I guess I'm a NIMBY: Am I a horrible person, or how do you feel about being one?

[Lisnaholic]

Sorry, TH and Guybrush: I didn't see either of your latest posts, in which you cover much the same ground as me, but with more detail and eloquence.

That's noble of you and your family, Guybrush, to be lending a helping hand to the new-comers in your area. Those activities you mention must be doing so much towards a smooth transition for new arrivals, which in turn will reduce criminality and division. You guys would totally be the heroes in that growing genre of books that I have been dipping into: real life stories of refugees. Here are two good ones:-

     

[Trollheart]

You know something, Lisna, you would be surprised. I don't for a moment imagine there aren't people gathering followers on Twitter or X or Z or whatever the hell Musk wants it called now, Facebook or Meta or Crystal Meth or whatever Zuck wants to call it now, marshalling opposition and arranging protesters to head to a godforsaken wasteland to protest against its being used. It's not even that these people think, oh that factory/building/abandoned school etc could be used for this, they just don't want it used for that. To their minds, I feel, they'd be happier buildings remain empty rather than be used as refugee centres. So sadly, once it's on the island of Ireland I think these people will have a problem with any area being slated for use.

As for the hotels, well yes accommodation is provided but I don't know about meals. I'm sure they're not letting them starve, but at the same time I doubt the refugees can order up room service whenever they want it, so I imagine that social welfare payment (soon to be cut by about seven-eighths) has to go towards feeding themselves and their families. You won't get much at Just Eat or Deliveroo or even MacDonalds for 38 Euro! Maybe you might manage two, three meals for two or three people, once a day, but you'd be stretching it. I just don't see how they expect anyone, Irish or not, to make it on such a piddling amount. I mean, my little bit of shopping costs that every week, and that's before I pay rent and utilities, phone, internet, Sky and various other bills.

There's definitely a faction here - small I think, but loud and growing - that would smile very much on a proposal to deport every immigrant and refugee from Ireland. That will never happen, but that's the depth of hatred these people have. You could almost say they resent these unfortunates' right to exist at all. Shades of Germany in 1933, no?

Oh, and before anyone says it, I know.