School pals take up the fight to halt deportation

SCHOOLMATES of a four-and-a-half-year-old boy facing deportation have posted an avalanche of letters to the Minister for Justice urging him to allow the child and his family to stay in Ireland.

More than 120 pupils of Scoil na mBuachaillí, aged between nine and 12, yesterday wrote to Michael McDowell urging him to throw a permanent lifeline to Great Agbonlahar, a junior infant pupil in the school, and his family.

Great, who, it is suspected, suffers from autism will be assessed for the condition at Marian House in Cork city tomorrow. The schoolboys are deeply concerned about the implications for Great and his family if they're deported to Nigeria, a country neither he nor his sister has ever seen, according to sixth class pupil Barry Peppard:

"It is appalling that Great can be sent to a country where he will not be allowed to go to school because the teachers couldn't cope with his special needs. His mother won't be able to work because she will have to mind him all the time. They could end up begging on the streets," declared the 12-year-old, who said he and his classmates would be urging Mr McDowell to "let Great stay in Clonakilty".

Principal Barth Harrington said pupils and parents alike supported Great: "They are very concerned. They don't want to see him being deported, so we've decided to allow them to express their feelings in letters to the Minister."

So far more than 1200 people in and around the West Cork town have signed petitions in support of Great, his twin sister Melissa and his mother Olivia, 35, according to Gary O'Sullivan of the Great Justice Action group.

Mr O'Sullivan added that a motion had also been put to local councillors asking them to pledge their support to the campaign.

Olivia has claimed that if deported, Great would get no care in Nigeria and that sending him there would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Last week the family got a reprieve when the Minister for Justice agreed to review Olivia's file.

"There has been great support from the people of Clonakilty and a number of people have contacted us pledging money if necessary. A number of TDs have accessed our website with messages of support," said Mr O'Sullivan.

The family's solicitor Kevin Brophy pointed out that Great and his sister had been born in Italy, had Italian birth certificates and had never lived in Nigeria. He was, he said, trying to ascertain whether this entitled Great to EU citizenship.

"I am trying to find out what the child's legal position is in terms of Italy and we are trying to find out what kind of treatment would be available to Great for his autism if he went back to Nigeria."