Mick Clifford: Is compassion creaking under pressure?
Ukranian supporters wait anxiously prior to the announcement on Wednesday morning they would be allowed stay in Killarney. Picture: Don MacMonagle
The controversy over the now-abandoned plan to move Ukrainian refugees out of Killarney tells us a few things about the pressure points in society right now.
It reveals a sense of decency that has informed attitudes in this country toward those fleeing Putin’s terrible war.
It also hints at something darker about changing attitudes towards refugees from other wars and various forms of pestilence.
The controversy blew up on Monday when it was revealed that 135 Ukrainian women and children were to be moved from Hotel Killarney to Westport in Co Mayo.
They were given 48 hours' notice.
The move was to facilitate the arrival in the Killarney hotel of up to 200 International Protection (IP) applicants, asylum-seekers, who are overwhelmingly male and overwhelmingly from underdeveloped countries.
Originally, Hotel Killarney had been earmarked for asylum-seekers.
Putin’s war intervened and the Ukrainians were accommodated there instead.
On Monday, the juggling being performed by State agencies, under serious pressure, was revealed in the notice to the Ukrainians to pack up and get on the road again.
Locally, the reaction was one of deep humanitarian concern. These refugees had been trying to make a home for themselves in Killarney, assisted by local communities.
The children, whose welfare is paramount, were settling in well in school.
Representations were made to Government by all kinds of groups and local TDs.
In the end, the pressure on Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman paid off and he and his officials abandoned the move.
O’Gorman has an unenviable task.
Putin appears to be escalating his war. The 45,000 Ukrainian refugees in this country are likely to be here for a while.
The number of International Protection applicants is growing all the time.
In the first six months of this year, 7,760 people claimed asylum here, up 778% for 2021, which was particularly low due to pandemic travel restrictions.
In 2019, there were 4,781 applicants for the whole year.
All of the direct provision centres are full to the brim, as even those who are granted residency can’t leave because of the cost of renting.
While the concern expressed for the war refugees from Europe is undoubtedly genuine, was the reaction in any way heightened by the prospect war refugees arriving in the tourist town from the developing world?
If so, the people of Killarney would merely be echoing what appears to be a growing sentiment.
The reason there was an attempt to move the Ukrainian refugees out of Killarney was down to the refusal of the accommodation provider in Westport to take asylum-seekers.
In July, major protests ensued when 75 asylum-seekers were transferred to a local hotel in Kinnegad, Co Westmeath.
After weeks of controversy, a decision was taken to move out the asylum-seekers, who were nearly all men, and move in Ukrainian refugees, who are largely women and children.
The Citywest reception centre in Dublin now reportedly houses about 800 asylum-seekers and about 100 Ukrainians.
The disparity is largely attributable to accommodation providers insisting they will only take those fleeing Putin’s war.
Meanwhile, those asylum-seekers who do have accommodation are, on occasion, moved around with very little notice and no resistance from the communities in which they had been living.
Why it is that moving one category of war refugees is different from another?
Gender is part of it.
Who is more relatable? Whether race or religion forms any base perceptions is difficult to tell. But ultimately it doesn’t matter. All who arrive here need the same help.
While the accommodation and housing crisis here amplifies everything, most European countries are also grappling with these issues.
There are a lot of people on the move because of war and all the other conditions that drain life from people and communities.
A growing intolerance is evident in parts of Europe through the rise of parties that thrive on base instincts.
Immigration is the dog whistle, the focus, the apportioned blame for why things have gone belly-up in recent times.
This year alone, Victor Orban was re-elected president of Hungary, Marine le Pen won 41.5% of the vote in a presidential election in France, Italian far-right group Brothers of Italy won 23% in a general election, and Sweden’s far-right standard bearer, Swedish Democrats, hoovered up 20% in that country’s general election.
We have been spared all that here, which is a big mercy. But compassion fatigue is beginning to nibble away at society.
Now is a time for clear heads and perspective. Everybody is under pressure, some more so than others. In such an environment, the extreme hardships of those who have come to this country can get forgotten.
Leadership is a premium, right across society. Those who govern, organise, employ, serve, should all work to ensure standards of societal decency are not allowed to slip.
So far, for the greater part, national politicians have been responsible, with the odd exception.
There is no sign of any real benefit in rooting in the gutter for votes.
But real leadership is needed right across communities, where many are already feeling pain.
Ultimately, Killarney turned out to be a good news story.
Major efforts were spent in locating alternative accommodations in the town for the Ukrainians.
That was secured, blowing away a week of major stress for people who are already enduring life-altering change.
The plan to house more asylum-seekers in Hotel Killarney is also going ahead, ensuring nobody has lost out. Hopefully, that’s the kind of attitude we can hang onto.
Now if only we could bottle it for any difficult days ahead.
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