An effort to keep open a small shop in an asylum shelter, which makes residents’ lives that bit easier

Edith Chukwu was sitting on a black sofa in the lobby of the Capel Building in the city centre, waiting to meet a lawyer.

She had a hacking cough. She’s sick, she said, last Tuesday.

Still, for days before this trip to Dublin, Chukwu and her eight-year-old daughter had stood outside their asylum shelter in Co. Waterford, holding vigils in the cold to protest management’s decision to close a small shop in the centre.

When in 2017 the Department of Justice – which was in charge of accommodating asylum seekers at the time – was rolling out in-house supermarkets for those living in direct provision, residents and representative groups raised some concerns about how the system kept them tied to one shop for their groceries.

But, residents using The Green Shop, which is situated inside the asylum shelter on the outskirts of Waterford city, say it helpfully stocked halal and African foods, among other things, and saved residents a journey of about 30 minutes on foot to the nearest shops.

It was handy for single mums who study or work full-time, too, says Chukwu, who studies social care. “After lectures, I’m rushing home to my daughter, I don’t have time to go to the shop.”

So, Chukwu is fighting for it to be reopened, giving voice to other residents, she says, who are afraid to speak up. That’s why she’d come to Dublin to talk to a lawyer.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Equality — which is in charge of International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) — said the centre management had consulted residents before making that decision. IPAS has been in touch with the staff, too, they said.

“And we are satisfied that the new system meets the centre’s requirement to provide access to a varied diet that respects residents’ cultural, religious, dietary, nutritional and medical needs,” the spokesperson said.

Tell me why

A recent inspection report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) mentions the shop, saying it was “well-stocked” and residents – more then 140 of them – could request items it didn’t have, and staff stocked them.

It’s a self-catering centre. Residents use communal kitchens to cook for themselves, the report says.

“Inspectors found that staff endeavoured to provide good value and sufficient variety to facilitate choice and affordability,” it says.

To pay for the groceries, residents used points that IPAS sent to their accounts – which were the equivalent of €89 a week.

Under the new system, residents get vouchers instead to spend at shops outside the centre. The vouchers’ value is more or less the same as the points, but residents can’t save them up like they could with their points, says Chukwu. It’s use it or lose it each month.

“We could save up our points over a few weeks to buy 5kg rice,” said Chukwu later in a text message.

When Cork-based company  Stompool Investments Limited – the hotel and hospitality company that runs the centre – announced a decision to shutter the shop last month, residents wrote to them.

A letter dated 6 November from one group asks the shelter’s manager to reconsider and keep the small shop open. It closed, anyway.

The decision was a shock, the letter says. “If there are issues that have led to this decision that we are unaware of, could you kindly inform us so we work together to address them?” it says.

The residents apologise if they took the shop and how convenient it was for granted.

“We truly recognise the efforts you have made to ensure that we have access to quality products, including culturally specific food items,” it says.

Chukwu said they also sent a letter to IPAS on 19 November but haven’t heard back yet.

Alan Hyde, Cork businessman and the director of Stompool Investments Limited, did not respond to queries, including one asking what’s behind the decision to shutter the shop.

An email from the centre manager to Chukwu letting her know they’re closing the shop, says: “I know you are not in favour of this change but change is often difficult for people to accept.”

“It will be a better option for all in the long run,” it says.

Caroline Murphy, CEO of Comhlámh – the development and volunteer workers’ association –  says her organisation, alongside its member group Ireland Says Welcome, believe that the closure of a vital service in an asylum shelter shows the system prioritises “profit over humanity”.

“Despite the government’s promises, residents continue to endure conditions that deny them agency, dignity, and respect,” she said.

Chukwu and others like her deserve better than that, Murphy said.

“They deserve a system that recognises their humanity and supports their ability to thrive, not merely survive,” she said.

“Wasn’t that so great?”

A photo shows Chukwu’s little girl at one of their mother-daughter protests.

She is standing next to her mum, holding a placard that says: “LIFE HERE IS ALREADY HARD WHY MAKE IT HARDER”.

Chukwu says The Green Shop was open from 9am to 3pm, but they could make emergency purchases outside of those hours.

“They gave us the option of taking milk, bread and water off shop times,” she said.

Chukwu says it’s harder for people to find halal and African foods in Tesco or Lidl.

Some residents have babies, and it was convenient for them to buy their nappies and other stuff at the centre’s shop, said Chukwu.

“They could get nappies from the shop. Wasn’t that so great?” said Chukwu.

She points to IPAS’s code of practice for accommodation staff, mentioning the importance of respecting “the rights, dignity and worth of every human being and promote the interests of the Service Users”.

Chukwu feels that this isn’t happening at her centre, she said. Other residents thank her for speaking out, Chukwu says.

But it’s not easy to stand alone in a fight, she said; it makes her feel small and inconsequential. “I feel disrespected. I feel demeaned.”

Last week, Chukwu got her first batch of vouchers in the post from the secretary of Stompool Investments Limited.

She hasn’t touched them yet, she said last week, crying