asylum seekers

National organisations working with asylum seekers, and local representatives in Co Galway have spoken out against the alleged arson attack on the vacant Ross Lake House Hotel.

“I was abused verbally and physically by my landlord in Galway. He threatened to cut my head off and send me ‘on a slow boat back to the Congo’,” said Wally Nkikita from The Galway African Diaspora, urging others to tell their stories of racism and discrimination.

Weekly payments given to families in direct provision provide less than half of what is needed for the minimum essential standard of living, according to new research. The Children’s Rights Alliance has now renewed its call for the Government to prioritise an increased child payment for children in the direct provision system in Budget 2024.

In Wexford - as  featured in our long read here -  community workers under SICAP made people welcome during a pandemic. The same good community work is happening across the country, from Inchicore to West Mayo. It is but one of many #SicapStories. It would make for an ideal television series, as amateur film-makers are proving.

Amid ongoing discussions about the Irish direct provision system, one student-run social enterprise is working to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are able to integrate in their communities.

When it comes to supporting asylum seekers, there’s a sense that governments can only do much. That leaves it up to communities and social enterprises to close the gap.