Dublin, traditionally a city of vibrant nightlife and rich cultural heritage, is now confronting a challenging reality as makeshift encampments of African migrants appear along the grand Liffey River.
Originating from the U.K., these newcomers are estimated to be around 2,000 by the Irish Refugee Council, with media reports indicating a weekly influx of approximately 250 new arrivals. The presence of these encampments is drawing parallels with the infamous migrant camps in Calais, France, sparking fears among local business owners that the central city area might deter tourists.
The influx of migrants to Dublin is linked to a deal between the U.K. and Rwanda, which proposes deporting boat arrivals from France to Rwanda, where they would await asylum processing. In reaction to this news, many migrants have moved to Ireland, anticipating that they will not be sent to Rwanda from there.
The Irish government, caught between a humanitarian approach and public discontent, is pressuring London to take back the unwanted migrants, who represent over 90 percent of the 7,000 illegal migrants who have arrived in Ireland this year after having previously applied for asylum in England or Scotland.
Despite the absence of a physical border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland due to delicate political relations, the Irish police face calls to tighten border controls. However, the Dublin government remains committed to a progressive and humanitarian stance, funding organizations that supply new tents to the migrants while simultaneously demanding British cooperation to reassume responsibility for the migrant crisis.
Dublin’s politicians compensate for their impotence by blaming the British for not wanting to accept back immigrant refugees from Albion. One can debate whether the idea of sending asylum seeker candidates to Rwanda, initiated by the government in London, will end in success. However, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying somehow to fight against the influx of newcomers from the Third World.
Meanwhile, Ireland, on the one hand, practices an open-door policy for immigrants. On the other hand, it instructs its police to dismantle tent cities. To add to the totally schizophrenic reaction from the government, they are also funding the organizations from the Irish budget that provide new tents to the newcomers.
All this occurs while maritime coast guards from Ireland and the United Kingdom are incapable of stopping dinghies carrying immigrants from departing from the French coasts. Humanitarian rhetoric collides with the governments’ fear of their own citizens, who are outraged by the immigrant influx.
In a word: paranoia flourishes.
