Hiding the fact they're gay and being harassed by other residents: People talk about their experience of life in Direct Provision
YOU COULD BE sharing a room with people from very different cultures. You can’t choose who you’re sharing with. You can’t choose who you are. Some people come from backgrounds who have a problem with LGBT people so you have to always hide who you are. It is very difficult. One of the guys was very annoying and used to harass me, he always tried to touch me … There are other guys who just stand in the corridor and ask me to come to their room.
Hicham said some people in Johannesburg, where he managed a B&B, accepted him but others did not. “Some people accepted you, some people didn’t accept you – it depended on the area. When you’re at work they call you names like queer, something like that.” “It’s a big change, especially when you’re put with two people from very different cultures. You could be sharing a room with people from very different cultures. You can’t choose who you’re sharing with.
She was raised as a Muslim but converted to Christianity while in Ireland – something that has caused tension with some other residents at the centre, including a former roommate of hers. It was a difficult time for me, some people were staring at me when I was getting meals. It was very uncomfortable, I knew they were gossiping about me. Aisha said people’s religious beliefs should be respected and they should be free to practice whatever religion they identify with.Aisha said she has been harassed and propositioned by other residents on numerous occasions. She said another of her former roommates used to invite people back to their room late at night.
Any incident of intimidation or harassment which may be an offence should be reported to An Garda Siochana for investigation. They said requests from residents to move rooms within the centre are “dealt with locally by the centre manager”, noting: “Such requests can be facilitated having regard to the need to make full use of the bed spaces they have available to accommodate protection applicants.
The spokesperson said the department does not have statistics on the numbers of requests by residents to move room or centre, and whether or not they were granted. As there are set eating times at the centre, she often misses meals and has to skip breakfast to make it to morning lectures on time as she needs to get two buses.
“Firstly it helps you mentally, then physically, it helps you to integrate quickly, make new friends, learn a new culture – that’s the only way.”Both Hicham and Aisha, as well as others residents we spoke to, said feelings of isolation and loneliness are common among people living in DP – some of whom may have mental health issues and have experienced traumatic events in their lives.
“My mother passed away last year, I couldn’t go to her funeral. She had breast cancer. The last time I saw her was when I was in South Africa five years ago. It was very difficult [to not go to the funeral].”Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, has consistently highlighted the negative impact living in DP can have on a person’s wellbeing.
Since situations like this continue to arise, and will continue to arise in any setting where strangers are expected to share rooms and facilities for years on end, it is not enough to say the ‘house rules’ are inadequate to responding to these situations as they arise – the whole system is inadequate.
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