Minister for Justice Michael McDowell was jeered in Athlone Institute of Technology yesterday by locals who described the deportation of two Nigerian mothers earlier this year as demeaning and brutal.
Mr McDowell was at the institute to deliver a talk on Ireland as a liberal republic.
Heated exchanges developed during a question and answer session when Mr McDowell was asked a succession of questions about the deportation of mothers Elisabeth Odunsi and Iyabo Nwanze in March.
Ms Odunsi and Ms Nwanze were deported - along with one child each - on the same March 14th flight as Dublin student Olunkunle Elukanlo, who was later returned after a public outcry. Ms Odunsi and Ms Nwanze were photographed with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when he visited Athlone during the 2002 general election.
There were rounds of applause yesterday for speakers who criticised Mr McDowell for allowing the two women to be deported, while four of their children were left behind in the midlands.
"We are not criticising the deportation process. We understand that if you seek asylum and you fail, you have to go back to your own country," said one speaker, who received a lengthy round of applause.
"But we are criticising the way in which this case was handled. Gardaí shouted at neighbours of the two women: 'We know you black people cover up for yourselves'. They called us liars. And the women were deported before they could find their children to bring with them. It was demeaning and brutal," the speaker added.
Others pleaded with Mr McDowell to review the cases of Ms Odunsi and Ms Nwanze "on humanitarian grounds", and one speaker said that one of the women has become ill since returning to Lagos.
Mr McDowell defended the decision to deport Ms Odunsi and Ms Nwanze and said that they had both received letters beforehand offering them help to voluntarily leave the country. He disputed the claim that gardaí had spoken to them in the manner claimed by the speaker.
About 300 people attended the meeting.
