Shining a light on life in direct provision
Writer Melatu Uche Okorie had planned to study law, but that changed when she and her daughter sought asylum in Ireland - and spent the next eight-and-a-half years in direct provision
In her everyday life, Melatu Uche Okorie doesn’t tend to tell people where she comes from.
By that, she doesn’t mean Nigeria - her country of origin. She means the eight-and-a-half years she spent in direct provision in Ireland, living on €28.70 per week, with officials watching her constantly. She’s afraid of what people might think if they knew she had spent time in direct provision, so she doesn’t say anything at all. ...
