Thread by @sileharpist

In the current climate there are a lot of people rightly calling for and end to the abhorrent system of Direct Provision. In my experience, a lot of Irish people don't really understand what it entails so I thought I would share my thoughts from the perspective of someone who has

hung out and made some friends with people in the system. This is not about the legal/technical side - there are plenty of people who can explain that way better than me. It is not a representative opinion - I am very much on the outside looking in, from a position of privilege.

But from here these are some things I have learned which may be of interest to those who are looking to learn more.
1. Direct Provision is infantilising. It's designed that way. It makes people completely reliant on the system to feed and shelter them, and as such they feel

bound by the 'rules' of the system, and are forced into a position whereby they need to swallow their criticism and anger to survive it.
2. There are some great activists within the system but there are also a lot of people who don't speak out for fear of reprisals - being moved

to another part of the country at 24hrs notice, being denied food, being bullied. These things really do happen - you just might not hear about it, because of the fear of speaking out.
3. The system is designed to break your morale with both huge issues that seem insurmountable

but more insidiously with lots of small, annoying roadblocks that pile up and pile up over time to wear you down. There are the big things we hear about - the tiny allowance, the right to work/drive/educate yourself. But I am also amazed at my friends in the system who manage not

to be broken by all the other things that keep being thrown in front of them. Things like getting a place on a course that should cost 500 euro but then being told that because you are technically not resident in Ireland you have to pay 3 grand instead. You finally have your

interview but it's at 9.15am on a Tuesday in Dublin and you're coming from Tralee on public transport that doesn't run that early. When you figure out some way to get there, you realise that children aren't allowed to come along and you have no childcare. You get permission to

work but the centre you are in is in the middle of nowhere and you can only find a job in the city, but you can't get to the city. You manage to somehow figure that out but there's no one to mind your kids. Your kid joins a local sports team and loves it but they want you to buy

the kit and it costs 50 quid that you really don't have. Your kid is lactose intolerant but the centre don't cater for it. Your kid needs special nappies that cost a third of your weekly allowance. Your faith keeps you sane but there is no place of worship that you can possibly

get to on a regular basis. The list literally goes on and on and on. These are things that would never even have occurred to me from my position of privilege, and I watch with horror as friends are constantly faced with this stuff.
4. It was designed as a temporary system but

people are stuck in it for years. YEARS.
5. The toll on mental health is huge. How are you feeling after 3 months of lockdown? Now imagine that feeling, except you, your partner and your three kids have been living together in one hotel room for 18months. And one of your kids is

a baby who doesn't sleep and keeps the whole family up at night.
6. A lot of DP centres are in rural, isolated areas. Because it's cheaper I guess. But it means that you have to put up with a lot of othering. Not only for your skin colour and your accent but because you are an

asylum seeker and the whole town knows it. And small town Ireland is pretty fucking racist - sometimes from a lack of education but also because people are assholes. Small Town Ireland loves to gossip and you can be damn sure they are gossiping about you.
7. You might meet some

very kind people who mean well. They may help you out with stuff you need. But there will almost always be a whiff of white saviourism off it.
8. With all the best will in the world, it will never be smooth sailing when you cram a load of people from different places, faiths and

life experiences together in a small space. People will not always get along but will not have the choice of removing themselves from a situation because they are stuck there.
9. I only now understand how lucky I am to have my own front door and my own kitchen and bathroom. I

never understood that before.
10. When you finally get your papers, you will probably be stuck in DP anyway. Because of the housing crisis it will be difficult for you to find somewhere to live.

11. Don't expect people in DP to give you a big speech about why it's terrible - the risk might be too great, the trauma might be too fresh. It is not their job to educate you on a system that was designed and is propped up by the government which is comprised of people we

voted for. And don't ask why they left where they are from - it's none of your fucking business. #EndDirectProvision