Far away from home this Christmas...

Thousands of miles away from home, friends and family, Christmas may be sad this year, but to a Bolivian woman who now calls Athlone's asylum seeker accommodation centre home, it's more important that she is safe and sound. Wrapped up in a coat and hat with and a kindly, cheery smile, the mother-of-two, who has lived there for the last eight months laughs that she must be the only person who actually loves the frosty weather. "I like the cold. My country is very hot. At this time of the year it would be about 39 or 40 degrees in Bolivia. It's summer there now," the woman, who didn't want to give her name or be photographed outlines. Even though she is thousands of miles away from her native South American home, she, along with others in the centre are still wary of the potential consequences of having their names and photographs appear in a local newspaper. In all, 338 people from up to 30 different countries live in Athlone's asylum seeker accommodation centre in Lissywollen, housed in lines and lines of dull grey mobile homes, where they wait months, and in most cases years, to find out if they can stay in this country or not. 177 of these are children under 12 and 35 are teenagers. "Everything is different, the weather, the people, but they are very kindly. Christmas now is very sad. It's my first Christmas away from my parents. I miss them. I'll speak with them but it's not the same. It'll be different this year but safe," the woman, who fled problems in her home country explains to the Westmeath Independent. In her native land, she tells us that at midnight Christmas Eve everyone comes out of their houses and lights fireworks to welcome the festive season and they do the same for the New Year. Although the celebration has altered this year, she is looking forward to Christmas dinner with her children and hopes for 2012 to stay in Ireland and make a better life for the family. Safety is a word that also crops up again and again while in conversation with Patricia Kagodora from Zimbabwe, who says life is a lot better since she left her native country where there was a lot of trouble and no police protection. Now, she sleeps well and feels safe and free with her son Leon Maimba and daughter Natasha, despite the fact she has not seen her husband for five years, misses her family back home, and, finds at times, like many others that life can be pretty limited on the asylum site. All in all though, she is thankful and determined to make the most of Christmas for her children and during the Westmeath Independent's visit she was looking forward to seeing her daughter play Wendy in her school play in St Mary's NS. "I've met a couple of friends since I came here so we are going to pick up some food, sit in one caravan and have a laugh," Patricia says of her festive plans, a bit different she admits from the extended family get together in her native village that she is used to. "I'll particularly miss going to the village where we'd eat breakfast and lunch and then walk over to the shop where there would be music and dance, a bit like a festival," she recalls, adding that gifts are not really part of Christmas back in Zimbabwe. "It's a big family thing (at home) where we cook and eat. My grandfather might slaughter a cow and goat and my grandmother would do the chicken. For us, back home rice and chicken on Christmas is a very special meal." Also living in Lissywollen with his wife Jenan, son Muhammad (4) and daughter Fatima Zahra (2) is Heidar Al Hashimi from Iraq, who are over two years in Ireland now. Life is different than before, he admits remembering back to the time when he owned and run a shop before threats to his family and religious reasons forced him to leave. Having settled in this country now, he wants to build a life here but is highly critical of the lengthy wait for their application for refugee status to be processed. "I cannot work or go to university. I want to live in a house I like. I'd like to change the style of my life but everything is limited for me," he says until his application is dealt with, adding that a social welfare allowance of only €19.10 means he cannot get things like toys for his children and facilities are very limited. Heidar describes the uncertainty about his family's future as like a "black curtain" and the question marks about the years ahead can be very frustrating. "I want a better life for my family. I'd like to go to university but I cannot go with my case," he states sadly, having already completed a FETAC level 5 course in Community Care and another FETAC 4 in IT skills. He has hopes of becoming a teacher in the years ahead or working with community groups but that is all. Although a Muslim, he will celebrate Christmas as his children have got into the festivities here in Ireland. At home, New Year is the bigger celebration with a family occasion, party and gifts. For 2012, Heidar is very clear in his dreams for the next twelve months: " I wish peace and love to everybody. I wish to get my papers and live free."