Uncategorized – New Horizon Athlone

A day out – at last!

There is no doubt 2020 has been a truly miserable year for residents in the direct provision system. The coronavirus outbreak and resulting lockdown took…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-07-13

End Direct Provision Campaign

Myself and my friend living in DP have developed an idea for a video project. We are asking people to send us clips of themselves…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-06-10

Still no access to DP centres

From Monday 8 June, under Phase two of the Government’s re-opening plan, you are advised to stay local and avoid unnecessary journeys. To stay safe, you need…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-06-09

To all our Friends – Eid Mubarak

Gerry Callaghan 2020-05-24

Covid19 World Service

Nasc – Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre has launched a public information service for migrants. Its called the Covid19 World Service. Over 20 doctors have recorded…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-05-20

Online Drop-in Clinic

Because of the virus shutdown I’ve been exploring how to run online meetings as an alternative to person-to-person contact. This would allow New Horizon to…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-03-17

As we all know there are serious measures being taken nationally to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Direct provision sites are a particular…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-03-14

What do the Immigration Stamps mean?

See http://newhorizonathlone.org/wiki/ guide-to-rights-of-migrants-in-ireland

Gerry Callaghan 2020-03-01

Celebrating Cultures – Come join us!

Athlone Institute of Technology are holding their Cultures week from 2nd to 5th March. New Horizon will be presenting our Celebrating Cultures Roadshow on Tuesday…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-02-28

New Horizon Group Meeting

Don’t forget the New Horizon group meeting on Thursday 13th. AIT Room B54 Tea and coffee available at 6pm, meeting starts at 6:30 New Horizon…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-02-11

FAQ’s

We are a front line refugee support group mainly working on the Lissywollen Direct Provision site in Athlone. Our focus is on providing information and help to the 300 (on average) residents living there.

We also work on the Temple Direct Provision site in Horseleap, Moate.

Everyone in the DP sites in Athlone and Temple is what is described as a ‘Convention’ refugee. People who have arrived in Ireland under a United Nations resettlement program are known as ‘Programme’ refugees.

Convention refugees are people who have made their own way to Ireland and have applied for recognition of refugee status when they arrive.

Various official and unofficial routes and methods are used to travel to Ireland. These change continually, depending on weather conditions and enforcement levels at crossings.

On arrival people are normally housed for a few weeks in Baleskin, near Dublin airport. They are then dispersed to various direct provision centres around the country.

People can get protection if they meet the conditions set out in The United Nations Convention on Protection of Refugees.

See Definition of a Refugee