The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp

A group of asylum seekers in Dublin pitch their tents on Sandwith Street, around the corner from the immigration office. This protest camp is a reaction to the decision of the Irish government to deny accommodation to 1400 asylum applicants. Camp residents Sami, Hasiballah and Simon show us around the little village they call home: this is where they eat, this is where they paint banners, and here are flowers planted in a pot.

This peaceful scene is soon disrupted by the arrival of the Irish anti-immigration activist Philip Dwyer, who uses livestreams on social media to call for the tent dwellers to be chased away. A group of progressive activists come to the aid of the asylum seekers, but an outburst of violence looks inevitable.

Phone footage of the increasingly intense confrontations alternates with easy-going conversations between the camp dwellers and the sympathizers who are protesting the lack of support in this fiercely divided country. The violent incidents mount up, and finally things really explode.