Newry Signs Up to the City of Sanctuary Network
PCS welcomes the decision by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to join the City of Sanctuary network. This is a positive step that shows the district is committed to being a place of safety, fairness and dignity for all who live there.
The City of Sanctuary programme is about ensuring that people already part of our communities can access services, feel safe, and take part fully in local life. It does not hand councils any control over immigration policy, nor does it decide who is housed here. Yet far-right activists have tried to misrepresent this decision in order to spread fear and division.
The facts are clear: there are no international protection applicants currently being housed in Newry. Suggestions to the contrary are false and designed to stir up resentment. The real challenges facing local people in accessing housing, health care and education come from years of under-investment and the deliberate running down of public services. Waiting lists and shortages are political choices, not the fault of migrants.
In recent weeks the far-right has organised protests against the council’s decision. Their arguments are thinly-veiled racism, using genuine frustrations about services as cover for their agenda. PCS, along with fellow unions NIPSA, Unite and SIPTU, has helped to organise strong counter-protests that make clear our communities will not be divided. Trade unionists have stood up in numbers to show that Newry will not be a recruiting ground for hate.
The majority of councillors rightly backed the proposal. Migrant and minority communities already contribute enormously to our workplaces, our schools and our voluntary groups. City of Sanctuary status simply acknowledges this reality and builds on the solidarity that already exists.
For PCS, this is part of a wider struggle. We know that when the far-right is allowed to scapegoat migrants, it is working people as a whole who lose. It lets governments off the hook for the damage they have caused through austerity and cuts, while our communities are left fighting over scraps.
By joining the City of Sanctuary network, Newry is taking a stand. PCS is proud to have played our part in resisting the far-right and in building a community that values inclusion, solidarity and justice. The fight now must focus on demanding properly-funded public services for everyone.