AN EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

18 years after the establishment of direct provision, a ‘solution’ little better than homelessness, acclaimed actor Stephen Rea adresses the ignominy of migrants who simply want to live and work in this country from the former workplace of the acrchitect of Catholic emancipation, Daniel O’Connell.

The direct provision system was established in 2000 to house asylum seekers entering the Irish State. It was initially described as an “interim” system which would provide accommodation for a six-month period while individuals awaited an outcome to their applications. There were 5,096 men, women and children, including 801 families, living in the 34 direct provision centers across 17 counties in Ireland by the end of December 2017. 18 years on this interim system remains, despite reports, political interventions and much brow beating. In Ireland those seeking asylum ‘live’ in direct provision centres, hotels, disused holiday camps and other places where nobody else wants to stay. They are barred from seeking employment, or even cooking.  While we take an indignant stance against Trump’s Migrant Camps and rail (rightly) against the historical institutionalisation of ‘marginal and vulnerable groups’ many fail to see and say that as the Irish Times puts it, direct provision is a stain upon the state. Festival of Politics in association with renowned actor and advocate Stephen Rea will host an evening of music and poetry as we rally for the ‘emancipation of those in direct provision’. Join Stephen Rea, journalist and spoken word artist Clara Rose Thornton and Christiana Obaro, Waheed Pansari and Mabel Chah who have personal experience of life in Direct Provision in Ireland.