Saturday, April 10, 2010 Previous editions
Saturday, April 10, 2010
There is no problem with racism in Ireland, we constantly tell each other, writes Jennifer Hough — but victims tell a different story
"IT’S their country, we just have to take it."
What is the point in speaking out against racism? It is not our country.
Yomi is from Nigeria and has been living in Dublin for five years. He is married, with a young daughter, and lives in Glasnevin. He laments the fact that Ireland is not the "civilised" country he thought it would be.
He has experienced a litany of racist attacks since moving here, and sees no end in sight.
"One day I was walking in Finglas and a boy started throwing stones at me. ‘Go back to your own country you f**king n***er’."
They were no more than 14, he says.
"Another time I was on the bus with my wife, they were chanting ‘n***er, n***er, n***er’.
"It makes you feels bad, but you never say anything back."
Whether we choose to believe it or not, there is a wall of silence around a terrible reality in this country.
There is no problem with racism here, we are constantly told, and tell each other.
Even bodies like the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Refugee Council of Ireland are wary about what they say, either passing the buck or erring on the side of caution. The office for the Minister for Integration did not respond to questions as to its specific functions, repeatedly asked by this paper during the week.
What kind of confidence does that inspire?
Whether we choose to recognise it or not, racism is everywhere in this country.
Whether it comes in the form of name-calling, egg throwing, graffiti — or something more serious — it is here, and it’s not going away.
The stabbing to death of 15-year-old Nigerian boy Toyosi Shittabey on Good Friday may, or may not, have been directly linked to the colour of his skin.
Either way, the media is being accused of "playing things up", turning this killing into a purely racial issue. But if we don’t have the race debate now, then when? Are we so afraid of calling ourselves racist that we can’t even discuss it without being accused of "stirring things up"?
For far too long we have buried our heads in the sand, hoping everyone would "integrate", while at the same time taking away every helping hand we had extended during the boom times.
In January of this year, then Minister for Integration John Curran had the audacity to say immigrants had integrated and that there had been no increases in reports of racist attacks.
Perhaps he had not seen a report which stated that Sub-Saharan Africans in Ireland were one of the most poorly treated groups in Europe.
The EU Minorities and Discrimination Survey found in a 12-month period 59% of Africans surveyed had been stopped by Gardaí.
Perhaps he did not think about almost 7,000 people living in state institutions and who are at the mercy of the state for everything as they cannot work, live independently or in any way "integrate".
A Human Rights Watch report on Ireland earlier this year noted "societal discrimination and violence against immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities, including Asians, Eastern and Baltic Europeans, and Africans, continued to be a problem".
"There were racially motivated incidents involving physical violence, intimidation, graffiti, and verbal slurs. NGOs reported an increase in ‘Irish only’ job advertisements, and the Economic and Social Research Institute noted that job candidates with typical Irish names were more likely to be appointed than those with non-Irish names."
Yomi reflects on where the racism he sees in young people comes from.
"It must come from home and their parents. This is what they hear at home."
You never know what to expect, he says.
"My wife was in the bank and a man jumped in the queue in front of her, saying ‘what right do you have to be here?’
"I was walking around with a knife at one stage because I was expecting someone would attack me. I needed to be able to protect myself."
Yomi is not surprised by what has happened, he was kind of half-expecting it, he says.
"I am very concerned about my own child. She talks like Irish, acts like Irish, only difference is the colour of her skin. She does not experience racism at school or with her peers but I am worried that something can happen. I live in Glasnevin, it is OK, but other parts — unfortunately like Finglas — you will not be left alone walking down the street."
Hailuu Netsiyanwa, 22, played football with Toyosi and is a mentor as part of the Sports Against Racism Ireland scheme.
He says name-calling and abuse on and off the pitch is part of life for black children.
"I put it down to ignorance and I do not lower myself to get involved," he says.
"I knew Toy, he would train with us, I saw him a week and a half ago. I still can’t put into words what I feel about what happened. It is disgusting."
Hailuu himself was stabbed in Blanchardstown.
"There was a group of teenagers, asked one of my friends for a cigarette. He said he didn’t smoke, they kept at us, it turned into a scuffle and I was stabbed on my shoulder. We didn’t know the guy had a knife."
Hailuu maintains while there are community groups on the ground, there is not enough effort made to involve young people.
"We are used to abuse, it’s trying to get the younger ones not to react to it."
Sergeant David McInerney of the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office maintains there is no evidence of any major racial tensions.
He says while there are violent attacks now and again it is not on a big scale.
But Rosanna Flynn, head of Residents against Racism, maintains people are afraid to let their children out to play, that there is anger and that people must speak out about what is going on in their communities.
If Toyosi’s death serves to bring an ugly reality to light — then so be it. We should not hide from it.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.