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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   1952 thread views

Transnational Thursday for January 18, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Ireland

Some interesting developments in the refugee saga and some more of the same:

(i) The more of the same was a fire at a convent in Longford earmarked to host 85 Ukrainian refugees. This is the first time Ukrainians have been the target as far as I'm aware. Ukrainians aren't considered asylum seekers as they are granted refugee status immediately and don't have to be confined to one place until they are processed, but they do spend some time in emergency accomodation given how hard it is to find a place to rent in Ireland. A local Fine Gael counciller said that he was aware that there were rumours circulating that the building was going to be used for asylum seekers so maybe the arsonists mistakenly targeted this place or maybe they just assumed that if it's going to be used for Ukrainians it will eventually be used for asylum seekers.

(ii) A protest in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary became unusually violent as protesters attempted to block a bus carrying 17 asylum seekers (out of a proposed 160) from entering a hotel that had recently been repurposed as asylum accomodation. The protest was broken up by police (the first time that this has happened besides the Dublin riot) and the fact that some of the asylum seekers were women and children has given the protesters some bad PR.

Roscrea has a population of 5,500 and already has an asylum centre and is hosting Ukrainian refugees in another building so they've got more of a reason to complain than most, the hotel was also closed on short notice last Thursday with job losses and wedding party cancellations. The fact that locals supplied the protesters with food and firewood is a mark against the narrative that these protests are the work of a small group of troublemakers with no links to the local communities travelling from town to town. As far as politicians go local counciller Shane Lee took part in the protest and Tipperary Independent TD (member of parliament) Mattie McGrath criticised the government's handling of the situation.

(iii) Mayo County Council has voted to cease co-operation with the Department of Children, Integration, and Youth:

The motion, spearheaded by Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne, calls for an immediate halt to collaboration with government officials until clear plans are in place for the provision of essential services, such as medical care, transportation, training, and delivery schedules.

Councillor Kilcoyne spoke on the importance of equal distribution across national constituencies, challenging the disproportionate burden placed on Mayo compared to other regions.

This is a non-binding resolution from an institution that doesn't control much in the first place but it's interesting to see politicians sticking their neck out for a cause that is popular in polling but extremely unpopular in the media.

(iv) Finally Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the government will likely take the option of paying money rather than directly taking in migrants under a new EU pact. Dealing with this problem through the EU seems like a good answer to the "international obligation" argument for taking in more migrants, and since the EU is both very popular in Ireland and composed of countries which are far more familiar with the downstream consequences of mass migration this seems like a way to reduce immigration while avoiding the shame of Ireland being seen as racist (whether or not Europeans actually think that about us doesn't matter as much as whether Irish people think they think that).

Edit One more story: Chainsaw-wielding man jumped out of van and threatened security guards at Dublin 4 building earmarked for migrants.

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