Direct Provision offers friendship and hope – for all its flaws

There’s often a chasm between public perception and reality. There’s a belief out there that Direct Provision is a ghastly world, akin to prison without cells.

But at the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre in Salthill, on a Saturday morning just days before Christmas, the truth is that there’s a lot more in common between this centre and a community centre. The conditions are not like anything that could be described as prison-like.

That’s not to say this system doesn’t have major flaws – it does, but for most people now residents in this former nightclub and hotel, the Eglinton offers security and friendship they didn’t think they’d find when they were forced to flee their homelands.

It’s just after 11am and a hive of activity is taking over the centre’s tearoom, where a carol concert is about to begin. Residents are filtering in, some to watch and others carrying instruments ready to lead the children in renditions of Jingle Bells and Silent Night.

Among the crowd is a group of people from Oughterard – a place where Direct Provision made headlines this year when attempts to open a centre were opposed by locals. Those who came to the Eglington had raised funds in the village to help with the centre’s community garden..

Also there is Rosscahill-based Kay Synott, the woman behind school gardens across Galway city and county, and the person who, with volunteer Brendan Smith, created a community garden run by the residents at the Eglinton.

It’s amazing how music, toys, sport, gardening, and even the Xbox, are a universal language, says Kay, who was there at the early stages of setting up the garden, and has since come back as a volunteer to offer advice where it’s needed.

See full feature in this week’s Connacht Tribune – in the shops this Friday.