The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland is disappointed to see the government putting a spin on the inability of asylum seekers in many Direct Provision centres to observe social distancing. Asylum seekers in Direct Provision centres across Ireland have to share bedrooms, communal toilets, communal showers, communal kitchens, and canteens with strangers who have their own lives. This makes it impossible to observe social distancing.
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The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland is concerned about the manner in which the Department of Justice and Equality handles deaths in Direct Provision. In November last year, MASI received a message from an asylum seeker who wanted to know what happens when a person dies in the asylum process. Would they, like Sylva Tukula who died in a Direct Provision centre, be buried in an unmarked mass grave without friends, family and ceremony? Fortunately the asylum seeker who had to think about death had a family member that had been ill for some time and were new in the country. Thus the question of being buried in a mass grave does not arise for them. But they had to ask this question because the Department of Justice and Equality has never been transparent about deaths in the asylum reception system. Many asylum seekers are not familiar with procedures to be followed, especially when they wish to have remains repatriated. This is because the Department of Justice and Equality has not published information regarding deaths in Direct Provision which would provide answers to many of these questions.
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) is appalled by the recklessness displayed by the Department of Justice and Equality in responding to Covid19 in Direct Provision. While the news of additional rooms to facilitate self isolation for people in Direct Provision when needed provides some relief, the measures announced by the government do not adequately address the situation of asylum seekers having difficulty observing social distancing.
Please see this open letter from experts urging the Irish government to take action to protect asylum seekers in Direct Provision.
Hundreds of experts have signed it already: https://forms.gle/Ew4rHQAs5PfkT2UCA
Thanks for sharing this through your social media and email lists.
MASI
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland is deeply troubled by the announcement made by the Department of Justice and Equality on the procurement of additional beds for asylum seekers, without providing detailed information on how these beds will be allocated to asylum seekers.
Statement on the Irish government’s response to COVID-19 in Direct Provision
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland is appalled by the discriminatory response to the Covid19 pandemic in Direct Provision. On the 20th March 2020, MASI asked members of the public to email Minister Charlie Flanagan with a simple ask: protect asylum seekers in Direct Provision by ensuring that they are able observe all the Health Service Executive guidelines on social distancing and self isolation, particularly for asylum seekers 60 years of age or older, people with pre-existing health conditions, and asylum seekers in shared and crammed bedrooms, and other congregated gatherings such as canteens during meal times.
MASI – the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland is alarmed by the spike in calls from people who have been issued with a deportation order after spending years in the abhorrent system of Direct Provision. Asif has spent 5 years living in appalling conditions in Mount Trenchard Direct Provision centre. The Department of Justice and Equality ruined his life for 5 years while in Mount Trenchard Direct Provision centre only to serve him with a deportation order instead of providing psychological support. David and Fortunate Nesengani have been in Athlone Direct Provision centre since 2016 and have now been served with a deportation order. Malik and Abdul have spent 4 years living in a Direct Provision centre in Longford before they were served with a deportation order. Such actions demonstrate the cruelty that is deeply entrenched in the Irish asylum system where the Irish government keeps people in appalling conditions for years only to chuck them out in the end.
Saturday 5th October 2019, MASI Conference, Liberty Hall, Dublin
”I have had the pleasure of travelling around Ireland, talking to different people; Irish, ethnic minority, and asylum seeking people.
Written by Lucky Khambule on 7th October 2019
Today I’m off work to recover, recharge and reflect on what just happened this Saturday. On what message did many people said by just showing up at this grassroots event. I must say #Masiconference was just of a kind, the reaction and the comments from many people that are used to different kinds of conferences, this one just turned out to be exactly what we thought it would be.
WHERE: Liberty Hall, Dublin
WHEN: Saturday 5th October, Day Conference 11am -5.30pm; MASI Party 7.30pm -10.30pm
TICKETS: Day Conference – 10 euro; MASI Party – 10 euro; Conference & Party – 15 euro
Tickets: http://tiny.cc/oho3cz
Submisson to Justice & Equality Joint Commitee
27th May 2019
Executive Summary
MASI is the collective Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, a platform for asylum seekers to join together in unity and purpose. As a group of people directly affected by the system of direct provision and as people who are currently undergoing the international protection application process, we, unlike experts and NGOs, are uniquely placed to offer direction to the Committee on Justice and Equality on these issues.
MASI and ARN come together to strongly condemn those responsible for what appears to be a deliberate arson attack on the Shannon Key West Hotel which took place on January 10th in Rooskey, Co. Leitrim. This hotel was due to open as a Direct Provision centre having been contracted by the Reception and Integration Agency of the Department of Justice and Equality. The intention was for it to house 80 people who are seeking asylum in Ireland.
We had a blast of a night just before Christmas at theWorkman’s Bar at our end of the year fund raising gig.
Wonderful performances from the musicians like DJ Don Rosco, Kaleidoscope collective (They live in Mosney DP centre) they are absolutely brilliant, we also were blessed to have Yankari band, great guys, finally our own MASI DJ Leslie Goldfinger, wonderful play brother. We were also blessed to have the great Clara Rose Thornton doing her spoken word and MC for the night.
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A mother in Knockalisheen Accommodation Centre was refused a slice of bread for her sick child. The child had been recovering and at 1AM, he wanted something to eat. The mother called a friend to walk her to the reception area to ask for a slice of bread. Aramark staff told her that they received instructions from management not to give residents anything outside meal times. A few hours before the mother went through this, an adult male resident was refused milk and coffee by the same Aramark staff. The Direct Provision centre, like all others without self-catering facilities, has meal times displayed on the notice boards. Continue reading
Asylum seekers mount protest at Cork direct provision centre
Barry Roche – Irish Times – Tuesday 16th September 2014
Up to 300 residents of a direct provision centre for asylum seekers in Cork yesterday mounted a protest at the system of direct provision. Residents at the Kinsale Road Reception and Accommodation Centre on the outskirts of Cork city began the protest at 5am yesterday and blocked staff from gaining entry to the premises. “Some of the people here have been in the Kinsale Road Centre for eight and nine years and they are calling for the ending of the direct provision system once and for all,” said Joe Moore of Anti-Deportation Ireland, which is supporting the action. The protest comes just a day after Minister of State at the Department of Justice Aodhán Ó Ríordáin criticised the way that direct provision centres for asylum seekers are being operated.
The Irish government recently published Statutory Instrument 230 of 2018 which regulates reception conditions for asylum seekers. The regulations also provide for how the State will treat vulnerable persons in the asylum process. Continue reading
Last month, the government opted into the EU Reception Conditions Directive, which among other things allows for a limited right to work for people seeking asylum. Prior to this, Ireland was one of only two EU states that imposed a total ban on access to work for asylum seekers. The opt-in was in response to a Supreme Court ruling in May of last year that found the total and indefinite ban to be unconstitutional.
Did the Supreme Court fail to protect asylum seekers or is the government failing in its redress?
A man from Burma who had spent 8 years in Direct Provision was offered a job while awaiting a decision on his application for International Protection. He could not take up the employment because asylum seekers were barred from seeking work and working while their application is being processed. The application process can be very lengthy. Sometimes it becomes necessary to restart the process. And he did that several times before being granted
protection.
International protection applicants can apply for a permission to access the labour market. You can apply for this permission from 2 July 2018.
Residents in Watergate Apartments in Dublin 8 are facing eviction this Friday the 22nd of September by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of the Department of Justice.
A number of residents of Watergate House direct provision centre are facing eviction Friday the 22nd of September. They have formed the Watergate House Residents Committee and have the following demands:
In the first of a series, asylum campaigner John Grayson examines the Direct Provision (DP) system for asylum seekers in Ireland. Part-two will examine the private companies involved in providing services under DP. (Original piece posted here)
In the Republic of Ireland, on the day new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar took office, what does he do – he goes and endorses the system called Direct Provision by increasing the weekly allowance by €6.00 for children and €2.50 for adults, making the allowance €21.60 for everyone. We reject this increase in the strongest possible terms. We really feel insulted by the newly elected Taoiseach, who seems to have no understanding whatsoever about what we have gone through in direct provision for 17 years. The Taoiseach said that these offensively miniscule increases would give asylum seekers more disposable income – if our situation wasn’t so serious this would be a joke. We were not consulted on this, no one asked us what we needed. We are furious that people think that 2.50 or 6 euro will do anything to address the damage caused to our lives by Direct Provision.
The introduction last month of a new asylum application procedure has created chaos for thousands of people living in Direct Provision. This Tuesday 21st March, MASI (Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland), ARN (Anti-Racism Network), with supporters Wendy Lyon (immigration solicitor) and Donal O’Kelly (playwright) will describe the impact of this new procedure and other aspects of the new International Protection Act. Continue reading