The rise of Ireland’s anti-migrant protests

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https://unherd.com/2023/02/the-rise-of-irelands-anti-migrant-protests/

The rise of Ireland’s anti-migrant protests

Right-wing populism could outflank Sinn Féin

BY PETER RYAN   February 9, 2023

 

Ireland has an immigration problem. Almost a year after refugees started to arrive from Ukraine, leaving state capacity buckled and local communities unnerved, two very different expressions of civic disorder have emerged. In one, migrants are housed in cubicle dorms in office buildings or, even worse, in tents. In the other, grassroots anti-migrant protests are sweeping across the country, rallying around the slogan “Ireland is Full”. There were 307 anti-migrant protests in 2022, while 2023 has already seen 64. At the latest demonstration in Dublin, on Tuesday, more than 2,000 protestors took to the streets.

The focal point of the protests is Dublin’s East Wall, where, in November, after the government converted a state building into a migrant residence without consulting locals, hundreds of people started to gather week after week. By December, the demonstrations spread to other areas — Drimnagh, Finglas, Ballymun and Fermoy. Rather than losing steam as each month went by, the protests continued to intensify, sprouting across the country. And as they did, it became clear that they were different from other anti-migrant demonstrations in Europe.

Last month, a group of 300 anti-migrant protestors clashed with a smaller counter-protest outside the Shelbourne Hotel in central Dublin. The demographic profile of each faction revealed something curious. As one might expect, the anti-migrant protesters were from the working-class areas where the migrants are being housed, while the counter-protesters were largely middle-class liberals. More surprising, however, was the significant proportion of women among the anti-migrant contingent.

One of the principal motivating factors behind Ireland’s anti-migrant protests concerns a number of reports of migrants mistreating women and even young children. Last week, for instance, a male migrant allegedly walked into Temple Street Children’s Hospital and announced that he wanted to rape children. This week, a migrant was charged by the Gardai with the sexual assault of a teenage girl.

A few days earlier, unfounded rumours circulated about a migrant from a camp in Finglas sexually assaulting a woman. The impact of such incidents is borne out in national polls: in one recent survey carried out by The Business Post, only 38% of women supported building new homes for migrants, compared to 55% of men. As The Irish Independent noted: “The view that Ireland has taken in too many refugees is notably stronger among women in working-class communities.”....

 

 

 

[dalsingh101]

You could see it coming from a mile off, but it looks like we are well into a european movement that is strongly rejecting 'multiculturalism'.  Where this movement may go in future will have implications for us. 

[GurjantGnostic]

18 hours ago, dalsingh101 said:

You could see it coming from a mile off, but it looks like we are well into a european movement that is strongly rejecting 'multiculturalism'.  Where this movement may go in future will have implications for us. 

Maybe the response to these migrant populations has more to do with the conduct and nature of those specific migrants. I hope it never comes to bear on Sikhs. 

[dalsingh101]

8 hours ago, GurjantGnostic said:

Maybe the response to these migrant populations has more to do with the conduct and nature of those specific migrants. I hope it never comes to bear on Sikhs. 

That's the problem though. Some people might have issues with specific groups of migrants, but the reality is that there are opportunistic racist elements who will exploit this against all migrant groups, and even those who have been there for generations, and can't be pulled on their conduct and behaviour but are simply not white. You can see that coming from a mile off.    

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