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Ellie Kisyombe

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Ellie Kisyombe
Born
Malawi
NationalityMalawian
OccupationActivist
Political partySocial Democrats

Ellie Kisyombe is a Malawian activist and former asylum seeker living in Ireland. She is the co-founder of Our Table, a non-profit social enterprise that operates projects such as pop-up restaurants.

Background

Ellie Kisyombe was born in Malawi. Both of her parents were public servants, her mother in the Malawian treasury and her father was the head of Malawi's agricultural development body. Her father was a polygamist.[1] She was involved in anti-corruption campaigns in Malawi, and her family are members of the opposition political party.[2] Kisyombe believes that her father died by poisoning due to his political activities. After a series of crackdowns, she was advised to leave the country. She spent some time in Bristol between 2007 and 2019.[3]

She travelled to Ireland on a student visa in 2010.[1] She then travelled to the United Kingdom to apply for asylum there. After being arrested there, she claimed asylum in Ireland.[4] She was placed in Direct Provision and was housed in the centre in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo. She was later diagnosed with depression. She has twin children, a son and a daughter, who joined her in Ireland.[5] In July 2019, she was granted leave to remain in Ireland[6] and subsequently took a trip back home to Malawi.[7]

Career

Activism

Kisyombe began her activism by volunteering with the Irish Refugee Council where she met café owner and Irish Examiner food columnist Michelle Darmody with whom she founded Our Table, initially catering events at venues such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art. They held a pop-up café in the Project Arts Centre in 2016, first as a two-day event which was extended to three-months.[8][5] The project highlights the lack of facilities for food preparation in Direct Provision centres and advocates for the ending of the Direct Provision system. After this, Kisyombe was invited by Darina Allen to undertake a three-month internship at Ballymaloe Cookery School.[9] She is now the volunteer director of the company. Our Table have supplied a line of hot sauces, sold by The Good Food Store,[5][10] and Kisyombe runs a food stall in Dublin since January 2018[8] with hopes of opening a kitchen that would serve as a training space.[11]

Alongside Sinéad Burke, Eileen Flynn, and Mari Kennedy, Kisyombe was on a panel hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan at Electric Picnic in 2017 for The Women's Podcast.[12] She is also active in the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland,[8] and has spoken out about her experiences of racism in Ireland.[13] She appeared in Hozier's Nina Cried Power video with other activists.[14]

Social Democrat candidacy

In 2019, Kisyombe ran as a candidate in the 2019 Irish local elections with the Social Democrats in Dublin's North Inner City constituency. She was the first person living in Direct Provision to run in local elections.[15] She came under scrutiny when The Sunday Times wrote about the discrepancies between her version of her asylum applications and the official records.[16] In particular, this centred around how Kisyombe omitted her asylum application in the United Kingdom in 2014 and other discrepancies in the time line of her asylum applications. This led to the resignation of a number of party members. The party conducted an independent review, and she was allowed to continue her election campaign.[4][17] Kisyombe claimed that the incident had hurt her campaign.[18]

Assault charge

On March 23, 2022, Kisyombe was charged with the February 21, 2019 assault of a female worker at a reception centre in north Dublin where she lived for a period while she was an asylum seeker. The case was adjourned until September 7, 2022 for a hearing in Blanchardstown, Dublin.[19] In March 2023 Kisyombe accepted an adult caution in relation to the case.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b O'Connell, Jennifer (2 February 2019). "'After nine years in direct provision I have never stopped living'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ Fegan, Joyce (3 January 2019). "Living in Direct Provision: 'It's is [sic] a stain on Irish society. I'll never forget those still incarcerated'". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ Sheridan, Kathy (20 February 2019). "Kathy Sheridan: Do the contradictions in Ellie Kisyombe's story matter?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b Duffy, Rónán (4 May 2019). "SocDems say Ellie Kisyombe will run in election after 'correcting the chronology of her backstory'". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Hynes, Liadan (27 August 2018). "'I might not have money - but I'm rich' - After starting a pop-up restaurant, this asylum seeker has found a recipe for success". Independent. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ Pollak, Sorcha (22 July 2019). "Ellie Kisyombe granted leave to remain in Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  7. ^ McGuinness, Katy (20 February 2021). "Ellie Kisyombe: 'I was born into a political family and politics is part of my makeup. I won't run for any party, though, I will stand as an independent… just watch this space'". Independent.
  8. ^ a b c Murphy, Fiona (14 April 2018). "Cooking and protesting". RTÉ Brainstorm. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Asylum seeker in the system of Direct Provision secures internship with Darina Allen". www.irishexaminer.com. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  10. ^ Anderson, Nicola (5 October 2019). "'One community proves all it takes is a 'cupán tae' and good chat to break down the barriers'". Independent. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  11. ^ Darmody, Michelle (21 December 2018). "A taste of home, wherever that may be". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  12. ^ Ryan, Jennifer (5 September 2017). "Miriam O'Callaghan: Society tries to divide women but we should stand together". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  13. ^ Fleming, David (1 September 2018). "'A stranger warned my friend that I may have a bomb on me' - meet the young people who experience everyday racism in Ireland". Independent. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  14. ^ McGoran, Peter (15 February 2019). "Ellie Kisyombe: "Our story isn't being told...This needs changing"". Hotpress. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  15. ^ Fegan, Joyce (26 December 2018). "Year of the activist - Day 2: From first-time marchers to advocates with decades of experience". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  16. ^ Tighe, Mark (17 February 2019). "Inaccuracies found in asylum seeker candidate Ellie Kisyombe's back story". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  17. ^ Bray, Jennifer (4 May 2019). "Ellie Kisyombe to run in elections after correcting backstory, party says". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  18. ^ Duffy, Rónán (25 May 2019). "SocDems' Ellie Kisyombe criticises party leadership for 'disrupting' her campaign". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  19. ^ Tighe, Mark (3 April 2022). "Ellie Kisyombe charged with 2019 assault". The Sunday Times.
  20. ^ Tighe, Mark (26 March 2023). "'Mum of the Year' who ran for Social Democrats accepts caution over assault on kitchen worker in reception centre for asylum seekers". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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