Effigies of migrants in a boat burn atop a bonfire at Moygashel, Co Tyrone
The image of a burning boat atop a Co Tyrone bonfire has been described as a “turning point” in the wider debate on immigration.
On Thursday, a boat with mannequins depicting refugees crossing the English Channel, dressed in lifejackets, was engulfed in flames atop a bonfire in Moygashel.
Accompanied by ‘Stop the Boats’ sign, the effigy has been at the centre of widespread condemnation from politicians and groups.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty’s NI director, said that it was “shameful” that the “despicable display of hate” had been allowed to go ahead and added that it represented “a chilling pattern of escalating hostility” following June’s series of racist attacks.
Crowds gathered as the bonfire was set alight on Thursday night
However, it has also attracted attention from further afield – including far-right figures such as EDL founder Tommy Robinson.
Anti-immigration movements have been growing in both Ireland and the UK over the past number of years, with incidents of violent outbursts taking place in Dublin in November 2023 last year and across the UK in 2024.
Speaking to The Irish News, London-based political activist Jack Dart said that the image of the burning boat was potentially a watershed moment.
“[It] isn’t just a moment of hate, it’s the inevitable result of a political climate that has treated refugees as something to be feared rather than protected,” he said.
“When a group of people burn a boat to cheers and fireworks, it isn’t just a sign of public frustration, it’s the fire at the end of a long political fuse.
London-based political activist Jack Dart said that the image of the burning boat was a potentially watershed moment.
“This image already feels like a turning point, because it captures something we’ve been sleepwalking towards for years.
“It will be remembered, perhaps as the moment we truly saw what happens when hate is allowed to go unchecked.”
Mr Dart criticised the wider UK debate on immigration and Labour’s failure to tackle the narratives pushed by parties such as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
He added that the legacy of the boat burning atop the Moygashel bonfire “depends on whether we let this pass, or whether we decide that this is the moment we finally said, ‘No More’”.
The phrase ‘Stop the Boats’, which was placed below the mock migrant boat, was popularised under former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023.
Upon his election victory in 2024, Keir Starmer said his Labour government would “smash the gangs to stop these crossings”.
This week, he agreed a deal with French President Macron that would see those crossing on small boats detained and returned to France for the first time.
As of Friday, the the UK Prime Minister had not acknowledged the burning of the effigy.
Looks like the Irish have found the nerve that the English are sorely missing, good on them.
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