Irish riot: organizers of riots in Dublin called for killing immigrants

The police had retaken O’Connell Bridge and were preparing a baton attack on the south bank of the River Liffey, but the rioters and bystanders on Westmoreland Street refused to retreat and lose sight of the fires. This is how The Observer talks about the riot in the Irish capital.

A young man in a mask had just set fire to a garbage can, which burst into flames with a loud whistle and engulfed the bus stop opposite the Mimi cafe in flames. On the far side of the bridge, at the foot of the Daniel O’Connell statue, a double-decker bus and a car were burning, spewing orange flames. Smoke from other fires rose into the night sky.

The police banged their batons on the shields, a prelude to another attack, and the crowd still hesitated, almost hypnotized by the spectacle of flames in the heart of Ireland’s capital.

“It’s sad that it’s come to this,” says a quiet spectator in his 20s who was not involved in the riots. “But the situation got out of control.”

He was not referring to the riots that engulfed Dublin city center on Thursday night, but to immigration and the perception that foreigners – and especially asylum seekers – are fueling a crime wave and worsening the housing crisis.

“Their religion does not respect women’s rights,” he added. “Men dominate.”

The police attacked and the spectator fled, unable to clarify any connection with Dutch voters who backed Geert Wilders’ anti-Islamic Freedom Party last week, or with the results of other elections across Europe, but there was little need to do so, writes The Observer .

Among the smoke, screams and howling sirens, an unpleasant truth emerged. An Ireland that for so long seemed to buck the anti-immigrant trend in Europe and offer “a thousand welcomes” to foreigners who changed its economy, society and demographics – an Ireland that seemed immune to xenophobia, demagoguery and backlash – is, after all, , not so different from other European countries.

Immigrants began arriving here in large numbers in the 1990s, to the point that today a fifth of Ireland’s population of 5 million was born elsewhere – a seismic transformation that seemed to occur smoothly, with little public debate and little political influence.

While anti-immigrant sentiment increased in France, Italy, Hungary and other countries and provided impetus for Brexit, Ireland seemed unresponsive. The topic of immigration barely featured in elections, parliamentary debates or the mainstream media. The rise to power of Sinn Féin, a progressive leftist party, did not upset this consensus.

There have been many theories about Irish exceptionalism. Perhaps centuries of emigration and colonialism have made the Irish more accepting of those arriving in search of a new life. Perhaps it was a growing economy’s hunger for labor, albeit punctuated by collapse and austerity measures. Maybe the Irish were just naturally friendly and relaxed. More Poles, British, Indians, Romanians, Brazilians? Oh, of course it’s great.

Thursday’s events fueled the fire of such piety. The man stabbed three children and a carer outside Parnell Square Primary School in Dublin city center at around 1.30pm, seriously injuring two victims. It was a shocking attack and all hell broke loose within hours. Commentators on social media called the alleged attacker a foreigner – he is in fact a naturalized Irish citizen, believed to be from Algeria – and sparked a furious outcry.

“They can’t control us all,” said a voice message from an account called “Kill All Immigrants.” “Let’s split up into small groups and do what we have to do. Be in the city at seven o’clock. Everyone gather and arm themselves. And just kill any damn gypsy, foreigner, anyone,” the provocative voice called. “Let’s put it on the news, let’s show the damn media that we’re not weaklings. That foreigners are no longer allowed into this grimy country.”

The chilling threats were bluster, writes The Observer. Some rioters chanted “get them away” and other slogans, but there were no reports of attacks on foreigners. Instead, about 500 people rampaged through Dublin city center, attacking property and police. By the end of the action, a tram and two buses had been set on fire, 11 police cars had been damaged, 13 shops had been looted, 48 people had been arrested and dozens of police officers were reportedly injured.

Immigrant groups have expressed concerns about their safety. The Muslim Sisters of Eire, which runs a soup kitchen in Dublin, has suspended its operation. The Irish Asylum Seekers Movement said that no matter what a person has done, no nationality should be tarnished: “No person is responsible for the actions of another, even if it is his twin.”

On Friday, Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, called for tolerance among his compatriots. “Being Irish means more than saluting the tricolor, beating your chest and pointing to the place where you were born,” he said. “It means living up to the ideals represented by our flag, it means being true to our own history, it means acting with compassion for others. Today I challenge us all to remember who we really are.”

The riot undermined the idea of ​​some kind of progressive Celtic nirvana in the Atlantic, notes The Observer. Not because of its size: there were opportunists in the crowd, more interested in peddling sneakers and vodka or recording dramatic footage than intimidating foreign observers who watched with excitement. Factors unrelated to immigration, such as the growing emboldening of youth gangs following the Covid lockdown, also fueled the chaos.

The violence also did not receive public support. It was widely condemned. And many highlighted the fact that it was a Brazilian delivery courier named Caio Benicio who helped stop the attacker outside the school.

The GoFundMe campaign “buy a pint of Cayo Benicio” has raised more than €330,000. “Welcome to Ireland, Kayo! Thank you for making it home,” said one of the donors. “What you did was brilliant, stepping in without thinking about yourself, go raib maith agate,” said another, using the Irish “thank you.” “Foreign hero,” said another.

Yet the lightning that struck Dublin did not strike from a clear blue sky, The Observer admits. Concerns over immigration and asylum seekers have been plaguing villages, towns and villages across Ireland for several years. In 2019, a hotel in County Leitrim that was waiting to house asylum seekers was set on fire – twice. Suspected arsonists targeted other refugee centers. Violent protests closed roads and, in September, even parliament, briefly trapping lawmakers inside.

Peaceful protests against planned or actual accommodation centers occur almost weekly, often led by middle-class residents seeking court orders. In the days before the riots, hundreds of people in Rosslare gathered to oppose plans to turn a second hotel in the County Wexford village into a refugee shelter. Lawmakers are now voicing such concerns openly in Parliament.

Some protests are focused on resources. The number of refugees hosted by the government jumped from 7,500 in 2021 to 73,000 in 2022 amid a housing shortage and a cost of living crisis.

But right-wing activists are also stoking a moral panic about the country being overrun by “non-native” predators such as Slovakian Josef Puska, convicted this month of murdering teacher Ashling Murphy in 2022. The posters feature slogans such as “Ireland is full”, “Ireland for the Irish” and “Irish lives matter”.

Drew Harris, the National Guard commissioner, or chief of police, said far-right radicalization would continue to erode Irish society: “We have to assume that we will see further protests like this.” Police quickly borrowed two water cannons from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson, writing in the Daily Mail, said even “the most painfully liberal of countries” is now unhappy with the EU’s open borders. “Look at what is happening in Dublin, where this beautiful and happy city seems to be in the grip of race riots.”

Herman Kelly, founder of the fringe Irish Freedom Party, condemned the violence but said the lower class felt marginalized and ignored: “They’re just angry and don’t see a mechanism by which they can bring about change.”

Kelly, who serves in the European Parliament for conservative Romanian MEP Cristian Terges, said he plans to field three candidates in next year’s European Parliament elections.

It remains to be seen whether the far right will gain traction in the Irish elections. From Slovakia and Spain to Germany, Poland and Italy, populist and far-right parties have triumphed in some EU member states and failed in others.

Voters may have to hold their breath for months to find out whether far-right Geert Wilders will become prime minister amid a protracted coalition process in the Netherlands. But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the election victory of the anti-EU and anti-Islamic Dutch candidate was a consequence of “all the concerns that are happening in Europe” about immigration and the economy.

Across Europe, there are signs that anti-migration policies are appealing to some voters. The far-right Alternative for Germany party declared itself a “major pan-German party” after success in regional elections in the influential state of Hesse in October. In Spain, the far-right party Vox entered local governments in several regions in June.

Giorgia Meloni’s far-right came to power in Italy last year amid anti-immigration policies. Despite the animosity felt by many in the EU, she is now one of the most influential leaders at EU summits when it comes to new immigration laws that member states are trying to cross the line after seven years of disagreement.

She has been feted by leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who twice accompanied her on migration policy trips to Tunisia. Even Emmanuel Macron joined the club last month after attending a meeting between Rishi Sunak and Meloni on migration.

“The danger is that if Meloni can take center stage in European politics and voters see that World War III did not start just because a populist leader is in power, they might say ‘why not?’ in France and give Marine Le Pen’s chance,” said one diplomat in Brussels. The diplomat predicted that migration would remain high on the agenda, leading to a shift to the right in European parliamentary elections.

Clinging to the notion that Ireland was different no longer made sense, wrote Pat Leahy, political editor of the Irish Times: “Whether you think these concerns are legitimate or not, they are real and they are now part of our politics.” A government figure sent Leahy a tongue-in-cheek message: “So now we are officially a major European country.”