asked the Minister for Justice if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which two young Afghan passengers on a flight from Cuba, where they had been studying, to Moscow sought and were refused sanctuary at Shannon Airport.
Written Answers. - Afghan Students.
62.
Limerick East): The persons referred to by the Deputy requested permission to remain in this country and to work here. They were interviewed at length by the senior immigration officer at the airport, who consulted an officer of the Department. Despite some language difficulties, it became clear that the Afghans were not seeking asylum on any reasonable interpretation of the term but were expressing a preference for the life-style and economic opportunities of Western countries. Nothing was said by them which suggested that they were singled out for any unwelcome attention by any authority in their own country and the fact that they had been selected for a study visit to Cuba suggested the opposite, if anything.
If permission to remain in the State were to be granted in cases like this the effect would be incalculable given the amount of traffic to and from Eastern European states that passes through Shannon.