ASYLUM SEEKERS are particularly prone to migraines but may be unaware of available supports, the chief executive of the Migraine Association of Ireland (MAI) has said.
“We’re becoming more aware of the needs of non- national people who would be in situations of stress,” said Patrick Little of the MAI, which runs a confidential helpline and advice line. “We’re conscious of the fact that we’re not getting the message across to people of different languages and backgrounds.”
Speaking on Sunday before an information seminar in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, Mr Little referred to a study in 2007 by Dr Magzoub Toar, which found that 35 per cent of residents at Globe House asylum seeker centre in Sligo suffered migraines, as compared with 12-15 per cent of the Irish population.
Stress and “any sort of change in the pattern of life” are migraine triggers, explained Esther Tomkins, migraine specialist nurse at Beaumont Hospital’s headache/migraine clinic, and immigrant support workers contend that restrictions placed on asylum seekers in relation to employment and accommodation are contributing to stress-associated conditions.
Nigerian woman Harriet Omofezi, who lives at the Mosney centre in Co Meath with her two children, has suffered migraines since her teenage years, but noticed a worsening of the condition after entering the refugee application process, when applicants are not allowed work and are housed at “direct provision” centres.
“The migraines have definitely got worse,” said Ms Omofezi. “I’ve been in Mosney for four-and-a-half years, and there’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the future. We are not allowed to work and some are finding it difficult to get voluntary work,” she said.
The Nigerian woman said that such is the severity of her migraines that she’s been brought to hospital emergency departments on two occasions. She was unaware of the existence of specialist units such as the headache/migraine clinic at Beaumont Hospital.
“What we are gathering is that vast numbers of people in direct provision centres suffer from stress, which can lead to migraine headaches,” said Salome Mbugua, director of Akidwa, the African Women’s Network in Ireland.
Ms Mbugua said that many asylum applicants had escaped “insecurity and conflict” in their home countries, and become further frustrated upon losing self-sufficiency in Ireland.
“Most came here with high hopes that life would be better, that they’d be able to work and provide for their families, that they’d be able to do something meaningful with their lives,” explained Ms Mbugua.
- The MAI's helpline number is 1850-200378. More information on support for migraine sufferers can be found at www.migraine.ie