AS I write this, my heart feels drained. My stomach is in a knot and I can't eat. But this is nothing compared to what my friend Pamela Izevbekhai is going through now and the dread and despair which she feels.

I was with Pamela when she made that call to Tony, her husband; that call in which she pressed him and pressured him into telling her the truth. Everyone seems to be focusing on the false documents but from what I can make out, everyone has an agenda. The State has an agenda to protect its immigration laws and to keep this near bankrupt republic safe from abuse of these laws.

This is the same State which feels it has to ship out a hundred or so illegal immigrants every year, people deported because they believed they could forge a new and better life for themselves here. Yes, some of them have totally abused the system, but they are far fewer then those who simply wanted a better life. This is the same State which is terrified that Barack Obama will do the same thing with Irish illegals in the US.

But Pamela Izevbekhai's story has not been one of economic migration. This story has been about a woman who claims that her daughters are in grave danger of female genital mutilation (FGM) being forced upon them in Nigeria. The United Nations (UN) says that FGM is torture and that one in six children dies from the procedure. The UN also says that between two and three million little girls undergo FGM worldwide every year. It says the practice of FMG in Nigeria is exceptionally high.

The big question for European countries is: can they afford to include FGM as grounds for asylum? Under the Geneva Convention, FGM fulfils all the criteria that constitute grounds for asylum because it comes under the heading of torture, death or persecution and/or the threat of torture, death or persecution.

But will millions of woman and girls come knocking on Europe's door, seeking asylum on these grounds? I don't think so, as financially and practically, it's very hard for them to do so and for most of them, it is too late.

Back in 1994, when it is claimed that baby Elizabeth Izevbekhai died, FGM was the least of Nigeria's problems. In a society that undervalues women and which has such extreme poverty, a woman's marriage is everything. For many, even today, it is her basic means of survival. If tradition demands she be mutilated, then it was in her interest to be mutilated. Her marriage prospects increase. And as for the one in six who will die from having this barbaric procedure performed upon them, well that is sad but is considered an acceptable casualty rate.

"These children . . . just disappear . . . undocumented," says Waris Dirie, the UN special ambassador charged with working for the elimination of FGM worldwide. Dirie, who fled Somalia as a young girl, underwent female genital mutilation when she was five.

Many Nigerians claim that the practice has rapidly changed in urban areas. Some tribal cultures within Nigeria, like Pamela's own Natal people, have never had FGM and various cultures within Nigeria say it is no longer so widespread. But Nigeria is huge. It has a population of 150 million. Even if only 10 per cent of girls were subject to FGM, that figure would be totally unacceptable. In fact, if only one child a year was butchered in such a manner, it would still be one child too many. I spoke to a Nigerian woman here last week who is 27. She had to undergo FGM at the age of 22 before she got married. It was a condition of the family into which she married.

The Nigerian Attorney General, who is also the Minister for Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, met with Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan a few weeks ago in Nigeria. They both attended a big convention of business people, who would, I imagine, be making deals regarding trade between Nigeria and Ireland. The Nigerian attorney general brought in 20 reporters and stood up and announced that there was a Nigerian citizen in Ireland who was claiming that she was running from Nigeria with her daughters in order to protect them from FGM.

"This is lies!" he bellowed, "Nigeria does not have FGM any more." He then offered to travel to Ireland to testify against Pamela Izevbekhai. He went on to give his personal assurances to Conor Lenihan that FGM was virtually extinct. The minister believed the attorney general, why would he not? It was one high-ranking government minister to another.

The Nigerian attorney general says he believes that NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and various charity organisations are making up figures to make Nigeria look bad on the world stage and to make money through grants and aid to solve these now non-existent problems.

Many highly reputable NGOs such as Amnesty International and bodies such as the American State Department have all done their own surveys and they emphatically state that FGM is indeed still a serious problem. The truth of the matter as expressed by Nigeria's own federal government seems to be at odds with Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa.

In 2009, the Ministry for Women's Affairs (part of the federal Government of Nigeria) had to sign a charter with the UN. The charter was for the elimination of the discrimination against women. They had to do their own survey in order to sign this UN charter. The Nigerian government's own findings were that 32.6 per cent of women and girls in Nigeria undergo FGM, while a total of 60 per cent of women and girls are at risk of the procedure. Most relevant of all was a statement by the Nigerian government that they "could not protect girls from FGM". It would seem, therefore, that any government official, Nigerian or otherwise, who says that FMG is not an issue in Nigeria cannot be taken seriously.

Furthermore, Conor Lenihan may be more convinced by the word of one man than by the findings of that man's government. But another minister, Health Minister Mary Harney, has called for new legislation in Ireland to deal with FMG because with immigration, this curse has spread to our shores. At the moment, the practice of FMG in Ireland comes under the "non-fatal offences against the person act". In addition, Mary Harney wants a legislative ban on children who are resident in Ireland being taken "home" to their country of origin for the sole reason of FGM being preformed on them, and then being returned to this country. The countries that chiefly give rise to this type of concern are Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the Congo.

Pamela Izevbekhai is a big, big problem. She is a problem to Ireland as, if she wins her case in the European courts, it may lead to asylum laws having to be changed all round Europe. She is a problem to Nigeria because she is drawing unwelcome attention to the prevalence of a barbaric practice in that country. Mostly she is a problem to herself. Pamela believes that if she and her two daughters are returned to Nigeria, they will be in grave danger.

I believe that there was a child called Elizabeth. I believe the circumstances of her death were covered up by Pamela's own nearest and dearest for her own protection at the time. Pamela is absolutely emphatic that Elizabeth lived and Elizabeth bled to death after female genital mutilation being preformed on her. Doctor Unokanjo, whom I believed I had spoken to on a

number of occasions three years ago, has now sent a new affidavit saying that Pamela is lying and she never had a baby Elizabeth and the baby never died from loss of blood due to FGM. Maybe the Unokanjo I spoke with three years ago was bogus. This is certainly a possibility.

Tony, Pamela's husband, has admitted that he forged the documents pertaining to Elizabeth's death from Unokanjo because Unokanjo demanded too much money for them. Unokanjo recently asked the Sunday Times to pay him €5,000 for an interview on the truth of the matter. I know when I spoke to the man whom I believed was Dr Unokanjo, I was convinced I had the right person. Even when he called me back some time later to warn me never to contact him again as he'd been threatened and he feared for his safety, I believed him. But, maybe I'm a gullible fool.

It has been suggested to me a lot recently that I have been gullible, and I certainly felt as if I was on a few occasions last week. The emotional ride has been excruciatingly intense. Every time I have convinced myself that Pamela has been telling me the truth, someone draws my attention to a plausible alternative possibility, and I fall down again for a moment or two. When I see or speak with Pamela, my hope is restored.

Yes, I love this woman very much and nothing she could do or say would take my love away but I am open to the fact that there is a chance that some things are not as they seem. Pamela's own story has never faltered and when I try to think of any other reason as to why she would want to be here, apart from the safety of her daughters, I can't find one. The economic migrant stuff doesn't make sense, once you know the ins and outs of the case. Something caused her to run.

Last week I spoke to the Galway film school graduate Richard Walsh who, with Julian Ulrichs, went out to Nigeria and made an award-winning documentary, FGM -- No Way Home, about Pamela Izevbekhai.

I asked him to describe the standard of living of Pamela's husband, sister and friends. According to Richard Walsh, "It was good; we were surprised. Her husband lived in a lovely house and drove a Mercedes jeep; they all wore expensive designer clothes; it was a much more monied environment then we had expected to find."

When asked what was the opinion of the average man in the street on FGM, when they were speaking off camera, Richard said: "Most people said they were against it but it was there for a reason. A lot of men we spoke to said that African women had very large clitorises and that meant they had a very big libido and that meant they were more likely to cheat on their husbands!"

Richard said that he found that the practice of female genital mutilation is "very much more prevalent than what the officials are saying but it's kept within the family".

When he heard that the documents were fake, the film-maker's reaction was that this was "terrible". "As soon as I heard it on the news, I thought from a practical point of view, it looked bad, legally it looked so bad, but after being there, I thought there is a very likely scenario that people would have to use fake documents. I think she's certainly not an economic migrant and she's not scamming people or trying to hoodwink them."

Pamela is bewildered in all this and her fighting spirit seems nearly gone. She was absolutely gutted when she learned that the documents were forged. This was not the pain and anger of being found out. This was the pain of her daughters being put back in what she perceives as real danger and anger at her husband for lying to her.

"How can a man be married to a woman all this time and keep something so important from her?" she asked, beaten down. I found myself arguing in defence of her husband all that night. None of this makes sense.

Pamela says that she had refused to allow Tony's family to perform FGM on Elizabeth. There had been months of rows and pressure and it was driving a huge wedge between herself and Tony, who was also against it but was conflicted because he did not wish to be disloyal to his family. After months of extreme pressure, Pamela gave in.

She says she remembers the morning that she handed Elizabeth over and how numb and sick she felt. Pamela didn't want FGM performed on her baby but she gave in. Yet in the eyes of the law, she is the mother and legal guardian. The day that Pamela spoke to Marian Finucane on the radio, a Nigerian embassy official came on and stated clearly that Nigeria does take FGM. very seriously and that any parent who allowed this to happen to their children, would be prosecuted and dealt with severely. When I heard that, I felt in my bones that Pamela was now in danger of being prosecuted and possibly imprisoned if she returned home. In the eyes of the law, she would be responsible.

In my mind, I went back over everything Pamela had told me. Elizabeth bled to death in the Isioma hospital, under the eyes of Dr Unokanjo, who had delivered her 18 months previously. I could picture Pamela being taken away, hysterical and demented with guilt and grief. Tony would have tried to deal with Dr Unokanjo and whatever paperwork was necessary. Pamela would have been unaware of any of these dealings or the paper trail that followed, including the fake documents.

Hence her genuine surprise at the false documents. This would also explain the terrible bind in which Pamela now finds herself. The Nigerian government is mightily annoyed at Pamela. If she doesn't produce evidence of Elizabeth's life or death, this State will deport her. The Government must be aware of the likely fate that awaits Pamela in Nigeria despite the Nigerian Embassy's reassurances.

Tony is still in Nigeria and in danger himself but he doesn't want to come to Ireland to seek asylum. He was asked when he was questioned coming in through Belfast to visit Pamela and the girls if he wanted to claim asylum here like Pamela. He told Irish immigration officials, no. If my theory is right, he should have said yes, but I know he would never leave Adrian, their eldest son, and he says he loves and wants to stay in Nigeria. Whatever the truth, Pamela seems sunk.

I wish I could call upon the Nigerian government to take a humane stance and leave Pamela, her husband and her family alone and to make absolutely sure that both the government and Pamela's in-laws stay away from her and the girls, but pigs will fly before this would happen.

Maybe Pamela dropping the case in Europe would relieve Ireland of the complications around asylum laws. But the State still needs to acknowledge the very real danger that Pamela faces if returned to Nigeria. I wish with all my heart that they would quietly let her stay here on humanitarian grounds. I wish the Irish people, who claim to be a kind, civilised and Christian people, would understand the mess Pamela is in and open their Christian charity to her and give her the benefit of the doubt.

I also hope with all my heart that everyone involved looks at the very real and important issues here, the heart of the matter and the reason for the whole thing in the first place -- Naomi and Jemima. These two little girls are what it has always been about and these two little girls are what it still is about. They have grown up in Ireland and it is in Ireland that they have been safe from harm. No matter what happens in the Supreme Court here or in the European Court of Human Rights, Ireland is where these two little girls need to stay.