Suicide Drama in Dublin

The Afghans have said they will scrap their protest if an international body reviews their applications.

Ali Bracken Eyewitness
Angry exchanges as Afghans are removed[/size]

Hunger strike: Cheers and jeers as cathedral asylum protest ends peacefully

As two ambulances led by a Garda car took away the first group of Afghan asylum seekers on hunger strike from St Patrick's cathedral on Saturday night, a cheer went up from local residents while protesters sat on the ground in an attempt to block their way.

Angry exchanges between the two groups had been heightening all day and inevitably came to a head as ambulances took the minors into the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and several Garda vans took the remaining 33 adults to face criminal charges.

Earlier, Ajmal Khan (34) had told The Irish Times by phone from inside the cathedral: "Morale is high with all of us. Some of us are taking water and some of us aren't." He said the older people in the group could no longer be responsible for the younger men threatening suicide.

As the week-long protest ended, tensions were high and a few scuffles ensued. Residents Against Racism along with other left-wing activists and political parties were supporting the Afghans, while local residents and members of the homeless community were protesting their occupation of the cathedral.

Children as young as eight carried posters saying "Get them Out. Let them Die". Many had been brought down by their parents to view what had become a tourist attraction.

About 100 people, supporters and protesters, witnessed the peaceful ending to the week-long spectacle.

As one by one the Garda vehicles brought out the men, gardaí were forced to push back supporters attempting to form a human barricade to halt their progress. On the other side, local residents, mostly children at this stage, roared their approval. This spilled over into minor scuffles with at least one woman claiming to have been assaulted. Chants of "send them home" clashed with a call for "no more racism".

Local residents hadmaintained a strong presence at the cathedral all day on Saturday, protesting what they saw as "foreigners holding us all to ransom".

A rally organised by Residents Against Racism in support of the Afghans was continuously heckled and gardaí were forced several times to intervene.

At one stage there were fears that a riot would break out. Sinn Féin politicians and members of the Socialist Workers Party among others called for the Government to grant the men's demand for refugee status.

Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins told those gathered: "Our Government has double standards. They are begging the US authorities to let the so-called 60,000 Irish illegals stay . . . why can they not do the same for a few dozen here?"

He also asked the residents protesting against the asylum seekers to "put their blame for local issues with the Department of Justice, not on poor people coming for refuge".

His words were met with anger and cynicism. "I sleep in a doorway and I'm an Irish citizen," Martin Coleman said. "If I went into that cathedral I'd be dragged straight out of it. They are being allowed to hold that church to ransom."

Local resident Mary-Ann McGee said: "Asylum seekers get too much. We're not looking after our own because we're too busy giving them everything."

A number of asylum seekers supported the protest. Alan, an Iranian, said their protest highlighted their "immense sense of frustration, something felt by all asylum seekers in Ireland".

Outside, local residents ripped down posters supporting the Afghans. As he did so, one young boy remarked: "I hate the gardaí but I hate the immigrants more."

Peaceful end to Afghan protest

The sit-in and hunger strike of Afghan asylum seekers in St Patrick's Cathedral has ended peacefully and without loss of life, for which all concerned are to be congratulated. The gardaí in particular deserve credit for negotiating a successful end to the situation. Throughout last week, the Department of Justice had refused to negotiate. It had little alternative, as to do so could have sparked a rash of such collective protests, thereby undermining the basis of the State's asylum process which is founded on an assessment of each claim individually. The ultimate losers would have been those asylum seekers who are not collectively organised, but who have valid claims for asylum.


The precise reasons for the men embarking on this drastic form of action remain unclear. They were not threatened with immediate deportation. Two of them had permission to stay. The others were at various stages in the asylum process. Yet, it would seem, they were willing to risk their lives in pursuit of speeded-up permission to remain in this State. According to the Dean of St Patrick's, Rev David Pierpoint, they felt desperate and isolated.


Afghanistan is a country where the rule of law is limited, to say the least. The writ of the present government does not run throughout the whole country. The Department of Foreign Affairs has warned Irish people travelling there. Many of the people who have fled the country could be in real danger if they returned.


The asylum process, while criticised in the past, is now well-resourced, the delays are much reduced, and asylum seekers are able to avail of good quality legal assistance. All this has been rightly praised by the UNHCR. But aspects of it have also been criticised. The Refugee Appeals Tribunal, in particular, has been criticised for lack of transparency in its decisions and a perception of inconsistency, fuelled by anecdotal accounts of individual hearings. Two of its most respected commissioners have resigned.


The Afghan protesters sought to circumvent the asylum process. They were living in B&Bs under the system of direct provision, isolated from the rest of the community, unable to work or engage in any useful activity. Such conditions could only intensify their feelings of isolation and desperation. Their protest has focused attention on our asylum process. More transparency should be introduced into how decisions are arrived at and consideration should be given to allowing the media report on hearings without identifying the applicants.


Steps also need to be taken to tackle the social isolation of asylum seekers. The system of direct provision needs to be looked at again. Organisations like churches, trade unions and educational bodies should take responsibility and help asylum seekers build a relationship with Irish society, so that they do not feel driven to the desperate actions seen in St Patrick's Cathedral.