A year into the war in Ukraine, refugees are greeted by protests instead of cakes and toys

One of the first facilities used to accommodate refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine was Aughrim Street Sports Hall in Stoneybatter on Dublin’s northside, a much-loved local resource which is primarily used for boxing.

Once word got out of the impending arrivals in early April 2022, the centre was inundated with offers of clothes, toys and cakes for the 50 or so refugees expected to be temporarily housed there.

A local community group, Stoneybatter Pride of Place, posted on Facebook that the community was not being asked to do anything “other than to be friendly and welcome them into the area”. Regardless, offers of help continued to flow in. A woman who crocheted blankets for sick babies in her spare time asked if she could knit some for the Ukrainian children. Another woman offered her services as a translator.

Online, a few people questioned why homeless Irish people were not being housed in the hall, but they were drowned out by messages of welcome and support.

Ten months later, as the invasion of Ukraine approached its first anniversary, a young garda stood in the middle of the road outside the same sports hall, trying in vain to calm an angry crowd.

The garda tries to do a sort of live fact-check: no, it isn’t Somalian men moving into the hall, it’s group of 50 Ukrainians of mixed genders and ages, he tells them

About 100 people had turned out and were blocking traffic. Many were there after seeing false information on social media claiming “150 Somalians” were to be accommodated in the hall. The claim quickly evolved into “150 Somalian men” and that they had already been moved into the premises under cover of darkness. One such tweet from a notorious spreader of false information about migrants received 168,000 views.

As he talks to the protesters, the garda tries to do a sort of live fact-check: no, it isn’t Somalian men moving into the hall, it’s group of 50 Ukrainians of mixed genders and ages, he tells them.

No, boxing training wasn’t cancelled tonight because of the refugees. They won’t arrive until next week at the earliest. The classes were cancelled because of the protest.

And no, a violent incident in Dublin 7 a few days earlier was not carried out by “foreigners”. In fact, the chief suspect is an Irish man.

‘Over the top’

The garda is not making much headway but he perseveres. “I do understand your fears. I’m not here to be against you guys in any way,” he tells the group. “But maybe this is a bit over the top.”

Nobody moves. “You’re covering their backs because they’re foreign nationals,” says one man, who hides his face with his hood.

Another man seems to concede they may have been misinformed, but says it wouldn’t have happened if they had official information from the council.

“We communicate with each other and spread information because we get none from officials. It’s all covered up,” he tells The Irish Times.

“We want the right information. We don’t want false information,” a woman says.

After a while, some of the group accept maybe it is Ukrainians moving in.

“But is there even a war going on over there? I know people are dying but is it a war?” says a man, before returning to the topic of “unvetted men”.

It’s a long way from the warm welcome provided by the community in April 2022. Since then, the sports hall has been used on several occasions to house Ukrainians refugees, but this is the first time it has been protested. According to a council official, the hall is used as a backup facility for when other refugee accommodation options are overwhelmed, an occurrence which is becoming increasingly common.

There is a “a severe accommodation shortage” for Ukrainian refugees, said a Department of Integration spokesman. “As a result, [the Ukraine Crisis Temporary Accommodation Team] allocates accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Accommodation as and where it becomes available.”

Wednesday’s demonstration billed itself as an organic, grassroots protest. There were no megaphones or placards.

Far-right agitators

The protest the next night was different. This time, at least 200 showed up. Most were locals but among them were several far-right agitators from outside the community who have been seen at the many similar protests around Dublin.

Miniature Tricolours were handed out to children who sat up in a row on the wall outside the sports hall. A woman then used a loud hailer to direct the protesters in a march around the area. Women with buggies led the group while young men, some with their faces covered, hung back.

In an effort to lower the temperature and counter some of the false rumours, Joe Costello addressed the crowd through a megaphone. It didn’t go well

This time gardaí didn’t try to talk anyone down. They simply escorted the group on their march. A public order van loitered discreetly nearby. Boxing training was cancelled again.

Veteran local Labour councillor Joe Costello arrived as the march came to an end. He had some sympathies for the protesters’ grievances. There had been a dearth of communication from the council and the Government, he said. And even though the protesters may have been misinformed, it was true that a valuable local resource was being taken away from them for the foreseeable future.

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“There’s also a perception that the north inner city gets more than its share of vulnerable people, be they homeless people, drug addicts or people coming out of prison. It’s not a just a perception, it’s true,” he told The Irish Times.

In an effort to lower the temperature and counter some of the false rumours, Mr Costello addressed the crowd through a megaphone. It didn’t go well and he was soon drowned out by another megaphone.

“By the time I got to speak, the crowd were very excitable and unfortunately I didn’t make much progress,” he said afterwards.