It was April 28th, 2015, and the Congolese family had travelled to Ireland with the help of an agent from South Africa. Me, I was praying.”He remembered how the South African man had told the family to request asylum upon arrival in Ireland. In April 2015 the family went into hiding until friends found a smuggler to bring them to South Africa and on to Europe. The family spent one night in the now-closed Hatch Hall direct provision centre in Dublin city centre before being transferred to Mosney in Co Meath. It can be really tough.”The Kasongo family, which now includes two daughters born in Ireland, moved into their new home in Balbriggan, north Co Dublin, in January.

Source: The Irish Times March 18, 2020 06:00 UTC