A gaggle of about 30 individuals gathered outdoors the Worldwide Safety Workplace on Dublin’s Mount Avenue on Friday night to protest at what they described as a migrant camp on their doorstep.
They have been outnumbered, nevertheless, by a counter-protest made-up of greater than 100 individuals who lined up alongside a row of tents the place an estimated 170 males have been tenting out for months on account of a scarcity of lodging for worldwide safety candidates.
There was a big Garda presence, together with a number of public order models, however the protest and counter-protest handed off with out incident.
The counter-protesters, a few of whom waved Palestinian flags, have been the primary to reach, with near 100 individuals in place earlier than 5pm. As they waited, a girl carrying a megaphone ready the define of a method.
“We need to shield the tents and I believe we should always keep tight collectively as a gaggle,” she instructed the group. “And if it will get bushy we should always keep collectively and transfer in the direction of town centre till it’s protected to peel off.”
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It grew to become clear there was little probability issues would “get bushy” shortly after 5.30pm, when the anti-immigration protesters assembled. Some chants of “Ship them residence” have been responded to by chants of “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome right here” from the opposite aspect of the highway.
The tents have been largely empty during the protest, though a person who has been residing in a single for 2 weeks stayed near the scene. Figuring out himself solely by his first identify, Ahmad, he mentioned he had travelled throughout Europe from Palestine to Dublin.
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He mentioned circumstances within the tents have been robust and he appeared bemused by the protest, however he added that he didn’t really feel threatened by it.
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