A Homeless migrant camp in Ashtown was brutally attacked on January 28 2023 in Dublin. Ruth Coppinger, a former member of the Dáil (TD) for the Dublin West constituency circulated the report below. Directions at this link : https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/station/ashtown

Earlier today there was a brutal racist attack in Ashtown at a site where a group of migrant workers, made homeless by unaffordable rents, have been living in tents for months.

A gang of 5 or 6 men with dogs, armed with sticks and baseball bats descended on the camp and violently attacked and injured at least one person. They would have done more damage, only that witnesses disturbed them.

This now crosses a line where migrants are now being physically attacked by these people. We cannot let this go unchallenged, we have to send a message that racist thuggery is not acceptable.

Gardai have told journalists that the men who were attacked are not suspects in any sexual assault, as was claimed by the attackers. Linking sexual violence to migrants is a well known racist tactic. Recently a woman was murdered in Ashtown and racists were nowhere to be seen because an Irish man has been charged.

Please show up to this standout organised by residents.

Please share the graphic in WhatsApp group chats, Facebook pages, and all social media. It is important that we stand together as a community in saying such violence and racism will not and cannot be tolerated. Please come to the protest and bring as many people as you can.

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“People are starting to question why we’re helping even the Ukrainians. Not a good sign.”

We must examine these events in the context of Russia’s racist, genocidal, and imperialist invasion of Ukraine. Seven million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their country; 70.000 of these refugees fleeing from Vladimir Putin’s genocidal onslaught are in Ireland. These people are welcome 🙏 in Ireland, and they have a right to return home once the imperialist Russian invader is militarily expelled from their homeland. Part of Vladimir Putin’s agenda is to overwhelm neighbouring countries with refugees, and stir up racism against Ukrainians – a vile policy of Divide and Conquer. The Irish Times report provides evidence that Putin’s fascist agenda is beginning to produce some results :

Aubrey McCarthy, founder of the Tiglin housing and addiction charity, said “the tide has started to turn a little” against non-Irish people engaging with the charity. “People are starting to question why we’re helping even the Ukrainians. Not a good sign.”

Irish Times, January 30 2023

To this the entire anti-racist left should give the bitterest opposition. Even in far-off Ireland, we have a duty to campaign for the expulsion of imperialist Russian forces from Ukraine, by any means necessary.

John Meehan January 30 2023

The most detailed report of this incident can be found in the Irish Times (January 30 2023). The reporter is Kitty Holland.

Men with dogs, sticks and baseball bat attack Dublin migrant camp

Threats circulated on social media in recent days concerning camp where up to eight men have lived in tents since August

KITTY HOLLAND Social Affairs Correspondent

Gardaí are continuing their investigation into an attack, involving dogs, sticks and a baseball bat, on a migrants’ camp in north Dublin over the weekend.

A group of men arrived at the encampment, which comprised about 15 tents on the banks of the Tolka river in Ashtown, just before 1pm on Saturday and shouted: “Get out. Get out,” and “pack up and get out now. Now.”

When interrupted by The Irish Times and asked why they were attacking the camp, the men – all white, Irish – alleged the residents had been involved in an assault locally.

Four of the individuals who arrived had dogs, including a German shepherd and an American pit-bull terrier. One wore a black balaclava, while another carried a baseball bat and allegedly used it to assault a young Polish man who has been camping at the site since last year.

Between six and eight men – Polish, Croatian, Hungarian, Portuguese, Indian and Scottish – have been living at the camp since August, without incident, they say. In recent days, however, video footage of the camp has circulated on social media, with one video posted on Twitter saying: “It’s like a little village. They say they’re Irish? They’re not f**king Irish.”

Gardaí arrived at the camp shortly after the men and dogs left, and spoke to those living there. One, a Polish man (20) told The Irish Times he had been hit several times with a baseball bat. Visibly distressed, he said his arm was not broken. “I have strong bones, but the tendons are sore”.

Another man in his 30s, from Portugal, said they would leave the camp and most of their belongings and go to the city centre.

“This is serious. They mean business. We will just have to pack up and go, that’s it, and not come back here. I will bring my documents and my bags and that’s all I need. It’s going to get worse if we stay,” he said.

A third man, from Hungary, was angry. Rolling a cigarette, he said he didn’t know how to feel after the attack.

“I like Irish people but when they start being racist, I cannot take it. That was scary. I never experienced anything like that, never.”

Gardaí told The Irish Times that their investigation into the incident over the weekend was continuing. None of the men who were at the camp when it was attacked could be contacted on Sunday.

Meanwhile, groups working with migrants report an increase in racism during attacks, and an “uptick in palpable fear” among minorities over the last three months.

Racism

Louisa Santoro, chief executive of the Mendicity Institution which works with homeless migrants, said the group were “attacked all the time” and racism was increasingly “vocalised”.“We are seeing it all the time at the moment. I wouldn’t say the attacks are more frequent, but there is more vocalisation of racism. It’s absolutely becoming normalised. Some of the injuries we see people coming in our doors with can be pretty extreme.”

Aubrey McCarthy, founder of the Tiglin housing and addiction charity, said “the tide has started to turn a little” against non-Irish people engaging with the charity. “People are starting to question why we’re helping even the Ukrainians. Not a good sign.”

Shane O’Curry, director of the Irish Network Against Racism, said members were “definitely seeing more racist attacks”. A “violent atmosphere” was “brewing” with a noticeable “uptick in palpable fear as right-wing discourse has ramped up in the last three months”, he said.

“Minorities see these egregiously untruthful memes and videos and are not irrational at all in feeling they are potential targets of violence. They are asking what is being done to protect them,” said Mr O’Curry.

Former Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger is calling on people to join a “stand out against racism” event in Ashtown, at the train station, on Monday at 6pm.

[ Refugees welcome: ‘Chanting ‘get them out’ to the most vulnerable. What does that achieve?’ ]