A mother whose young son was smuggled into Ireland in recent weeks has said it was a matter of "life and death."
The woman has been in Direct Provision since arriving in Ireland from Zimbabwe just over a year ago.
In an exclusive interview with Newstalk reporter Barry Whyte, she said living without her six-year-old son in the months since has been extremely difficult.
She said she was finally reunited with him three weeks ago after her family paid for him to be sent to Ireland.
“My auntie didn’t tell me that they were sending the child over because they knew that I was not going to allow them to pay a smuggler to bring my son over because it is very dangerous,” she said.
“He is a minor. He cannot be brought here by someone I don’t know.”
A six-year-old boy from Zimbabwe was smuggled into Ireland in recent weeks - @BarryWhyte85 has been speaking to his mother in Direct Provision | @BreakfastNT pic.twitter.com/m6RJNPy2m3
— Newstalk (@NewstalkFM) November 22, 2019
"Life and death"
She said people smuggling into Ireland is “not really common” but added “when push comes to shove, between life and death, there is no other way.”
“They paid a smuggler to come and join us because it wasn’t safe for him,” she said.
“The same thing that I ran away from was the same thing he did. It was not safe for him to live there.”
The woman said it was too dangerous for her to remain in Zimbabwe due to a personal issue she encountered.
“I thank god that I managed to escape,” she said.
“It wasn’t my intention to come to Ireland but I ended up here. I had to leave my son back home and he had to join me last month.
“It has been difficult leaving your own country and leaving your son behind. You don’t even know what is happening to your son back home. I could spend two weeks or three weeks without speaking to my son.”
Fear
She said everyday life was very hard due to the constant worry and she found it difficult to eat because she didn’t know if her son was safe.
“Is my son happy where he is? Did he eat? Is he going to school?” she said. “[I worried about] all those kinds of things, so it was very difficult.”
She said she was “overwhelmed” when she got a call to say her son was in Ireland.
“I was told to go to Dublin and I met a social worker,” she said.
“When I saw my son, I cried; he ended up crying as well so they gave us some minutes.
“Most of the time when people get their sons here, it takes two weeks. They have to do DNA and everything but within 15 minutes, they just gave me son because we were so emotional.”
She said her son is now “very happy.”
“He is settling in well at school and he has begun to have friends. He is alright; he is happy and I am happy that now my son is here. Life can begin now.”
Rosslare
Meanwhile, the 16 people found in a truck container on its way to Wexford from France yesterday are said to be “generally in good health and good spirits.
They spent up to 12 hours in the truck container before being discovered by a ferry worker.
The ferry was met by Gardaí and immigration officials at Rosslare and the men were transferred to a Dublin reception centre, where they spent the night.
You can listen back to Barry Whyte's full report here:
"My six-year-son was smuggled from Zimbabwe into Ireland" | Newstalk
@NewstalkFM @BreakfastNT https://t.co/Q4VyUhrAsM
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) November 22, 2019
