Migrants living in Dublin's tent city say they are grateful to Britain and ... trends now

Migrants living in Dublin's tent city today thanked Rishi Sunak for refusing to allow them back to Britain - because they 'don't want to go to Rwanda'.

Around 1,700 asylum seekers are living in tents in the Irish capital after crossing the border over fears that they would be sent to Rwanda if they stayed in Northern Ireland.

Rishi Sunak yesterday declared he is 'not interested' in taking back migrants from Ireland - when the EU was refusing to take back Channel migrants who came from France.

The row broke out after senior Irish ministers said they would draft emergency laws to send back refugees who had arrived from the UK to avoid being deported to Rwanda.

Meanwhile Ireland's deputy prime minister and foreign secretary Micheal Martin blamed the influx of migrants on Britain's Rwanda scheme as he claimed 'fearful' asylum seekers were descending on Dublin.

Among those sleeping under canvas in Dublin is asylum seeker Otumba, who travelled from Nigeria to the UK, before settling in Dublin via Belfast.

He told MailOnline: 'I came into the UK. I wanted to seek asylum. Then five weeks ago we heard that the Rwanda Bill is going to be passed, and we don't want to go back to Africa.

'Africa is not an option. It is not safe. Africa is like a volcano that can erupt at any time. We decided to go to Ireland on information that Ireland is safer and more accommodating.

'We had an idea about what was going to happen, so you don't take chances.'

Otumba, in his 40s, arrived in the UK four months ago after flying from his home in Lagos, Nigeria, on a six-month tourist visa. He intended to claim asylum when his visa expired because he faced 'persecution' back home.

After spending time in London, Leicester and Northampton, he took the train to Birmingham, where he then flew to Belfast before quickly taking a bus to Dublin.

He continued: 'In Belfast, it was a gateway to Ireland, we came straight here, we don't waste time. We wanted to get out of UK and we don't want to get caught. We just hopped in the bus.'

Otumba, a political refugee who said, 'some guys are after my life', described the Rwanda Bill as a 'racist' and hopes Mr Sunak will 'lose the election'.

He continued: 'A lot of people, especially the Arabs, they come to Ireland instead because they can integrate faster here than the UK and there is no fear of Rwanda.

'But now our Irish prime minister wants to put emergency legislation to send people back. It's not going to work because the UK will say they are not willing to accept asylum seekers from Ireland which I think is good news to us.

'We don't want to go Rwanda. It's a very good thing that we can't go back to [Northern Ireland]. It concerns me that [Ireland wants to send people back].'

He and four friends who have all met here after travelling from Nigeria now live in tents around the International Protection Office.

'When I heard that the Rwanda Bill was going to be passed in no time, I was so scared. And people advised me to go to Ireland and said they were going to be really accommodating.

'I didn't know we were going to be sleeping in tents. I thought we were going to get proper houses and stuff.

'We've been here for five weeks now and the situation has just been the same.

'Friends in Ireland told me that Ireland is much safer than the UK. Ireland will not support us. Now I hear that Ireland wants to send us back to the UK. No, we're not going anywhere.

He said he is terrified of being sent to Rwanda. He said: 'You heard about the genocide some years ago? Yeah. It's still Africa. Africa is not safe. Africa is like a volcano waiting to erupt anytime, because war could break out anytime. My country, Nigeria, is far better than Rwanda.'

Abdul Mohammed, who was supposed to be on one of the first flights to Rwanda in 2022 before fleeing London, said: 'I crossed because they want to send me to Rwanda. I don't want to go.

'I crossed in a small boat. I did not want to go to Rwanda. It is not safe. I was sent a letter in my hotel. I was in a hotel in London.

'I took a bus from London to Liverpool, then went from Liverpool to Belfast by boat. I then took a bus. I did it by myself.

The 20-year-old, who left Sudan and crossed into the UK from France in a small boat, added: 'Every country in Africa is not safe. Before, did you know the story of Rwanda? It was very bad.

'I received the letter in 2022. I left the hotel, went to stay with my friend, then after that, I came here.

'I arrived in the UK in 2022. I stayed for two years. I arrived in Dublin 20 days ago. I went from London, to Belfast, to Dublin in one day.

Mr Mohammed, who was speaking from his tent, said: 'I am more confident about my position here than I am in the UK. Here, they don't say anything. 'The UK says 'go to Rwanda'. The UK is safe, but now it says to go Rwanda and it is not safe. If the UK was not saying anything, I would not come here.'

Another asylum seeker, 28-year-old Mahmoud, also fled Jordan for the UK but said he quickly moved to Ireland because he was worried about being deported to Rwanda.

'We don't have asylum in Britain,' he said. 'The problem with Britain is that they might send us to Rwanda. I came two months ago because I am scared about this'.

The driver fled his homeland in January after he was found to have cheated on his wife with a married woman.

'I ran into problems in Jordan,' he said. 'I could've be killed. I had a relationship with a married woman and then my wife found out and her family found out and then her brothers wanted to kill me'.

He hopes one day that he will be able to return to Amman. 'Speaking honestly, if my problem could be solved, I would go home now,' he said.

Mohammed Alsafe, 47, fled from the West Bank in Palestine to the UK two months ago because he thought it was 'maybe more safe to come than UK'.

Mr Alsafe, a painter, first went to Jordan and then France before reaching the UK. He crossed in a small boat before getting a ferry to Belfast.

The father-of-two, whose children are aged 12 and 14 and remain in Palestine, said he paid a man to take him from Belfast to Dublin despite their being no border.

'I give him money,' he said. 'I don't know. That man he tells me give me money and come here. I gave him money in Belfast. 'I don't know where I was going, I am in the car boxed up. I don't see where I am going. I didn't know what, I didn't see anything.'

'I need to come to Dublin,' he added. 'I need to live. There were no visas in Belfast. In UK there are no visas. The government maybe makes you go to Rwanda.'

'I see it on the news and on social media. I think the UK government will pay for you to go to Rwanda. Rwanda is not good.'

Mr Alsafe, who stayed in London for just one day, added: 'I hope Dublin gives me papers, after that I can bring my family over'.

Asylum seeker Ahmed said he fled the West Bank earlier this year and travelled to the UK on a small boat from France before flying to Belfast and crossing down into ireland.

'I could've claimed asylum in the UK but it takes too long,' he said.'I know someone came to the UK years ago but they are still trying to get asylum.'

'They treat Palestinians with more respect here. Ireland has better relations with Palestine than Britain and that's why I came here'.

Father-of-two Imran, who came from Afghanistan to Ireland via France, said asylum seekers are 'worried about coming to Rwanda'. 'That's the main reason they are leaving England, because they are trying to send them to Rwanda, they are scared of these deportations,' he added.

Tension continues to rise between Irish locals and homeless asylum seekers whose tents are lining the roads around International Protection Office.

When MailOnline visited the encampment, locals walking past covered their noses to show their

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