Undocumented

Documentary On Newstalk presents "Undocumented", independent producer Bairbre Flood brings us the stories of those who have been living in Ireland, Undocumented, and the impact the groundbreaking regularisation scheme has had.  Last year saw the start of a groundbreaking regularisation scheme for thousands of people who’ve been living and working in Ireland for many years without papers. It came after ten years of campaigning by migrant communities working with the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) in the ‘Justice for Undocumented’ campaign. Albert Bello, Irene Jagoba, Neil Bruton and Claudiane Lima share their experiences of working on the campaign and why it’s so important to continue and broaden the scheme. Bello and Jagoba share how it has affected their lives and they explain why it’s vital that this scheme continues for new arrivals. For them, and all the people who’ve been living in a state of limbo for so long, this has been a life-changing scheme. And for those who missed out and for those still arriving it offers a template for how we can continue to regularise migration in Ireland. As of now, nearly 8,000 applicants have received a stable and secure status, with roughly 3000 people still waiting for their result. But some people - like Claudiane Lima who has been living in Ireland for nine years, with her children - didn’t qualify for the scheme. And there are people arriving all the time who could benefit from a continuation of a regularisation programme. ‘We know the life - it wasn't easy,’ said Irene Jagoba. ‘We’re hoping that the scheme will continue without a closing date. So that no one - no undocumented people - will live undocumented for a very long time, because it was a tough life.’ For more information on this ongoing campaign please go to the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland - www.mrci.ie Produced by Bairbre Flood with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) under the Sound and Vision Scheme.