In Moygashel, Northern Ireland, a bonfire was lit on Thursday evening with a boat full of lifelike refugee dolls on it. Anti-immigration slogans were displayed and an Irish flag was burned. Police are treating it as a hate crime.
On the towering pyre was a wooden boat filled with dark-colored dolls in life jackets. Signs were placed next to it with texts such as Stop the boats and Veterans before refugees.
The bonfire was part of a loyalist commemoration and was lit to loud cheers. The boat and dolls went up in flames, as did an Irish flag.
Amnesty International calls it a “shameful display of hatred.” “It is outrageous that the authorities allowed this despicable expression of hatred. What a shocking message to local migrant families,” Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty told The Guardian.
The police stated that letting the bonfire proceed was less risky than trying to stop it.
Irish parliamentarians speak of a “horrific attempt at dehumanization” and “a disgusting and completely misplaced action within a cultural celebration.” Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson defended the pyre as a form of artistic protest against illegal immigration.
