#direct provision

if anyone’s wondering what this is about, documents were recently leaked showing the government here are monitoring hozier’s social media (and some other public figures’) because of his speaking out against direct provision, a system that was intended to clothe and shelter asylum seekers while their applications were processed but has turned into a sort of purgatory where people can end up for years, stuck in not-great conditions and unable to properly start their lives here in ireland.

PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST

[I can’t imagine this post will get that much traction since this website is so America-centric, but I’m making it anyway because I have seen no information about it on here and it is such an important and pressing issue.]

When refugees and asylum seekers come to Ireland they are housed via a system known as ‘Direct Provision’. Direct Provision was started in 1999 as a temporary soloution to deal with incoming refugees and has NEVER been updated since.

Residents are housed in DP centres until their application for refugee status is processed. This can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 YEARS. Needless to say but the conditions in these centres are absolutely appalling. They share rooms with up to 8 individuals, receive only €38.80 a week, cannot work, cannot cook for themselves and the food provided is of VERY low quality.

Conditions in one DP centre in Cahersiveen in County Kerry were so bad that on Monday (27/07/2020), 32 residents went on hunger strike. They refused food until Thursday when it was announced that they would be moved to different centres around the country and the Cahersiveen centre would be shut down.

However I think it is clear that this is only a minor, temporary fix. The whole system needs an overhaul with Direct Provision being completely ABOLISHED. Refugees in Ireland are treated like second-class citizens, segregated from the community, and given no opportunity for integration. 

Holding Still (Part III)

Holding Still is available as a digital download on Gumroad for €8 and all proceeds will go towards maternity kits for the Danú Project, supporting asylum seekers in Ireland who are pregnant or have young children.

https://gumroad.com/l/dIwXG

You can also read the full zine on my website here:

You’re taking the piss yeah? The reason why I’m posting “shit that’s happening in Ireland” as you say is because people who are outside (and frankly in Ireland also) should know about this. The fact that it happened and it’s still currently happening in this country people should know. It’s not all green fields and happy go lucky in for the craic people, we’re just as problematic as countries such as America or the UK.

We’re extremely racist (the third European country that has violence against Black people reports after Luxembourg and Finland) we put Asylum Seekers into Direct Provision centres where they are put into packed rooms, given little to nothing food and it also has a high suicide rate.

The Magdalene Laundries and the Mother and Baby Homes weren’t “a dark past” this shit is still happening but instead of it happening to Irish women, it’s happening to Asylum Seekers and it’s called Direct Provision

[transcript, citations removed] The applicant stated that he was familiar with the Zimbabwean LGBT group, GALZ, however, he did not attend their services. When asked why he did not seek their support, the applicant replied, “Because I felt more comfortable talking to my mum about it”. The applicant similarly stated that he did not attend any LGBT support groups since arriving in Ireland. When asked whether there was any reason why he had not sought such support, the applicant replied, “I was in school at the time trying to focus on my leaving cert.”. The applicant stated that he has never been in a same-sex relationship, and when asked whether there was any reason why not, he simply stated “No”. The applicant stated that he was bullied in both schools because he was gay.

Overall, the applicant’s account of the discovery of his sexual orientation lacks detail and specificity reasonably expected of someone who is gay. On the balance of probabilities, considering the above credibility concerns in relation to the applicant’s account of his sexual orientation, the applicant’s contention that he is gay is not accepted credible.

-- Asylum seeker’s verdict as passed down from the Irish Department of Justice

I cannot even begin to go through the hideousness of this denial of asylum. First, requiring anyone - much less a teenager - to recount intimate details to prove their sexuality? What the fuck?

Secondly, penalizing a kid for having a strong enough relationship with their parent that they chose to go to them first for support as they discovered their sexuality?

Thirdly, penalizing a student, a child in the Direct Provision system - a system that operates in remote locations - for not choosing to spend some of the €39/wk allowance in DP (which has to be used for all purchases outside of the provided food) to get transport to and from an LGBT support group, on top of attempting to study for their leaving exams in a crowded centre, most likely crammed into a room with their whole family, fed shitty cafeteria food that they have to eat at certain times and in communal eating rooms or not at all? And this being the thing that the court deems as proof against the asylum-seeker’s declared sexuality, and as grounds for denial and deportation???

If every you wanted an example of how a capitalist system uses the intersection of racism and homophobia to protect its profits, here you fucking go.

This is so fecking cool and I want to go and see it. Please have a read, it’s an amazing concept and it’s produced by asylum seekers currently living in Ireland.