A priest runs as riot police fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during a protest organized by Catholic activists in Kinshasa, Congo. At least six people were killed during demonstrations across the country against delayed elections and Congolese President Joseph Kabila.
Photo: CNS The journey for some fleeing war to finding long-term safety in Ireland can be a long and tough one, writes Róise McGagh
Papy Kahoya Kasongo came to Ireland in 2015 from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Forced to flee due to his proximity to a controversial religious leader, he faced a long battle until him and his family were finally able to settle in a home of their own in Balbriggan in 2019.
“It was not easy to leave, because my wife was in jail with my children,” said Papy in an interview with The Irish Catholic. Their journey within Ireland was a bumpy road that took over four years to end.
Paul Joseph Mukungubila was the leader of a politico-religious movement ‘Ministere de la Restauration a partir de l’Afroque Noir’. In 2006 he ran for president of the Democratic Repulic of Congo and Papy, who was his close friend and member of his Christian Church, helped him with his campaign.
Joseph Mukungubila wrote an open letter in 2013 expressing his displeasure with the then President of Congo, Kabila accusing him of being ‘too close’ to Rwanda.
Later that year, in December 2013 Mukungubila’s supporters seized the headquarters of the Congolese National Radio and Television, the national airport in Kinshasa and the Tshatshi military camp. They were calling for the president to step down.
It was reported that Congolese security forces attacked his church in response, they killed between 40 and 214 people according to varying sources, and arrested supporters. Papy fled from where he lived in Lubumbashi to Kisangani where he was born. “When I ran, my wife and my two boys were arrested and then she was in prison.”
Persecution
Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo are not often persecuted. It is the majority religion there. But the political stance of Papy’s Church was what put them in danger. Papy was known to be close to the religious leader. “I was too close to him, everyone knew that I was too close to him,” he says. John Mukungubila had helped him a lot throughout the years while he was part of his Church.
“For me he was my leader, he helped me when I was at university, sometimes to pay my school fees, he was like my father because my father and my mum died when I was young.
“When I went to university it was really difficult to pay my fees, he was the one who helped me finish school.”
His mother had died in Kisangani there when the First Congo War (1996-1997) broke out as Kabila fought against the then president Mobutu. Papy and his father went to Kinshasa. His father later died there. Papy ended up staying with his stepmother and brothers until he went to Lubumbashi university where he finished his studies in 2007.
There he met Nadine and they married in 2010. Papy had had a secure job as an accountant for five years until he was forced to escape, for a company that sold Guinness. Life had been going well when the carpet was pulled from under their feet.
While in jail Nadine was forced to tell the Congolese authorities where Papy was, and they came and arrested him. She was in prison with their two boys, Baruch and Ethan, both under the age of three, for one year, all of 2014. Papy I was arrested in June 2014.
“It took my wife to bribe the security chief to get us out of the jail and then move somewhere until they organise for us to go out of the country,” said Papy. Nadine’s brother-in-law helped them leave from an agency in South Africa.
“You think everything is going good for you and because of just one thing, everything stopped and everything became dark.
“Even when we came to Ireland it was so difficult, the things you need to do again to be human, to have a life a proper life.”
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When Papy and his family arrived at Dublin airport in 2015 they could not speak any English, they were scared and unsure of what to do. They were taken from the airport to the Department of Justice.
After their their first night in Hatch Hall direct provision centre in Dublin – which is now closed – they were sent to Mosney, Co. Meath. There had been a chicken pox outbreak there the day after they arrived. They stayed there for two weeks before being sent to another direct provision centre in Tramore, Co. Waterford.
Confused and unable to communicate, they had to make their own way there. “That time you don’t know how to get the bus. You can’t speak English or anything, you have to find your own way. They give you just a voucher.”
They applied for refugee status as soon as they arrived in Ireland. They were told after their interview that they did not have enough evidence to prove their right to asylum. “The way we ran from Congo, everything was a mess. We don’t know how to get this and those times when we came here there was no support.
“You don’t know the language you don’t know anyone who can help you to get the evidence from Congo, we didn’t know anything.”
While this process was ongoing, they lived all together in one room for six months in Tramore. Papy’s family were then given two rooms for five months before being told to go back to Mosney.
Papy says that when they went back to Mosney in July 2016 it was a lot more liveable. They had a whole house to themselves, could cook and there was room for their kids to play. There was a bus provided for them to go to school, however they couldn’t have play dates, and everyone had to check in or out if they were entering or leaving the centre.
Decision
They applied a second time for refugee status in 2017 and were told again they did not have enough evidence. They appealed the decision, which meant that they were assigned a solicitor. They told them what kind of evidence they needed to get and how they should build their case in order to overturn the decision. This was their last opportunity at gaining asylum in Ireland.
Luckily, an NGO in Congo that was aware of Papy’s circumstance was able to provide evidence. They were also assessed by Spirasi (Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative), a national centre for victims of torture in Ireland and managed to obtain a relevant newspaper from Congo.
“Since we came to Ireland our health was not good because we came from prison, they tortured us,” said Papy. He had trouble sleeping and so the GP in Mosney referred him and his wife to Spirasi.
“We went there they gave us a counsellor, then they start to help us to talk with them. They gave us an appointment, they did an assessment and we meet one doctor, a physician who examined us and then wrote a medical legal report that attests that we were tortured.”
Their appeal was accepted in December 2018 and Papy and his family were finally declared refugees in May 2019.
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Papy set out looking for a home for him and his family with the help of DePaul, a homeless charity that also supports marginalised groups. They helped them sign up for the HAP scheme and showed them where to look. It was a gruelling process with many viewings. DePaul sent the family links to house viewings, gave them advice and even drove them around Mayo and Roscommon looking for somewhere to live. They were faced with many rejections.
The rental market was getting more expensive in 2019, and not many people were willing to take HAP payments. “One house, you go to visit and there might be 40 or 50 people waiting in the queue to visit,” said Papy.
Finally on December 11, 2019, seven months after they were granted refugee status, Papy and his family found their home in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin. “Without DePaul we would not have known how to get a house.”
Around 1,000 of those residing in accommodation centres have some form of status allowing them to remain in Ireland”
In 2019 DePaul helped over 300 people exit direct provision centres in Ireland; 160 children and 168 adults. They provide support through their Cosán Nua or ‘New Path’ service which was established with the Department of Justice.
At the minute there are over 5000 people living in direct provision centres throughout the country. Some are formatted like Mosney with independent living, and some have yet to implement this style of accommodation recommended in a 2015 report.
An additional 1,633 people were staying in emergency accommodation. Around 1,000 of those residing in accommodation centres have some form of status allowing them to remain in Ireland.
Initiative
David Carroll, DePaul’s CEO recently said about the initiative: “We are aware through our own research that there are people who have previously been in direct provision accessing homeless accommodation. That is why we feel this initiative is so important as it mitigates the risk of people ending up in homeless services once they have been granted the legal right to stay in Ireland.
“There are challenges in sourcing accommodation for everyone in the current housing market, but those leaving accommodation centres face particular challenges including language difficulties, issues filling out forms and being aware of their rights. To see people and families finally have place to call home here in Ireland after many years of waiting and to know we played a part in that is a great thing.”
Papy said that his family’s quality of life has significantly improved since they moved in to their house in January. Since coming to Ireland him and Nadine have had two daughters who will now grow up in a stable household.
“You can’t compare living in direct provision and being in your house,” said Papy of his new home.
“Me, as a man, you feel like you are a man, you have a house, your wife and your children. You feel like you are a human being.
“You are not like an animal.”
He no longer has to walk in and out of gates or through security.
His children are now at school, they only have to walk five minutes down the road. They have friends they can play with after school and are part of a neighbourhood.
“The problem is in Mosney you don’t have neighbours, the kids they don’t have friends from outside that can come they can play with them but now here you feel like you are in the community in the life of the country.”
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Papy has applied to do a course in logistics and had also applied for several jobs. He hopes he can begin to fill his days and provide for his family.
“I would just like to be busy you know, you wake up you are at home, you don’t know what to do.”
While fluent in four other languages, of which French is the first, Papy is still working on his English. He began at Tramore and continued in Mosney and then in Spirasi. He said English fortunately has some similar words to French, his first language, making it slightly easier.
What I realise in Ireland is, everything you need, there is people who will help you. You will get support”
Papy said he feels lucky that he was able to eventually receive so much support.
“Spirasi, I feel like it is home when I go there. It’s home and you know they make us to feel really like we will get a better future, they are like my parents. They help us with our mental health, they help us with everything.”
He said the one thing he would like to let people know, who are in the same position he was in now, is that there is hope and there is help waiting for them. He explained that it can be very difficult, not being able to read or write in English, and having to fill out reems of forms that are sent your way.
“Is very difficult all of those times. What I realise in Ireland is, everything you need, there is people who will help you. You will get support, it’s just for you to know which door to go to knock to get the support you need.”
The road back to normality was long difficult for Papy Kahoya Kasongo and his family. However charitable services like Spirasi and DePaul help people find their way every day. The asylum system in Ireland is also slowly reforming, hopefully making the way a bit smoother for those who follow Papy.