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Protest in Eastwall this afternoon
A rally was held today in East Wall over refugees who arrived in the area by bus last night.
That was after a video circulated online showing dozens of buses carrying adult male refugees arriving at the Eastwall building.
Locals claim they have not been informed or consulted about the arrival of the refugees in the area.
About 150 people gathered on East Wall Road at 2pm today to voice their grievances.
They argue that it was not a racist issue and that the housing crisis provoked an angry response from locals.
One local resident said, “I thought women and children were arriving. We would have helped them and made them feel at home. Who are they and why is no one answering us?” ?”.
Another local said, “I have to be scrutinized to do orthodontics in church. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. Are these scrutinized? It was broken.”
East Wall Road has been shut down as a result of today’s protests, which lasted about an hour.
Rep. Niall Ring addresses the people of Eastwall in protest against refugees arriving in the area “without consultation” last night. #Dublin @nialring pic.twitter.com/0zR4UOztnX
— Alison O’Reilly (@AlisonMaryORE) November 19, 2022
Local council member Neil Ring said he had received an email from Minister Pascal Donahue stating that the arrival of refugees in the region was “part of government policy”. But locals said they were angry that all the adult men had been taken and “there were no women or children on the bus”.
Large-scale protests in East Wall have taken place over adult male refugee buses being housed without consultation in an old ESB building. They arrived last night. #Dublin pic.twitter.com/TyZpnIuX1H
— Alison O’Reilly (@AlisonMaryORE) November 19, 2022
When I spoke to one of the refugees inside the building, he said he was 24 years old and had fled Bosnia because his life was in danger.
He told us that he fled the country because his life was in danger, he wanted to live and work here in peace, and he didn’t want to upset anyone.
We have asked the Consolidation Department for a statement on the allegations made by some local residents and officials in the area.
Listen to our report here: