Women who were moved from a hotel in north Dublin to the controversial migrant centre in East Wall have said that they were being watched by men, who are also staying in the asylum centre, while they were showering in communal showers, and that they feel frightened and unsafe.
The East Wall Committee, whose high profile protests opposing the sudden arrival of busloads of men to the unused ESB building have now attracted national attention, said that they had been told “shocking accounts of women and girls being watched while showering in the communal showers. ”
“Less than 24 hours after women and children were bussed in from a safe hotel with lockable doors and private showers, these same women were seen outside the centre almost inconsolable and frightened to go back in,” the Committee said in a statement.
The women and children were being moved from a safe place to the East Wall centre and “used like props”, spokesman for the East Wall protests, Malachy Steenson told “We were told that there are “bad men” in the building and that the women are scared of them – they are “different” and “uncivilised”. We were told that the cultural and religious differences in the building are at melting point, and that women can’t understand why they were moved from a hotel to an old ESB building in East Wall centre where they feel afraid.”
“The government doesn’t’ care about the safety of these women and children – they are using them like props, so that they can say the local people in East Wall are opposing accommodation for women and children, when the reality is that most of those who were bussed into the centre in the dark are young, single men.”
“We know that thousands of people who came to this country this year destroyed their travel papers. Why would anyone do that unless they have something to hide? How many of them are now in East Wall?” he said.
One woman who is seeking asylum told the Irish Mirror that she was so upset at being moved to the old ESB building that she wanted to join the East Wall locals protesting.
She said that in the migrant centre men stare at females and said many women feel extremely uncomfortable, the Mirror reported.
The woman said that there ‘were no segregated showers areas and that men could see them while they got washed’.
She told how there is a “clash of cultures” among the refugees with many coming from different countries and different religions which was creating problems within the building.
“I don’t feel safe, I feel uncomfortable, the food is awful, the place where we can take showers is mixed, there is males and they can see us, they can spy at us. There are no women-only times.
“There is no privacy, we’re all alone and we are single women, we feel unsafe.
“They stare at us in a bad way you know. There are mixed bathrooms and mixed showers. We don’t want a big thing, we just want privacy.”
“At night, I’m scared, there are a lot of men.”
She also said that the East Wall locals were not racist to protest. “We agree with the protests, we feel it’s not racist at all, it’s okay to protest. Myself, I can support you,” she said.
Another woman told the paper: “We can’t lock our doors, we can close it but it can’t be locked.”
Mr Steenson said that the women were being treated appallingly, and that their plight was a direct result of the government insisting on the lie that Ireland could house and care for an unlimited number of people.
“Open borders does not serve communities and it does not serve the people. Empty promises of utopian social cohesion, and integration have been heard all over Europe and soon followed by, crime, neglect and despair. This cycle of overcrowding, escalating cultural differences, abuse and eventually uncontrollable crime is now already baring its teeth in East Wall,” he said.
He said the women’s stories should be heard and that the protests in East Wall would “escalate even further to prevent this madness”.
“They stand with us because nobody wants this. This is destructive to Irish society and dehumanising for the people in the building. They understand our concerns and agree with them. They wanted a better life. They were promised a better life. Now they are imprisoned in an office block in the middle of winter with no quality of living or hope of anything better. Most of these people are not fleeing war, as confirmed by the residents themselves,” he said.
“We can also confirm not a single person in East Wall is fleeing ‘Climate Change’,” he added in a reference to claims made by Paul Murphy TD in the Dáil.
“The situation is now at critical mass. Our stance remains the same. We demand that this centre is to be closed down with immediate effect. If Ireland cannot provide humane accommodation for its own, it clearly cannot provide it for in-comers,” he said.
Earlier this week, Paul Murphy said that those coming to Ireland were fleeing war, persecution and climate change and that Ireland should welcome refugees.