HUMAN rights group Shannonwatch, which monitors military movements through Shannon Airport, says that the Irish people and government have “responsibilities as human beings to act” on the refugee crisis, and the conflicts that have caused it.
A statement released by the organisation this week said: “We must demand that our governments do everything they can to end the cruel deaths we see happening in the backs of lorries, in the sea, in other parts of the long tortuous journeys that the people of Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, South Sudan, Eritrea and elsewhere undertake in order to stay alive.
“People like three-year-old Aylan Kurdi and his five-year-old brother Galib should not have to die while European leaders argue over the number of refugees to allow into their country.”
“Instead of building wire barricades and sending boats back to Northern Africa we urgently need to put mechanisms in place to ensure routes to safety for people fleeing for survival.”
The group is calling for all European countries to increase the number of refugees they take in with immediate effect and to provide supports for them “to live in environments where their dignity and well-being are respected”.
The group is also calling on the Irish government to “stop contributing to the conflict and wars that cause people to have to flee for survival” by permitting US troops and military planes to land in Shannon Airport.
The statement continued: “We should also bear in mind that groups like ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front that are causing terror all across the Middle East were born from the invasion of Iraq. Ireland provided material support for that invasion by making Shannon Airport available to the invading US military.
“As a result of all this we have an increased responsibility to act, to right the wrongs we helped cause. It’s time Ireland took a stand and said enough is enough. As a country that claims to promote peace and justice we cannot continue to do the opposite.”
