Protests in Dublin: 'Men are coming to burn your tents'

They went to a nearby cafe and watched and listened as a mob of 40 to 50, mainly men, but some women, marched on a makeshift camp on three sides of a block housing the International Protection Office, on Mount St Lower, in Dublin’s south city centre.

Some of the group are thought to have come from a gathering organised by the far-right Irish Freedom Party earlier on Saturday.

Tensions were already high after a mob burned out a separate migrant encampment a minute’s walk on Sandwith St on Friday night, just after gardaí took away the occupants to safety.

“I was passing that [Sandwith] on Friday and there were people protesting," said Shadreck. “It was scary. They started to chase us and said, ‘go, go, go, what are you waiting for?' We thought they might come that night for us, but they did not. They came yesterday [Saturday].” 

He and his friends from Zimbabwe are living in small tents on the Mount St side.

It's scary, because where we come from, we come from Zimbabwe, we ran away because they wanted to kill us. So, when we come here, again we find a situation like this. It's become scary to us.” 

Shadreck said sleep was a problem, as their tents are so exposed. 

"When you sleep here, people can come and bend the tents, they can even bend you inside the tent. There is no protection. If in the middle of the night they attack us, it's going to be a problem to us. We are scared now. We are scared.” 

There is a total of 58 small tents on three sides of the block, many with two people inside them.

On the far side of the block, Aleksey from Ukraine talks briefly, in limited English.

“I live in occupied territory in Lisichansk [in eastern Ukraine]," he said. "I go to Russia, to Europe, to here. Russia in Ukraine is very bad, very, very bad.” 

He did not seem fazed by the harassment from the far-right agitators. “This is not dangerous. Ukraine is dangerous.” 

Lucas Mateus Guimaraes, the only person who was willing to give his full name, said the far-right group “come to make trouble [and were] aggressive”.

But like Shadreck, the Brazilian got a phone message warning him.

“One girl told me, ‘Lucas, you can see on Twitter live people move in your direction, you need to tell your friends’,” said the 25-year-old.

“When they come there were so aggressive, ‘go back to your country, you can’t stay here’. In the last tent [pointing down from him] they try and break the tent. But, like that tent, this tent is my house.”

He said it is “very dangerous” when people in the group call them “paedophiles” or “murderers”.

The man living beside him is Volodymyr, from Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine.

“There were people with far-right slogans, shouting and telling us we were not welcome, refugees not welcome, Ireland for the Irish,” he said.

“One tent they moved for sure and they threw a cigarette at us, but nothing serious. I’ve seen much, much worse.” 

Both he and Lucas said that left-wing groups were trying to get them involved in protests and putting up banners.

“We don’t need slogans here because if you put up far-left slogans surely you will attract far-right,” said Volodymyr. 

We’re not about left or right, we are about a safe place.”

Lucas said the gardaí policed the protest well. “There were about 20 police, the police were perfect. They advised us to hide from this group, they were looking for trouble. The Garda controlled the situation.” 

Shadreck said there has been a Garda vehicle there since Saturday, across from his tent, with another car doing patrols around the block.

“They are checking on us, ‘guys, are you okay?’ If there is a problem to come to them.” 

Down the road, in the cul-de-sac off Sandwith St, there is still an acrid smell. 

Debris is scattered the full length of it: sleeping bags, remnants of food in pots and takeaways, chairs, suitcases, charred sofas, bits of bikes, and the odd shoe.

Volodymyr said there is talk that their camp on Mount St might be cleared this week and they will be given somewhere else.

“Where? What? I don’t know," he said. "Somewhere with electricity and toilet, hopefully.”

Lucas adds: "Somewhere that is more safe, no trouble."