The terror unfolded as the children left Gaelscoil Coaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East. According to the Irish Daily Mirror the man suspected of carrying out these attacks was an “Algerian Irish national”. I cannot see the relevance of the man’s birthplace in relation to the attacks. What has that got to do with this horrific crime except to fuel already lingering, in the minds of some, suspicions and prejudices against those of a different pigmentation? Be it intentional or otherwise such reporting does unleash people’s fears especially in an already highly emotive situation involving children. Without deviating too far, such reporting in Britain some years ago unleashed a backlash fuelled by the far-right in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, when the racial origins of a group of men suspected of grooming young girls was given. It had no bearing on the case and only fuelled speculation in the minds of some that all peoples of this origin were grooming ‘British’ girls, which of course is nonsense. Far-right social media platforms were quick off the mark, too quick for the newspapers reporting to have had any bearing, pushing their racist and anti-immigrant programme. They took this opportunity to launch their attacks on people, particularly those of different skin colour, living in Ireland and is an insult to those who were stabbed and their families. To use such a horrific event as little children being stabbed along with an underpaid childcare worker to promote their own political hate filled agenda should tell us all something about the nature of these far-right fascist organisations!
The ideologies of the far-right often fuelled by such crass reporting, purposely or otherwise, is having a growing effect on the hitherto non-racist Irish population. It is noticeable to see these right-wing opportunists do not mention the fact that a person who went to the aid of the victims and prevented further bloodshed at great risk to himself was a Brazilian man living in Ireland. Such a mention would not have served the fascist political hate filled agenda.
The following day, Friday 24th November, I hailed a taxi having just stocked up with messages. It was at this point I first heard of the events which followed the brutal stabbings. I had, up till then, no idea about the riots which ensued well into the previous evening and night. I asked why the buses were not stopping in O’Connell Street and the taxi driver told me of the riots. He seemed a decent bloke and certainly not a man who held racist views but he did say; “surely now the time has come to have all immigrants coming into Ireland vetted”. I asked him how many of the rioters were “foreigners” to which he said “only a couple I think.” I then said “it must follow then that the rioters were majority Irish, so how would vetting immigrants prevent that?” He replied, “I never thought of that”. Was he referring to the fact the assailant was not of Irish birth? If he was, he never clarified that concentrating only on the rioters.
This taxi driver, a very helpful man and certainly not prejudiced, perhaps epitomises the growing suspicions among Irish people about the number of immigrants coming into the country? It is surely time now for the left-wing anti-fascist organisations to get some answers which can counter those put forward by the far-right, not a difficult task as many of the arguments of the fascists tend to be somewhat hollow and basic. Other arguments are not so shallow but are transparent and easy to counter under the correct conditions, not the street, it is impossible to hold a debate on the cobbles. People are looking for guidance and the left are failing in this task. The far-right, on the other hand, appear to be given a free run in this battle of ideologies and they are, I hate to say, winning the race for the support of the indigenous population! Time for concern? Yes, most definitely before it is too late!!
The left-wing and anti-fascist opposition in Ireland appears more interested in the situation in Palestine than here in Ireland. They can mobilise tens of thousands to protest, rightly so, against what the Israelis are doing in Gaza, but are weak on the home front. People in Ireland are generally supportive of the Palestinians plight but, understandably, feel their own needs are being neglected. Do they have a point? Yes, in my view they do! A neighbour of mine, one of a rapidly growing trend swinging against all immigrants, including the hitherto untouchable Ukrainians, was arguing about a relative of his, disabled, being unable to get a house because the local authority told him; “these houses are for refugees and asylum seekers”. Now, I do not believe for a second this was the language used by any competent local authority but the core of his argument was about housing allocation and Irish people being unable to obtain a roof over their heads. These sentiments are becoming increasingly louder in my area and the fact a housing crisis existed long before any asylum seekers, certainly in large numbers, appeared on our shores appears to bypass these people’s minds. Unfortunately, some of these are more interested in ranting on and on non-stop than debating the subject, perfect cannon fodder for the far-right. This neighbour of mine does represent a growing number of Irish people taking this position, and he voiced his support for anti-immigrant protests, but not rioting. If the left opposition do not get their act together, they will, like the KPD and SPD in Germany during the 1920s and 30s lose the streets to the fascists if they have not already done so!
As I discovered from my taxi driver after the stabbings and no doubt in many ways in response to the right-wing social media platforms riots ensued in Dublin city centre. Garda cars were set on fire as were Luas trams and busses. Shops were looted by opportunists, the majority of the rioters, and also set alight. Among these opportunistic thieves were the racist elements spreading their hate. These are the cannon fodder of the fascist right and if the fascists ever get to power, which these people are promoting, then they will no doubt be dispensed with. Read about the Night of the Long Knives what happens to those people surplus to requirements? They are disposed of!! Some of the looters may well have been prepared to listen to the racists, after they had stocked up with nicked goods, blaming ‘foreigners’ might give them some self-perceived justification for their deeds, while others were only concerned with thieving. Irrespective of looters and non-looters the intentions of the far-right were to use these terrible attacks and the emotions which emitted from them as the spark to pedal their right-wing propaganda while Dublin, the city they claim to be concerned about, burned at their instigation.
The events of the evening of the 23rd November – not to be in any meaningful way associated with the stabbings – orchestrated by the fascist right could well be described as Dublin’s own version of the ‘Kristallnacht’ which occurred in Nazi Germany eighty-five years previously on the 9-10 November 1938. Here Jewish shops and businesses were looted and set on fire by the SA, SS and Hitler Youth along with many ordinary German people. Hitler had used an event which involved a Jew and the killing of a German diplomat in Paris to fuel the anger of the German people. It worked, as Jewish men were assaulted and dragged off to concentration camps, Jewish women raped and shops burned while Fireman looked on laughing. They were there to ensure the fires did not spread to German businesses and property, large and small.
The events in Dublin on 23rd November did show some similarities with the events of Nazi Germany on the ‘Kristallnacht’ or ‘night of broken glass’, but there were also differences. The Nazis attacked only Jewish property and synagogues burning them to the ground. In Dublin the attacks were on any shop or business at random irrespective of ownership. A question we must ask is this; what if we had an immigrant business community, would the fascist social media sites highlight these for attack? If they did, would the mob, hitherto mainly though not exclusively only interested in looting, pay any attention to these (hypothetical for now) fascist demands to attack only the property of immigrants? We should not wait to find out: the left opposition to fascism and racism should be getting their act together as this is perhaps a warning shot!
There is no doubt about it concerns are growing among the hitherto placid and non-racist Irish population about the number of refugees and asylum seekers coming into the 26 counties. These concerns of ordinary people are genuine and must be addressed but not by the ‘send them all back brigade’ and not only by the anti-fascist left. Perhaps the 26-county government might want to look at their own policies regarding refugees and asylum seekers. The far-right are exploiting people’s fears and, in some cases these right-wing groups are supported, clandestinely, by elements of the business community. Just as Henry Ford in the USA was a supporter of Nazi ideology in Germany so too has Elon Musk added his weight to the far right in Ireland. According to ”Sunday Politics Northern Ireland” Musk has voiced the view “the Irish Prime Minister hates the Irish people”. Leo Varadkar may be a lot of things but I would not accuse him of this. Also, on the same programme observations were made of MMA sportsman, Conor McGregor, with the fascist “leader of Britian First”. The capitalist government would not want to alienate these people either but perhaps the time is coming when they may have to? The days of having their cake and eating it may well be coming to an end! One thing is for sure, if the anti-fascist left and/or the 26 county government do not come up with answers to the far-right arguments it is the fascists who will win and then fucking hell help all of us, immigrant and indigenous alike! On some social media coverage, the name of an organisation ‘Britain First’ appears. This organisation is a neo-fascist group based, as the name suggests, in Britain and have strong links with some extreme six county loyalist groups. If the Irish far-right are in league with this group and their loyalist friends they should be regarded as loyalists themselves!!
The fascists are no more concerned with the stabbings of these children than is the man in the moon. Neither are they concerned with the city of Dublin as their orchestrated riots proved. These far-right groups are opportunists and will leap on any situation, no matter how tragic, to feather their own nests. This is something we should all, anti-fascist and non-fascist alike, be concerned with, and people’s fears must be addressed before these fears turn to prejudice and hatred for ‘the other’!! The ‘other’ being immigrants, particularly those of different skin pigmentation. Already immigrants are showing signs of being afraid to enter Dublin city centre. This situation cannot be allowed to continue as these people are members of our community and should not be living in constant fear.
The left-wing and anti-fascist opposition in Ireland appears more interested in the situation in Palestine than here in Ireland. They can mobilise tens of thousands to protest, rightly so, against what the Israelis are doing in Gaza, but are weak on the home front. People in Ireland are generally supportive of the Palestinians plight but, understandably, feel their own needs are being neglected. Do they have a point? Yes, in my view they do! A neighbour of mine, one of a rapidly growing trend swinging against all immigrants, including the hitherto untouchable Ukrainians, was arguing about a relative of his, disabled, being unable to get a house because the local authority told him; “these houses are for refugees and asylum seekers”. Now, I do not believe for a second this was the language used by any competent local authority but the core of his argument was about housing allocation and Irish people being unable to obtain a roof over their heads. These sentiments are becoming increasingly louder in my area and the fact a housing crisis existed long before any asylum seekers, certainly in large numbers, appeared on our shores appears to bypass these people’s minds. Unfortunately, some of these are more interested in ranting on and on non-stop than debating the subject, perfect cannon fodder for the far-right. This neighbour of mine does represent a growing number of Irish people taking this position, and he voiced his support for anti-immigrant protests, but not rioting. If the left opposition do not get their act together, they will, like the KPD and SPD in Germany during the 1920s and 30s lose the streets to the fascists if they have not already done so!
As I discovered from my taxi driver after the stabbings and no doubt in many ways in response to the right-wing social media platforms riots ensued in Dublin city centre. Garda cars were set on fire as were Luas trams and busses. Shops were looted by opportunists, the majority of the rioters, and also set alight. Among these opportunistic thieves were the racist elements spreading their hate. These are the cannon fodder of the fascist right and if the fascists ever get to power, which these people are promoting, then they will no doubt be dispensed with. Read about the Night of the Long Knives what happens to those people surplus to requirements? They are disposed of!! Some of the looters may well have been prepared to listen to the racists, after they had stocked up with nicked goods, blaming ‘foreigners’ might give them some self-perceived justification for their deeds, while others were only concerned with thieving. Irrespective of looters and non-looters the intentions of the far-right were to use these terrible attacks and the emotions which emitted from them as the spark to pedal their right-wing propaganda while Dublin, the city they claim to be concerned about, burned at their instigation.
The events of the evening of the 23rd November – not to be in any meaningful way associated with the stabbings – orchestrated by the fascist right could well be described as Dublin’s own version of the ‘Kristallnacht’ which occurred in Nazi Germany eighty-five years previously on the 9-10 November 1938. Here Jewish shops and businesses were looted and set on fire by the SA, SS and Hitler Youth along with many ordinary German people. Hitler had used an event which involved a Jew and the killing of a German diplomat in Paris to fuel the anger of the German people. It worked, as Jewish men were assaulted and dragged off to concentration camps, Jewish women raped and shops burned while Fireman looked on laughing. They were there to ensure the fires did not spread to German businesses and property, large and small.
The events in Dublin on 23rd November did show some similarities with the events of Nazi Germany on the ‘Kristallnacht’ or ‘night of broken glass’, but there were also differences. The Nazis attacked only Jewish property and synagogues burning them to the ground. In Dublin the attacks were on any shop or business at random irrespective of ownership. A question we must ask is this; what if we had an immigrant business community, would the fascist social media sites highlight these for attack? If they did, would the mob, hitherto mainly though not exclusively only interested in looting, pay any attention to these (hypothetical for now) fascist demands to attack only the property of immigrants? We should not wait to find out: the left opposition to fascism and racism should be getting their act together as this is perhaps a warning shot!
There is no doubt about it concerns are growing among the hitherto placid and non-racist Irish population about the number of refugees and asylum seekers coming into the 26 counties. These concerns of ordinary people are genuine and must be addressed but not by the ‘send them all back brigade’ and not only by the anti-fascist left. Perhaps the 26-county government might want to look at their own policies regarding refugees and asylum seekers. The far-right are exploiting people’s fears and, in some cases these right-wing groups are supported, clandestinely, by elements of the business community. Just as Henry Ford in the USA was a supporter of Nazi ideology in Germany so too has Elon Musk added his weight to the far right in Ireland. According to ”Sunday Politics Northern Ireland” Musk has voiced the view “the Irish Prime Minister hates the Irish people”. Leo Varadkar may be a lot of things but I would not accuse him of this. Also, on the same programme observations were made of MMA sportsman, Conor McGregor, with the fascist “leader of Britian First”. The capitalist government would not want to alienate these people either but perhaps the time is coming when they may have to? The days of having their cake and eating it may well be coming to an end! One thing is for sure, if the anti-fascist left and/or the 26 county government do not come up with answers to the far-right arguments it is the fascists who will win and then fucking hell help all of us, immigrant and indigenous alike! On some social media coverage, the name of an organisation ‘Britain First’ appears. This organisation is a neo-fascist group based, as the name suggests, in Britain and have strong links with some extreme six county loyalist groups. If the Irish far-right are in league with this group and their loyalist friends they should be regarded as loyalists themselves!!
The fascists are no more concerned with the stabbings of these children than is the man in the moon. Neither are they concerned with the city of Dublin as their orchestrated riots proved. These far-right groups are opportunists and will leap on any situation, no matter how tragic, to feather their own nests. This is something we should all, anti-fascist and non-fascist alike, be concerned with, and people’s fears must be addressed before these fears turn to prejudice and hatred for ‘the other’!! The ‘other’ being immigrants, particularly those of different skin pigmentation. Already immigrants are showing signs of being afraid to enter Dublin city centre. This situation cannot be allowed to continue as these people are members of our community and should not be living in constant fear.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
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