The organisers of a march to show solidarity with refugees on Saturday have called on the Government to “push out a national information campaign” to help ease growing tensions and the spread of disinformation.
Gathering outside Leinster House on Thursday, a number of TDs called on “as many people as possible” to attend the march on Saturday, starting at 1.30pm at Parnell Square and finishing at the Custom House.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Labour TD Ivana Bacik said it was crucial for the Government to “take a stronger co-ordination role” and create an information campaign “on the same scale as we saw with Covid and vaccinations” to “counter disinformation and stop far-right groups from exploiting the information vacuum”.
“It’s hugely important we see big numbers turn out to show solidarity with people seeking refuge and to show that the very small number of sinister actors on the far-right don’t speak for the majority of Irish people,” she said.
The march would be a “peaceful event” to show “solidarity and to show the céad míle fáilte is alive and well”.
People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith said the Government should address some of the “genuine concerns” people had about resources and “how we manage the influx of Ukrainian refugees and other asylum seekers coming in larger numbers than we ever expected.
“But the problem is that from the word go this has been manipulated by fascists and they have used people’s fears to ratchet up a very serious racist tension in this country,” Ms Smith said.
The growth in tensions recently “could’ve been dealt with” earlier on had the housing crisis and the health crisis “been handled differently”.
“If you listen to people’s concerns, those are the biggest worrying factors they have . . . but those problems were there long before any refugees arrived here,” she said.
The march on Saturday is organised by a broad coalition of groups including Le Chéile, the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Amnesty International, Black and Irish, and others.
The country’s largest public service union, Fórsa, has also signed up to support the rally.
Fórsa’s participation was “an important statement to oppose attempts by far-right organisations to spread hate, fear and misinformation about refugees and asylum seekers,” its head of education, Andy Pike, said.
“These groups have been targeting working-class communities in recent months, stoking unwarranted fear and resentment. The trade union movement has a proud history of opposing racism, bigotry and sectarianism. In joining the rally, Fórsa participants are proudly opposing those malign forces,” he said.
Fórsa organiser Amy Moran, who has been volunteering with the East Wall for All group, said Fórsa’s backing for the rally was a “positive pushback against misinformation and intimidation tactics of the far right”.
“Our message is one of inclusion and hope, and about making sure that refugees know that the vast majority of people welcome them to Ireland,” she said.
