Galway response to refugee crisis?

frenchie091

Is anyone aware of anything being organised in Galway to respond to the refugee crisis? I know people have started organising emergency aid in other parts of the country.

biko

Like collecting food and medicines for the refugees in Syria?

BunkMoreland

Some kind of petition or other such nonsense on shopstreet today. I least I think it was in relation to the refugees. I was trying my best to block it out as I walked by.

thesandeman

BunkMoreland wrote: »

Some kind of petition or other such nonsense on shopstreet today. I least I think it was in relation to the refugees. I was trying my best to block it out as I walked by.

My suggestion is you should have just got a bag, cut eye holes and a space to breath and put it over your head while you were heading to your desired destination. You wouldn't have seen anything that might upset you then.













Oh Right!

Whereisgalway

biko wrote: »

Like collecting food and medicines for the refugees in Syria?

Refugees come from all over the world, not just from Syria

biko

Since OP started this thread now I assume the refugee crisis they refer to is about Syrians.

And nope OP, I haven't seen or heard about anything being done.

gordongekko

Have we not already taken in half of mayo.

Whereisgalway

Type galway calais refugee solidarity into Facebook. Calais is in France and is a port where refugees from all over the world (not just Syria) are stuck

pmasterson95

I think theres enough special offers for the students coming, NUIG has an assistance fund aswell. They'll be fine.

biko

There is a petition here to upscale the amount of people Ireland will take from hundreds to thousands.
https://uplift.ie/refugee-crisis/
You can pledge a bed in your house for a refugee.

BunkMoreland

Pledge a bed me hole.

The best thing we could do is send our armed forces off to Syria to help out Assad. Also if the Yanks, Brits and French would stop removing stabilising leaders of countries in that region it would be a help.

_Whimsical_

There's a Galway Calais Refugee Solidarity facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1495359680756777/ . They should have cooirdinated info on donation drop offs etc that are organised.

JONJO THE MISER

Pledge a bed in your house, be carefull your house could end up like this.

Pictures from a Hungarian bus used to transport immigrants to the Austrian border.





[/QUOTE]

El_Dangeroso

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Pledge a bed in your house, be carefull your house could end up like this.

Yeah, those people fleeing for their lives provided with very few provisions and only possessions that they can carry for their journey of thousands of miles not knowing their fate at the end of it could do with being a bit more tidy eh?:rolleyes:

Some people have very little compassion.

GekkePrutser

Whereisgalway wrote: »

Type galway calais refugee solidarity into Facebook. Calais is in France and is a port where refugees from all over the world (not just Syria) are stuck

How are they still refugees though, really, if they are well and safe in Calais? Last time I checked that was not a war-torn town. They're not 'stuck'. It's just that they are already safe in France but they want to go to the UK and they don't want to let them in. Which is their right.

They could simply apply for asylum in France any day but no, they want to go to the UK for whatever reason, probably because it's easier to find jobs there, they can't be bothered learning French etc.. They're just making it difficult for themselves.

It's the same with the others ending up in Greece at the moment, I read that a lot of them have lived in Turkey for a year or more, a lot of them are well off, and they are just coming to Europe because the pay and job situation is better. That's not really what the asylum program is for, to be fair. It's meant to take people in out of immediate life-threatening situations. I don't think they should be so picky, what matters is that they are no longer in any danger. And after living in their host country for a while and getting citizenship they could always move to a country that suits them better because that's what EU citizenship entails.

I just have a hard time sympathising with them if they're cherry-picking. That's what's causing the problems, with these streams of refugees trying to move to the country fo their choice without following the proper procedure.

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Yeah, those people fleeing for their lives provided with very few provisions and only possessions that they can carry for their journey of thousands of miles not knowing their fate at the end of it could do with being a bit more tidy eh?:rolleyes:

Some people have very little compassion.

This is the same situation. They were safe in Hungary, being fed and provided shelter. They don't have to worry about their 'fate' anymore, in Europe nobody's letting them starve. But no, they want to go to Germany, the promised land.

If they'd just stay put, get registered, they could be relocated as part of an EU program (because clearly Hungary can't take them all in by themselves).

Mervyn Skidmore

These seem to be economic migrants rather than refugees. I've lived in Hungary for a year and cannot understand what a refugee would not like about it. It's a safe, modern European country with very nice people. If you are fleeing war then Hungary would be a blessing. Not sure why they are insistent on getting to Western European countries. Actually now that I think of it, the welfare system in Hungary is quite poor, wonder if that has anything to do with it...

Squeeonline

BunkMoreland wrote: »

The best thing we could do is send our armed forces off to Syria to help out Assad.

It wasn't long ago that Assad was in the same category of leader as Gaddafi, and the west were doing their best to passively remove him. The media was supporting the rebels.

Now the rebels appear to have become ISIS/IS/ISIL/whatever which are Al-Qaeda on meth, and we kinda half support Assad because he's fighting them.

It's all very strange.

ben.schlomo

Squeeonline wrote: »

It wasn't long ago that Assad was in the same category of leader as Gaddafi, and the west were doing their best to passively remove him. The media was supporting the rebels.

Now the rebels appear to have become ISIS/IS/ISIL/whatever which are Al-Qaeda on meth, and we kinda half support Assad because he's fighting them.

It's all very strange.

You may find it enlightening to read up about that, may improve your understanding of the situation.

biko

The Galway angle has gone amiss in this discussion but as long as discussion flows with mutual respect I don't mind continuing.

Ben, please point out what Squeeonline is wrong about, with sources. This makes for better discussion instead of saying "you're wrong".

ben.schlomo

biko wrote: »

The Galway angle has gone amiss in this discussion but as long as discussion flows with mutual respect I don't mind continuing.

Ben, please point out what Squeeonline is wrong about, with sources. This makes for better discussion instead of saying "you're wrong".

The highlighted section of his/her post is where theyre wrong. As can be seen from the article below.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24403003

Squeeonline

So after watching the video on your BBC link it appears I'm not entirely wrong. ISIS and the rebels are still fighting Assad's government. So are we (i.e. the West) now supporting Assad because we don't like ISIS, or are we supporting the Rebels (including the aims of ISIS in this region)?

Or have we decided to not support anyone, let them all kill each other and support the winner who will hopefully keep stability in the region?

As for a Galwegian response, I'm not sure why some small town on the furthest regions of Europe needs to have a unified opinion on this. The government response as part of the EU should be sufficient as far as an official message goes.

Personally, if you want to help, I'm sure the Irish Red Cross or similar orgs will be doing something and you could volunteer time/money. I had friends at Vienna Westbahnhof over the last couple days handing out supplies to the refugees/migrants who needed them.

Is that empty hotel near GMIT still housing some asylum seekers? Is there room for more?

ben.schlomo

Squeeonline wrote: »

So after watching the video on your BBC link it appears I'm not entirely wrong. ISIS and the rebels are still fighting Assad's government. So are we (i.e. the West) now supporting Assad because we don't like ISIS, or are we supporting the Rebels (including the aims of ISIS in this region)?

Or have we decided to not support anyone, let them all kill each other and support the winner who will hopefully keep stability in the region?

As for a Galwegian response, I'm not sure why some small town on the furthest regions of Europe needs to have a unified opinion on this. The government response as part of the EU should be sufficient as far as an official message goes.

Personally, if you want to help, I'm sure the Irish Red Cross or similar orgs will be doing something and you could volunteer time/money. I had friends at Vienna Westbahnhof over the last couple days handing out supplies to the refugees/migrants who needed them.

Is that empty hotel near GMIT still housing some asylum seekers? Is there room for more?

The Corib Great Southern? When was it? You might be thinking of the former Ibis now Nox hotel.

Squeeonline

ben.schlomo wrote: »

The Corib Great Southern? When was it? You might be thinking of the former Ibis now Nox hotel.

I thought it was the Corrib Great Southern, but I was wrong. Advertiser has it as Great Western and the Eglington in Salthill.
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/69208/galway-meeting-on-asylum-seekers-living-conditions

JONJO THE MISER

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Pledge a bed in your house, be carefull your house could end up like this.

Pictures from a Hungarian bus used to transport immigrants to the Austrian border.

[/quote]

What's your point?

I've seen cinemas left in the same conditions after most kid's movies.

You put a collection of people in a small space and chances are that they will leave the same mess.

So you think this means that they shouldn't have safety?

Squeeonline

Deleted User wrote: »

What's your point?

I've seen cinemas left in the same conditions after most kid's movies.

You put a collection of people in a small space and chances are that they will leave the same mess.

So you think this means that they shouldn't have safety?

i was going to say still a better service than Dublin Bus

joe_six_cans

Mervyn Skidmore wrote: »

These seem to be economic migrants rather than refugees. I've lived in Hungary for a year and cannot understand what a refugee would not like about it. It's a safe, modern European country with very nice people. If you are fleeing war then Hungary would be a blessing. Not sure why they are insistent on getting to Western European countries. Actually now that I think of it, the welfare system in Hungary is quite poor, wonder if that has anything to do with it...

i owned a place in budapest for four years from 2005 - 2009 , i would not add to these refuges plight by demanding they remain in hungary

awful place , awful people

joe_six_cans

Squeeonline wrote: »

So after watching the video on your BBC link it appears I'm not entirely wrong. ISIS and the rebels are still fighting Assad's government. So are we (i.e. the West) now supporting Assad because we don't like ISIS, or are we supporting the Rebels (including the aims of ISIS in this region)?

Or have we decided to not support anyone, let them all kill each other and support the winner who will hopefully keep stability in the region?

As for a Galwegian response, I'm not sure why some small town on the furthest regions of Europe needs to have a unified opinion on this. The government response as part of the EU should be sufficient as far as an official message goes.

Personally, if you want to help, I'm sure the Irish Red Cross or similar orgs will be doing something and you could volunteer time/money. I had friends at Vienna Westbahnhof over the last couple days handing out supplies to the refugees/migrants who needed them.

Is that empty hotel near GMIT still housing some asylum seekers? Is there room for more?

the americans are trying to topple assad as he is a friend of russia who have economic interest in syria , they are indirectly supporting ISIS

the usa should be taking in all these refuges as it was the invasion of iraq which destabalised the region and led to the syrian civil war

KingBrian2

BunkMoreland wrote: »

Pledge a bed me hole.

The best thing we could do is send our armed forces off to Syria to help out Assad. Also if the Yanks, Brits and French would stop removing stabilising leaders of countries in that region it would be a help.

Here here.

Mrs OBumble

joe_six_cans wrote: »

i owned a place in budapest for four years from 2005 - 2009 , i would not add to these refuges plight by demanding they remain in hungary

awful place , awful people

Every country has its nice and its dreadful people people.

But your comment is consistent with what I've heard from foreign friend who was unfortunately hospitalised there.

'Tis a very small sample, I know.

inisboffin

Whereisgalway wrote: »

Type galway calais refugee solidarity into Facebook. Calais is in France and is a port where refugees from all over the world (not just Syria) are stuck

Thank you for the above. I've quoted this post as I (mistakenly) told someone to "check boards" when they wanted to know about a donation point near them (one of my neighbour is doing it near here). Sad to say it is nearly 2 pages of refugee opinion. Reading back again I see how the title could be taken two ways, but I still find it a bit misleading. I read it as relief response, and where it was happening.

connemara man

There's a refugee collection in the building next to the blu note. There was a meeting there last week when I went by. Looked like a good amount of stuff starting to build up in there

beardybrewer

ben.schlomo wrote: »

The highlighted section of his/her post is where theyre wrong. As can be seen from the article below.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24403003

What do you make of this? It's a very short, but quickly digestible summary.

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/4/9261971/syria-refugee-war

ben.schlomo

beardybrewer wrote: »

What do you make of this? It's a very short, but quickly digestible summary.

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/4/9261971/syria-refugee-war

Bit like a dumbed down US version of whats going on, not overly inaccurate though and the map is good.

Whereisgalway

Migrant crisis: Activists to spend 24 hours in shipping container

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/migrant-crisis-activists-to-spend-24-hours-in-shipping-container-1.2355127

What does everyone make of this? Are they doing good or for their self interests

Mrs OBumble

Whereisgalway wrote: »

Migrant crisis: Activists to spend 24 hours in shipping container

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/migrant-crisis-activists-to-spend-24-hours-in-shipping-container-1.2355127

What does everyone make of this? Are they doing good or for their self interests

According to the article in yesterday's Galway Indo, they're doing it as a piece of installation art.

Most artists do their artistic endeavours both for themselves and to communicate with the public, and for whatever other reasons.

biko

Artists, environmental and humanitarian activists and an Iraqi astrophysicist plan to spend up to 24 hours in a shipping container in Galway city from Friday to highlight Europea’s migrant crisis.

I doubt a single person in Europe has not heard of the refugee crisis or the hardship they face when being transported into EU, but sure go ahead.

Additionally I'd love to see these people protesting outside Saudi Arabia's embassy at FitzWilliam Square in Dublin because SA refuses to accept Syrian refugees.
SA has instead of taking refugees kindly offered to build 200 mosques in Germany...

Whereisgalway

SA has instead of taking refugees kindly offered to build 200 mosques in Germany...[/quote]

Wow have u a link for that quote

Cheshire Cat

Whereisgalway wrote: »

SA has instead of taking refugees kindly offered to build 200 mosques in Germany...

Wow have u a link for that quote[/QUOTE]

My mother-in-law in Germany was giving out about that!

Here's a link to one of many German news sites that ran with that story. The FAZ is a highly respected paper.



http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/fluechtlingskrise/die-golfstaaten-schotten-sich-gegenueber-fluechtlingen-ab-13789932.html

Whereisgalway

Cheshire Cat wrote: »

Wow have u a link for that quote

My mother-in-law in Germany was giving out about that!

Here's a link to one of many German news sites that ran with that story. The FAZ is a highly respected paper.


I haven't a word of German! Any sources written in english

Cheshire Cat

Google translate ;-)

Or http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/saudi-arabia-offers-germany-200-mosques--one-for-every-100-refugees-who-arrived-last-weekend-10495082.html

They are referencing the article in the FAZ.

Or here: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/saudi-offers-build-200-mosques-in-germany-for-syrian-refugees-605755.html

inisboffin

biko wrote: »

I doubt a single person in Europe has not heard of the refugee crisis or the hardship they face when being transported into EU, but sure go ahead.

Sometimes it's one thing 'hearing' about something, but another having it presented to you in a different way, sometimes more visceral, perhaps inviting people to view it in a new light.

biko

If you donate here Google will match your donation
https://onetoday.google.com/page/refugeerelief?c=IE

youngrun

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Bit like a dumbed down US version of whats going on, not overly inaccurate though and the map is good.

Totally inacurrate version and completely ignores that Syria was a stable and economically sound country before various foreign countries launched a war to destroy it

Plenty of reading here
http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-who-is-behind-the-protest-movement-fabricating-a-pretext-for-a-us-nato-humanitarian-intervention/24591

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/05/the-brookings-institute-plan-to-liquidate-syria/

http://www.cfr.org/syria/brookings-saving-syria-assessing-options-regime-change/p27868

biko

Whereisgalway wrote: »

Refugees come from all over the world, not just from Syria

Hm yes, apparently just 1 in 5 migrants claiming asylum are from Syria, the four others are from other places.

Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics agency, claims 217,000 migrants arrived in the EU in April, May and June this year.

The agency calculated that 27,000 of these were from Afghanistan, 17,700 were from Albania, 13,900 were from Iraq.
Syrians made up 44,000 of these figures.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/19/eu-statisticians-claim-only-1-in-5-migrants-are-from-syria-5398412/

Whereisgalway

Whereisgalway wrote: »

Migrant crisis: Activists to spend 24 hours in shipping container

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/migrant-crisis-activists-to-spend-24-hours-in-shipping-container-1.2355127

What does everyone make of this? Are they doing good or for their self interests

Amongst the most shameless of self serving activities I have seen undertaken in a long time. The entire thing was nothing but a shameless way for the supposed activists to get their names in the papers and have their friends tell them how great they were.

snubbleste

So eh all those pledge-a-bed offers for homeless migrants in Central Europe, that folk were offering, have they materialised in the Galway area yet?

biko

So far there's not many coming
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1028/737881-calls-for/

Up to 30 Syrian refugees expected in Ireland by year end

snubbleste

Anyone hear if the Government have sequestered housing for Syrian migrants in Galway?
or
know of five households in every parish opening their doors?

TerrorFirmer

I think Ireland took in about 100 refugees in total throughout the entire year, so I wouldn't imagine the parish breakdown's are too compelling.

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

Anyone hear if the Government have sequestered housing for Syrian migrants in Galway?
or know of five households in every parish opening their doors?

Turns out the Galway area is getting a minimum of 20 Syrian families. Possibly skipping the 14 year wait for social housing and the 300 odd homeless people.

Did all those people wringing hands last September open up their doors to refugees after all?

El_Dangeroso

snubbleste wrote: »

Turns out the Galway area is getting a minimum of 20 Syrian families. Possibly skipping the 14 year wait for social housing and the 300 odd homeless people.

Did all those people wringing hands last September open up their doors to refugees after all?

It may be a controversial opinion but I think that families fleeing for their very lives from their home being torn apart by war are a bit more deserving of assistance than those who were born in a western country with plenty of opportunity but just didn't happen to get around to learning how to provide for themselves.