Ireland of the Welcomes

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CITIZENS across Ireland are "pledging a bed" in their homes to house refugees fleeing war and conflict as the Irish Government comes under increasing criticism for not doing enough to deal with Europe's refugee crisis. 

In a campaign initiated by UpLift Ireland, hundreds of people from across the island have signed a pledge to take refugees into their own homes.

UpLift Founding Director Siobhán O'Donoghue said translating public anger into action is vital in order to force political leaders to respond to the crisis:

"The massive response from people across the country really shows up our Government's inaction. We need Taoiseach Enda Kenny to step up and agree to welcome more refugees into Ireland".

UpLift is also holding a number of solidarity demonstrations across the country as well as calling on the public to donate to front-line charities working with refugees.

The public reaction came as the Irish Government continues to be non-committal as to how many refugees it would take although Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told radio stations on Friday that the Irish Government would certainly increase the number of refugees it would accept from 600 to "thousands".

In the North, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin (pictured) said most people in the North of Ireland "would gladly welcome any moves to allow more refugees to come here."

Accepting refugees in the North of Ireland usually requires cooperation with the British Government, but the Deputy First Minister said he was looking into ways of taking unilateral action if moves by Britain's Conservative Government is not forthcoming:

"My Department has already been exploring the feasibility of how we can do that," he said, but added that cooperation with David Cameron's Government would be the "most effective" way.
© MARK MOLONEY
• Find out more or pledge a bed HERE

Currently more than 12,000 people in Ireland have  pledged beds to the refugees.

Austria & Germany accept Refugees

Long lines of buses have left Hungary's capital Budapest packed with people bound for Austria, which says it has agreed with Germany to let them in as Hungary gives in to crowds, including Syrian refugees, that had set out on foot for western Europe.

Hungary's government said on Saturday about 100 buses would pick up thousands of people camped in front of Budapest's main railway terminus and another 1,200 striding down the main highway to Vienna led by a Syrian refugee and chanting "Germany, Germany!"

Austria said they would be granted entry, regardless of European Union rules. Smiling refugees boarded the buses, waving goodbye to Hungarian volunteers and aid workers.

"Because of today's emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees' journey into their countries," Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said on his Facebook page.

 Viktor Orban, Hungarian prime minister, a man full of fear has had to back down and let the refugees through. Which proves that his crackdown on the refugees and his diabolical trickery of cancelling the trains the other day was stupid and deceitful.

The individual countries within the EU have to readjust their sights and policies in regards to this dreadful situation. For example Ireland needs to increase it's present allowance from 1,800 refugees to 5,000  and more.

President Michael D Higgins has said the UN has failed to deal with the conflict in Syria and it must be addressed by heads of state and government.

President Higgins told RTÉ News at One the EU has also failed in not having being able to agree an adequate figure, with an implementable regime, raising the issue of a voluntary or compulsory compliance.

He said EU countries are going to have to talk about the number of refugees they are accepting, saying it is more likely two to three times the figure that was originally suggested to them.

President Higgins said racism and xenophobia are re-appearing in some EU member countries.

He said that people should not be afraid of an influx of refugees, saying they are people fleeing persecution, slavery and smuggling.

The President said that the Irish people have to do what is right and share the responsibility of a human tragedy unfolding, adding that families in Ireland are willing to make a contribution.

He praised those in hardship who are reaching out to those in need.

President Higgins said the UNHCR has said that the EU should be discussing a figure of 200,000, but the EU figure is, as he understands, at 120,000.

"The figure of 120,000, which opens the EU ministers discussions, if that figure is revised in terms of the UNHCR's figure of 200,000,that obviously doubles the different indications that countries have been making. And that is a matter for government.

“Different member countries are going to have to talk about two-to-three times the figure that was originally suggested to them."

A Dirty Trick or lack of consultation?

Thursday 3rd Sept.

Hungarian police halted a train packed with refugees bound for the Austrian border and tried to force them to disembark in a town with a detention camp on Thursday, a confrontation that has become a focus of Europe's migration crisis.

After shutting refugees out of the main train station in the capital Budapest for two days, authorities played a dirty trick by giving false hope to the exhausted and confused people to board a westbound train. Hundreds crammed aboard clinging to doors and squeezing their children through open carriage windows.

But instead of proceeding to the Austrian border, the train was stopped just west of Budapest in the town of Bicske, where Hungary has a migration reception centre, and police ordered the passengers off.

Police cleared one carriage, while five more stood at the station in the heat. Fearing detention, some people banged on windows chanting "No camp! No camp!"

One group pushed back dozens of riot police guarding a stairwell to fight their way back on board. One family - a man, his wife and their toddler - made their way along the track next to the train and lay down in protest. It took a dozen riot police wrestling with the man to get them up again. 

"We need water," said a Syrian man who was still on the train and gave his name as Midu.

"Respect the humans in here; no respect for the humans.We want to go to Germany, not here," he said in English.

There then followed a curtailment of news reporting when baton wielding Hungarian Police forced

international journalists out of the station and declared it an operation zone.

The questions that are uppermost: what are Hungarian police afraid of or are their intended actions going to be so terrible and inhumane, that it must be kept secret from the rest of Europe ?

Report by Marton Dunai Reuters +Activist editing)

Friday:

Bob Geldof has said he is prepared to take in four refugee families to do his part in helping to deal with the growing migrant crisis.

Speaking to Dave Fanning on RTÉ Radio One, he said that he looks at the crisis with profound shame.  

He said he understands the economics and the politics, and that the root cause has to be addressed.

However, he said we are in a period of fundamental shift and when people are poor they move.

"It is a monstrous betrayal of who we are and what we wish to be, we are in a moment that will be discussed and impacted upon in 300 years time, a fundamental shift in the way the world has worked for the last, say, 600 years.

"If there's a new economy there needs to be a new politics. There isn't and it's that failure of new politics that has led to this fucking disgrace."

The aid campaigner and singer said he would open the doors to his family home in Kent and his flat in London in a personal response to the shocking scenes.

"I'm prepared - I'm lucky, I've a place in Kent and a flat in London - me and [partner] Jeanne would be prepared to take three families immediately in our place in Kent and a family in our flat in London, immediately, and put them up until such time as they can get going and get a purchase on their future."

Geldof also said that he himself is an economic migrant as Britain accepted him and he said it is the same for thousands of Irish people living in England and Australia and in countries across the world.