It's important we don't buy into the false narrative of the ‘good’ refugee versus the ‘bad’ refugee

Nasc chief executive Fiona Hurley is worried by the perceived division between refugees, an attitude that pits Ukrainian refugees against those fleeing persecution from other countries.

Ukrainians gather outside Hotel Killarney in Killarney on Wednesday morning. Picture: Don MacMonagle

The demand for shelter for people fleeing war has never been greater, yet conditions for asylum seekers are the worst they have been in 20 years, according to Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre.

Fiona Hurley, chief executive of Nasc is also worried by the perceived division between refugees, an attitude that pits Ukrainian refugees against those fleeing persecution from other countries.

This comes amid the government’s recent U-turn in relation to the movement of Ukrainian refugees from a hotel in Killarney.

The 135 Ukrainian refugees had been living in the hotel for six months and were advised that they would be moved in 48 hours.

200 international protection applicants, mostly men, from regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and Georgia, were to be moved into the hotel because it had been designated as a direct provision centre.

Three-month-old Platon Antonina with his mum Khrustieva outside Hotel Killarney. Picture: Don MacMonagle

However, following protests from locals and calls to allow the Ukrainian refugees to stay, the move was abandoned.

Similarly, in July, protests were held in Kinnegad, Co Westmeath after 75 primarily male asylum seekers were moved to a local hotel.

A decision was eventually made to move the asylum seekers from Kinnegad to facilitate Ukrainian refugees instead, largely women and children.

“The war in Ukraine has brought 50,000 people to Ireland; simultaneously there has been a spike in the number of people claiming international protection here and unfortunately, some rhetoric has surfaced about ‘real refugees’ from Ukraine versus people fleeing persecution elsewhere,” said Ms Hurley.

It’s really important that in meeting the needs of people fleeing persecution, including the struggle to find sufficient accommodation, we don’t pit two vulnerable groups against each other by buying into the false narrative of the ‘good’ refugee versus the ‘bad’ refugee,” she said.

Ms Hurley said Nasc is now seeing some of the worst reception conditions for international protection applicants since direct provision was introduced in 2000.

“18 months after the government set out a roadmap to end direct provision, there are international protection applicants spending prolonged periods living in tents. This would have been inconceivable at the outset of 2022,” she said.

Ms Hurley said the standard of accommodation offered to newly arriving international protection applicants has fallen short of the already much-criticised established direct provision centres.

In Nasc’s recently published report, We Are Cork: Stories from a Diverse City, several participants spoke about their experience of direct provision and the international protection system.

"One of the participants spoke of the feeling of safety she felt on first arrival on finding a bed to sleep in and food for her, her husband and her baby. With the government announcement that they may soon be unable to accept new arrivals to the Red Cow Hotel reception facility, we can no longer guarantee even these basics to people newly arriving in Ireland,” she said.

Ms Hurley said it is “worrying” how this will impact the long-term integration of people newly arriving and seeking safety.

She said the demand for accommodation for people fleeing war has never been greater and the government is under unprecedented pressure.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said extensive work has been done in transitioning to a new model since the publication of the White Paper to End Direct Provision in February 2021.

A dedicated Transition Team and Programme Board have been established which includes representation from the NGO sector and an External Advisory Committee to oversee the transition to the new system.

Ukrainian family, Olha Kurlaieva and daughter Vittoria about to leave the Killarney Hotel for relocation on Wednesday evening. Picture: Don MacMonagle

The spokesperson said the war in Ukraine has had an “unavoidable impact” on timelines for implementation of the White Paper as staff have been temporarily diverted to fulfil Ireland’s obligations resulting in an overall review of the projected timelines which is currently ongoing.

There are currently 15,685 people in direct provision in Ireland, 3,401 of whom are children.

There were 8,892 applications for international protection received in the first eight months of 2022 up from 2649 for the entirety of 2021 and 1566 in 2020. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said there has been an increase in international protection applicants in recent months for a number of reasons.

International travel restrictions during the pandemic have created a higher demand for protection now that travel opportunities have resumed while policy changes in countries such as the UK “may be creating the perception of a less welcoming immigration and international protection environment, leading to secondary movements of applicants,” according to the spokesperson.

Additional funding of nearly €18m provided in the budget will go towards the recruitment of “a significant number” of extra staff in the International Protection Office to reduce the risk of people remaining in the system for long periods with uncertainty about their status.

The number of people granted refugee status from the publication of the White Paper to End Direct Provision on February 21, 2022 until August 31, 2022 was 2,310 while the number of applicants granted subsidiary protection in the same period was 139.

The majority of the participants in Nasc’s recent survey were positive about life in Cork City, and despite the challenges faced, many come through direct provision and build successful lives here in Ireland.

Ms Hurley said: “We know that refugee and migrant communities already face underemployment; we’re aware of many refugees who turn to setting up their own businesses because the only employment on offer is low-paid employment.

“Refugee business owners often speak to the importance of the networks they created while they were living in direct provision.

How much more difficult will it be for people to find decent work, set up their own business, or to study if they are being moved from county to county, from one temporary accommodation centre to another?”

Ahmed Saqqa

Ahmed Saqqa, the owner of The Four Liars in Cork City, said he would cry if he spoke of the extent of the circumstances he left behind in Aleppo, Syria.

Mr Saqqa and his wife, Hadeel, saw many people killed in Syria, “like you would kill a fly,” he said.

He said if nothing had happened in Syria, he would still be there with his family.

“I love my country, I was working there, I had my car and my home,” he said. 

When problems started in Syria, my daughter was three and my son was two. Nobody knew if they would wake up the next day or not.” 

He said buildings were constantly struck by bombs, including the one where he had been living which was destroyed a month after he left.

“I passed people dying in the street with my family. You have to live, you have to be strong,” he said before adding that he had to do “something” and leave for his family and their future.

Mr Saqqa had no location in mind other than wanting his family to be safe.

He said that If he went back to Syria now, he would be killed “straight away” because he left.

From Syria to Cork,  Ahmed Saqqa and his wife Hadeel at their restaurant The Four Liars, O'Connell Square, Shandon, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins.

After escaping Syria, he, his wife and two children went to Turkey. Mr Saqqa said he was lucky to have money set aside to do so after selling his car in order to be taken to the Turkish border.

It took five or six days which involved sleeping on the street but they were not alone.

“There were many families, many boys and many girls,” he said.

While in Turkey in 2015, he found someone to take his family on a boat to Greece, with over 60 people on the same boat, seeking safety.

He stayed in Greece for a year before he was told that Ireland would take him in 2017.

Once he arrived here, his family was housed in direct provision in Dublin.

He described direct provision as “refugee camps,” saying: “It wasn’t fantastic but it wasn’t bad” as it was better than being in Syria.

He said workers in direct provision wanted to help but that it was difficult for them to do so because of the number of people there.

“It was very hard because it was a new life for us, everything was different. It was hard but it was better than my country. Once I got my PPS number, I started to work straight away. When you are working hard, you will have something. Now I have this restaurant, I have my own car, we have this house and every year we go on holiday,” he said.

“It’s a new life for my kids now, they didn’t know anything about Syria and if you ask them where they are from they will say they are from Ireland,” he laughed.

Ahmed Saqqa and his wife Hadeel are expecting their third child in December. Picture: Larry Cummins.

He and his wife are expecting their third child in December.

“This is my country now, I am like my children in saying that I am from Ireland.

“I went to many countries, but I have never seen the same people as Ireland, they’re very friendly people. If you are walking down the street and you see any face, boy or girl, man or woman, they will smile at you,” he said.

Mr Saqqa is the owner of Cork’s first Syrian restaurant and said he received the most welcoming support from locals.

“That’s why I’m happy here,” he said.

Vitmir Sefolli

Vitmir Sefolli, who owns Building Needs & More Services in Glanmire, arrived in Ireland in 2012 with his family after spending six years in Greece.

He left Albania for a better life and a better future for his children.

“Albania’s a good country but the people running the country don’t care about their people,” he said.

Mr Sefolli spent five years in direct provision before they received permission to remain.

He and his wife had two children that were born while in direct provision.

Vitmir Sefolli with his business called Building Needs & More Services. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

For his wife and children, he said direct provision was “difficult". Mr Sefolli said they sometimes had to recook the food they were given and that the lack of space was also hard to manage.

“You can’t stay with three children in one room,” he said.

The most difficult thing was that he couldn’t work while he was in direct provision, and waited five years until he had the right to do so.

“When I was in direct provision, I had no rights. I couldn’t work,” he said.

He would do voluntary work just to keep busy, he said, picking up jobs over the years in charity shops, garden centres and an animal rescue shelter.

“Now they changed the law, if they spend six months in the country, they can work.” He didn’t know then that he would have the business he has now, saying: “I didn’t know anybody in the country, I had no brother, no cousins to set me up.” 

Mr Sefolli started to build his business with the odd job, doing garden work, painting and tiling and moved on to renovating houses and carrying out extensions.

Once his business was established he hired four people out of direct provision and is currently waiting for one to get his right to work.

I’m happy where I am from where I started because when you start on your own you learn a lot and you lose a lot. I learned how to deal with people and how to talk to people because I didn’t know English before I came here,” he said.

His family moved between five different centres including a two-year stay in Cork while in direct provision until they received the right to remain.

“We decided to come back to Cork because it’s the best place for families,” he said.