Asylum Seeking and Institutional Discrimination in Melatu Uche Okorie’s This Hostel Life

Abstract

During the Celtic Tiger (1990-2010), Ireland became a prominent destination for migrants and asylum seekers. The post Troubles economic boom also witnessed a dark phase when the Irish natives became intolerant towards other ethnic groups as they believed Ireland’s pride, their quintessential homogenous culture, was threatened by the outsiders. The Citizenship Referendum of 2004 and other similar government initiatives lead to the politicization of refugee status and discrimination of asylum seekers. Melatu Uche Okorie’s This Hostel Life (2018) throws light on the most inhumane of any such policies adopted by the Irish government, namely the Direct Provision Disposal (DPD) system. This paper will analyze and critically reflect on Okorie’s treatment of the everyday life and the tacit layers of institutional marginalization that the asylum seekers experience at the DPD centers across Ireland.