A Mayo view: Irish immigration question demands more hospitality and less hostility

The situation in Ireland in regard to the provision of safe accommodation to asylum seekers fleeing danger in their home countries has reached a very distressing and demoralising juncture.

The land of the hundred thousand welcomes (céad míle fáilte) is sadly struggling to live up to its reputation for hospitality and friendship.

Anybody who listened to RTÉ Radio One journalist John Cooke's report on the Drivetime programme on January 11 about 350 asylum seekers living in State provided tented accommodation in Dundrum, Mullingar and Knocklisheen will truly understand the point this writer in making.

"I’ve lost all hope of a better life in Ireland," one very disappointed refugee told him.

Another spoke about the hardship of living in a tent during winter conditions in Ireland and having to wear a coat and cap in bed in a vain attempt to keep warm and not sleeping at all.

And when this poor gentleman told his family and friends in his native place about the dreadful conditions in which he is living and sends them photographs showing it, they tell him he would be better off coming home because Ireland has failed him.

Regrettably, he cannot because he no longer holds a passport and must continue to endure his Irish hardship, a plight which has left him depressed and without motivation.

These men who came to Ireland for refuge have been plunged into an even worse nightmare than the ones they were forced to leave in their own nations in the first place.

That's a shocking indictment of Ireland's integration system, one which has elevated crisis management to a level that borders on the bizarre.

The key question for the benefit of this analysis is: Why are asylum seekers still being accommodated in tents in Ireland when a commitment was given by the Department of Integration to shut them down following a previous outcry?

The answer may lie in the fact that communities throughout Ireland have taken it upon themselves to oppose the establishment of international protection centres planned to accommodate male asylum seekers.

Some have even gone as far as to burn down buildings to prevent this from happening.

The trend of community opposition to male asylum seekers needs to be called out as unjust, discriminatory and utterly callous.

It is based on misinformation and conspiracy theories that people who should know better are falling for.

And the collateral damage is being suffered by men who came to Ireland seeking hope and end up feeling despondent and totally lost.

What do their families think of Ireland now? Not a whole lot, one would imagine.

So it's time to take a collective deep breath and reassess our values in respect of the immigration and integration issue by understanding that hospitality is far more ingrained in the Irish persona than hostility.

It's just that some, more that others, need regular reminding of the fact.