonable human desire.

The circumstances of the marriage seem strange, but my brain can allow a little for cultural difference, and for difficulties of being a refugeee that I might not really understand. Marriage by proxy is a common enugh thing (its allowed in catholic marriages for example)

Telling him to go to Turkey to be with her actually reminded me of when Irish women were told they had no authority over their own bodies and if they wanted abortions to " go to England".

I can't imagine any person here feeling they have a right to something (and one enshrined in international code) but being told to go elsewhere would find any solace is such a dismissal of their worth.

I dunno if his wife is entitled to come live with him, thats for the Dept of Justice. I hope though I might empathise with any one who is frustrated by how "the system" treats people sometimes.

First off your an asshole for trying to use the race card. Second he married her knowing his situation. He's in Ireland She's in Turkey. This is not uncommon where the husband will go to a place that is economically better off works, saves his money and brings his wife over later. My dad this with my mom in the US. Only he worked and they had an actual wedding ceremony. Is he working or on welfare? The article would indicate welfare which would mean his mean his wife would be drawing it and if they had kids they would be getting more [for each kid] and citizens taxes would up. See a problem yet?
I don't think there is a person alive today that can say they haven't problems with their government at one point or another. I've had my share of troubles both here and the US and I'm a dual citizen.

road_high

Listen, this sound like a pisstake to me; fair enough if they'd been married years and they were living in fear of their lives in the country but thats clearly not the case here.
Playing the race card here is ridiculous frankly. Sure we might as well open up the whole country to everybody if we're to let this case through. I'm no fan of McDowell but I will say one thing; at least his Dept has been tough (yet fair) on emigration; geniune cases yes; cases like this one; no way..

ecksor

JohnMc1 wrote:

First off your an asshole[..]

Banned.

m3hm3t

it is not deparments policy to give visa too this kind of sitiuations, he knows this damm well, that is why he is doing this, i m from turkey(living and working here for 5 years) and turkey,s economy is very well. my father is retired there he is getting 500 euro a month, there is really alot of jobs for english speakers also, there is alot of kurdish there also(whic turkey saved from saddam's genocides) so i think he wants us to pay more tax to goverment

kleefarr

I'm just trying to count how many times I've heard this phrase...

"I can not go back to ******** because the political situation is too volatile"


:rolleyes:

Firetrap

That's true. Amazing what people will say/do to stay in this rain-sodden country.

lazylad

Something like this happened in Chicago during the summer. A woman from Mexico locked herself in a building to stop being deported. Saw it on the news.

Firetrap

Did it work? The authorities are always wary of giving in to threats like these. Remember the Afghans who locked themselves into the cathedral in Dublin earlier in the year