RESIDENTS AT a south-west Dublin asylum seeker hostel are rallying behind a woman from Chechnya who is under threat of transfer to Cork, having been accused of slapping a staff member.
Clondalkin Towers resident Ruana Zubaraeva told Metro Éireann she strongly denies the accusation and that several witnesses can vouch on her behalf.
Residents met last Sunday night to discuss the issue and vowed to “cause mayhem” if Zubaraeva, her husband and five children are moved, according to local community worker Abdul Yusuf of the Horn of Africa People’s Aid group.
“The residents had a meeting… they said if the RIA is making preparations to move her, they won’t accept that,” he said.
The community volunteer, who lives in Clondalkin, said he had “consistently” heard of problems at the hostel. He also said there is “no means of making complaints”.
Yusuf added: “There are things happening in the hostels that the world and Ireland knows nothing about.”
The latest incident was sparked on Wednesday 19 May when Zubaraeva went to collect toiletries such as toilet cleaner for her family, who share one room at the hostel.
She says a staff member informed her that the full allocation of toileties was monthly and not fortnightly. The staff member was relatively new at the hostel, added Zubaraeva.
She said she told the staff member: “I have five children, and we are seven people in a room... I said ‘I will take it.’ I pushed the table, she pushed me back and shouted... we were struggling together.”
Gardaí were called and Zubaraeva says she was accused of slapping the staff member’s colleague, who had also been present. Both staff members levelled this accusation, she said.
A witness, who did not wish to be named, said there had been “pushing” between the staff member and the woman, but that Zubaraeva had not slapped anyone.
“That’s not what happened,” said the witness. “I saw everything, 100 per cent.”
The witness, who said residents were not asked for a statement by gardaí or management, said there are “a lot” of problems but management “don’t look into matters”.
Residents at the hostel, which has a contracted capacity of 250, are preparing a letter of complaint to the RIA over a range of issues, the witness added.
According to Zubaraeva, the day after the incident, on 20 May, she received a letter from the RIA informing her that she and her family would be re-accommodated in Cork. She said a number of family members are accessing medical services in Dublin – including psychological assistance following traumas in Chechnya – and do not wish to leave the area.
She said she wrote to the RIA explaining her version of events and including the names of witnesses.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) does not comment on individual cases.
Revised house rules have recently been launched. “The centre will provide you with soap, shampoo and toothpaste when you arrive. They will give you new supplies when you need them,” reads the document, which also states residents will be provided with three “nutritious” meals a day. The rules also outline a complaints procedure for residents and management.
The spokesperson said “no diminution in the standards of service” had been detected at any of the RIA accommodation centres.
Last year the RIA, under the aegis of the Department of Justice, spent around €86.5m on the provision of accommodation and ancillary services for asylum seekers, which it mostly contracts out to private operators. This year, the cost is tallied at around €77m.
There are around 6,000 asylum seekers living at over 50 hostels and centres around the country.
