Most people would agree that the weather on the afternoon of 26th April was enjoyable for Dublin – a cloudless afternoon with warm sunshine. This is the weather that encourages people to go for picnics, hiking, or even a dip into the sea. However, on that particular day, around 3,000 people gathered in the city centre for completely different ideologies.
I arrived at the GPO at 1.30 p.m. I have never been to any protest before; growing up in China, participating in protests was never a great idea. Sometimes I stand at the back of a protest, watching the crowd chanting, and that makes me feel like I am supporting the cause I believe in. However, this time it’s me and my family’s future that people are fighting for. I feel that I can’t be unseen; I can’t be unheard, so I moved to the front of the crowd.
The beginning of the protest felt like being at a concert. I was curious about the signs people were holding, the clothes they were wearing. We ended each of the chants with a cheer and applause, as if supporting a band. The tension began to escalated as soon as the right-wing army made in triple Irish colour, marched from the north of O’Connell Street and merged with us at the GPO in around 2 pm. They were carrying Irish flags, holding signs like “stop the replacement”, “you can’t beat Irish”. Before I could realise, O’Connell turned into a hotbed of anger, people from my side were chanting “Shame” and “Our Streets”; the world was split into two halves of divisive crowds on the O’Connell street.
Standing at the front of the crowd, the only thing between me and the far-right groups was a fence and a line of gardaí, I still remember the hatred and disgust from their eyes when they looked at me, and the racial slur from their mouth. Anger and hate took over me before I realised it, I could feel the blood rushing to my brain, my heart was beating like a drum. I was shouting at the people whom I had never met before. I didn’t remember all the theories I like to echo about human rights and social theories. I felt I wasn’t simply chanting for the things I believe, but for dignity and survival.
Even on the counter-protest side, the groups were also predominantly Irish. I know many immigrants were afraid to show up. A few days before, messages were already spreading in the Chinese community, people were told to avoid travelling to the city centre and voicing their opinion on Saturday. I was the only Asian face standing among the sea of Irish protesters. Unsurprisingly, I received much attention from the far-right groups. Some people were pointing at me to their gang like there was something funny, some people would just casually walk past me with a middle finger in the air, some tried to cross the street but were stopped by the police.
The most striking scene for me was seeing a boy screaming fuck off to me. That’s the moment I felt my heated emotions fade, and I started to reflect on my surroundings. It’s such a world of absurdity. People were threatening to kill strangers they didn’t even know the names of on a Saturday afternoon. A boy who looked younger than ten hates a world that he hasn’t even seen yet. I don’t feel anger toward the boy. I was wordless.
The protest went on for two hours, and I was genuinely surprised by the number of far-right. They are not one group of people; they are men and women in different age groups. All I know about the far right is from social media. I picture they live in remote places far away from the world I live in, but watching the crowds who hate me with my own eyes, I now know that they are living around me.
They look like the ordinary people you see in the city every day. It is as if the strangers on the street suddenly revealed their nature.
Among the groups of the far right, there were occasionally some flags of Donald Trump, Conor McGregor, and Elon Musk. These men from a world far removed from our own are idolised by the crowds. They fuel division and hatred among us, as people wave their faces like it gives them power, amplifying the racism they spread. They were all mobilised under the worship of the same leaders and their ideology of destruction. They are disruptive but also organised, and the indoctrination toward the next generation has already begun. We should not underestimate the threat we are facing.
When the protest ended, my friends and I were walking from O’Connell Street toward Trinity, many far-right groups were walking from the opposite side. Suddenly, the world seemed to be back to normal again, but I felt different. I wouldn’t look into the eyes of the people wearing the tricolour flag, it’s a strange feeling that I saw thousands of people transformed from strangers to enemies.
I was hoping to see more immigrants participate in the counter-protest. It’s extremely understandable to avoid the scenes, but it’s also concerning. Terror is the weapon of the far-right, and silencing the opposition is their goal. We are already in danger, and turning a blind eye will not save us. To be safe, we need actions in solidarity, and we can not keep letting the far-right justify their ideology and the cult they worship. Joining the protest won’t be the solution to heal our society, but it’s an essential step to protect us. We need to stand up and fight back.
