‘Is Ireland Doing Enough?’

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Last Saturday in Dublin.

Members and supporters of the Irish Refugee Council, End Direct Provision Dublin and the Dublin Calais Solidarity gathered at St Stephen’s Green, the Central Bank, and the Italian Quarter to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis concerning refugees.

Irish Refugee Council

Thanks Caroline Reid

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16 thoughts on “‘Is Ireland Doing Enough?’

  1. human

    Yea vandalizing property is really going to help……. there people are about 150 anarchists from Dublin and do not represent the views or wishes of the majority of the Irish people.

  2. Tony

    More virtue signalling I think.Why would anyone be actively in favour of bringing in refugees. When you look at the issues raised by this in other countries, why would you wish this on us? We have neither the know-how or the resources to handle an influx of the scale to make any difference. And shouldn’t we start with housing our own homeless and those in crap conditions? But maybe its not so cool to be seen only worrying about your own.

    1. Bobby

      I’ve said this here a lot before, there is a huge cross over between refugee solidarity activists and housing activists, and others. Generally these people are involved in various social struggles, will work as youth workers, carers, teachers, are involved in social and community projects, will be trying to build local, national, and international links and networks, and probably have some sort of vision of a different world, like participatory democracy, or participatory economics. And obviously some are just doing pretty crappy jobs too, raising kids, trying themselves to get by etc. I can tell you this much, it’s generally not too cool to be seen doing anything that’s in any way connected to protests, event organising, politics, direct action, policy making, and in general doing all the unsexy organising work that goes into getting all of this done – while trying to manage our own lives.

      There is a scale in my head about how sound people are, how they employ their empathy, as well as how much of a sober and realistic outlook they have on everyday life, with all of the complexities involved. If you think for one minute that most of these people and activists are not grappling with these issues in their mind and with their friends every day then you sadly under appreciate the spirit of revolutionaries, progressives and the like, you know, the ones that carry on the traditions and movements of emancipation that brought about so many of the freedoms you enjoy today.

      So why shouldn’t we start with housing our own homeless? Well Tony, you might be shocked to know that homelessness isn’t a new issue, some of us have been fighting around these issues for a long time. Why don’t you come get involved with the Irish Housing Network? It’s an open group. I assume you come to the demos and workshops that are organised by housing groups. I was involved in setting up the Dublin Calais Refugee Solidarity group, because nationality isn’t my priority, I manage to have space in my brain to think about both, and do something, if anything, about it. I’m also an anti war activist, because I managed to figure out the link between refugees, Shannon airport, and war. I’m also a youth community worker, and I have to do shitty event work to get by. I don’t really like calling myself an activist because in Ireland it’s a dirty word, and when you do decide to take action, the first type of people we have to deal with in you. It’s not ‘virtue signaling’, whatever that asinine sentence means, it’s just activists doing good things, something your personality might not be able to grasp.

      I think saying nothing, like you have above, and doing nothing is a spectacular failure of human initiative and creativity.

      To all those who have ever thought for one second about doing something, find a group, find some people, go for it. Building a better world will be difficult, especially with all these Tonys around the place..

  3. Dolores Delorean

    No unfortunately it’s not so cool to be seen only worrying about your own – who have paid taxes and contributed to the State and usually don’t go around wearing suicide vests in airports and believe that you’ll get virgins in heaven to lay if you blow up people here – But it is very cool to stand up and bleat about refugees and tell people to take them in – very cool – George Clooney is doing it which makes him even cooler than he was before and Angelina Jolie, Bob -living saint-Geldoff, Bono and the ‘cool’ list goes on…

    1. Bobby

      You know you can both deal with Ireland problems and help elevate the refugee problem, right? It’s not one or the other.

    2. Shayna

      Your comment made me think of the emergency procedure on aircraft, when the oxygen masks drop, attach one’s own, before you think about helping anyone else. Thankfully I’ve never been in a emergency at 30,000 feet, but I’ve always hoped that if the day came I’d help any fellow passenger, if I could.
      The refugee situation is referred to a global crisis, surely not without reason? I would have thought that the least one can expect from any ‘First World’ country is to help as much as they could.
      There was a report on the BBC a few weeks ago about 80 Afghani refugees arriving in Derry, where they appeared to be genuinely welcomed by the Derry people. Care packages, including teddy bears for the kids were all donated by the local citizens wishing them good luck in their new lives in Derry. I know 80 people is a drop in the ocean compared to the countless millions who deserve similar safe haven, but at least it’s 80 people saved? I haven’t seen a single similar report on RTÉ.
      Whether it’s celebrity endorsed pleas for aid and perceived as you say to be “cool” – it’s still the right thing to do. (in my opinion)

      1. Gob Beldof

        Is it simply proximity to the problem that prompts people to hashtag refugees welcome?

        Where was the drive to import thousands of people when Bosnia happened, or any of the multifarious clusterfocks in Africa? Why were they not given free passage to Ireland?

        Every fugee “welcomed” steals from the already ill-served Irish poor.

      2. Tony

        Of course its the right thing to do. So many things are the right thing to do, but when you can’t do all of them, you have to prioritise. I would take peoples concern for refugees more seriously if I saw them demonstrate that concern to others who could be more easily helped. Its fashionable, and thats the trouble with todays competitive compassion. One tweet and we are done.

        1. Shayna

          I would have thought that due to the extraordinary number of refugees from Africa and the Middle East, it would merit extraordinary measures to keep these vulnerable people safe. Turkey has been paid off by the EU to deal with the hundreds of thousands of dispersed people (fox looking after the chickens) and, it appears the Turkish authorities are treating them as badly as the regimes they are escaping.
          “Fashionable, competitive compassion” – sure, I’m not naive – you can’t help everyone and of course one has to prioritise, however, this “government” could perhaps outline publicly what they propose to do to help. A one page announcement in the IT would do it. A paltry couple of million euro budget for example would go a long way, if properly allocated and managed, it would be scrutinized by the public – then perhaps it would be an Irish humanitarian start?

        2. Bobby

          One tweet and *you’re done. Some of us are actually active. The Paris Bakery workers didn’t tweet themselves to victory.

    1. sǝɯǝɯʇɐpɐq

      Harder questions Mr, Bill…
      …Is Ireland doing ANYTHING?
      …is next to nothing enough?

  4. Eoin

    America, the UK and the EU have done plenty to help create refugees. Now the EU is starting to panic due to problems arising from Muslim integration. Us and European Muslims are much more moderate than the hardcore coming from the Middle East and North Africa. Even the Saudis would not accept refugees from Syria due to the old Sunni/ Shia compatibility issues. And now you have the issue of every Imam in Germany being an employee of the Turkish cultural affairs department. Which essentially allows Turkish civil servants to operate in Germany.
    The solution to this nightmare is for the West to pull out of the Middle East and allow Russia to finish it’s work. They destroyed 40% of ISIS’s infrastructure in 30 days. The US did nothing but cause mayhem for over a year. Which was probably the US ‘plan’. If the Pentagon does plan anything anymore (hard to believe). Then people can go home. Because right or wrong, trying to shoehorn devout Muslims into European society isn’t going to work. Full stop.

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