REMARKS BY HER EXCELLENCY, MARY MCALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND AT THE IRISH COMMUNITY RECEPTION
REMARKS BY HER EXCELLENCY, MARY MCALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND AT THE IRISH COMMUNITY RECEPTION IRISH AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE
Is mór an pléisiúir dom bheith anseo libh tráthnóna. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet you here this evening in this beautiful city of Capetown. I very much appreciate the warm welcome you have given me, and which indeed I have experienced since arriving in South Africa.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the inauguration of the new President of South Africa, President Mbeki. It was a wonderful occasion, marking as it did a further historic step in consolidating the free and democratic South Africa which has replaced the dark years of apartheid. You have shown, to quote the Irish Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney, that:
‘What looks the strongest has outlived its term, The future lies with what’s affirmed from under’.
We in Ireland, and people across the world, were deeply impressed by the way in which the people of South Africa have managed that transition. We have seen the peaceful and tolerant atmosphere in which the recent election took place, and the democratic way in which the results were accepted. It is a sign of the maturity of the new South Africa and an astonishing accomplishment given the trauma and pain of your recent history.
It is that underlying strength, that determination and talent of the South African people that has enabled this country to make so much progress in such a short space of time. The journey on which you have embarked is not an easy one. So many people still remain trapped in a cycle of unemployment and poverty; poor living conditions, the terrible human tragedy of HIV and Aids. It will take time and patience, skilful leadership and commitment, a solid adherence to the values of human decency and integrity which today’s South Africa has been such a witness to. But we in Ireland know that no problem is so intractable that it cannot be resolved if hope is kept alive.
I send my warmest good wishes to President Mbeki as he commences his term of leadership. He carries with him the hopes and expectations of the people of South Africa – their dream of a life of dignity and decency for all. I wish him every success as he strives to enable the extraordinary potential of this country and all its people to be fully realised. He can be assured of the goodwill and friendship of people in every part of the world, and most especially, of the Irish people.
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure in Pretoria of meeting some members of the Irish community in South Africa, a community which I understand numbers some 30,000 people. I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet some of the Capetown Irish – that diverse community that spans people from every walk of life: teachers, religious, medical professionals, aid workers and business people. Ireland is proud of the achievements of our communities overseas, those members of the global Irish family who have generated friendship and affection for Ireland in every country that they have made their home. The positive image which Ireland enjoys in so many parts of the world owes much to the way that Irish people, in South Africa as elsewhere, act as Ambassadors for our country. I thank you most sincerely for this and I would ask you to pass on my greetings and best wishes to the many members of the Irish community who are not with us today.
We are especially proud of the way that Irish aid workers, both religious and lay, have worked with undimmed energy and dedication in South Africa, as in so many parts of the world. I was pleased to have the opportunity earlier to meet some of you privately and hear about your work. Ireland’s unhappy history not only makes us more aware of the suffering caused by violence, poverty, hunger and oppression throughout the world, but also confers on us a particular responsibility to do what we can to alleviate those problems. You are the ones who have taken up that responsibility, and in doing so, you have made a real difference to the lives of so many. On behalf of the people of Ireland, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you. You have been the hands of work in which we all take deep pride.
We in Ireland are living proof, that economic, social and political transformation is possible. Those of you who may have been home recently, will have noticed a renewed sense of confidence, prosperity and energy. At long last, the haemorrhage of involuntary emigration has stopped, and unemployment has been dramatically reduced. Of course, not all of our problems have been solved. But we have found that it is by opening up the educational and employment opportunities available to the broadest sections of our community – to women, to the disadvantaged, to those who were previously excluded – that we realise the energy and capabilities that make this success possible. Our experience will, I am sure, have a resonance here in South Africa. Every human person is entitled to realise their full potential. Every community, every nation, needs the full flood of that potential. It is the energy which creates development. Open the door to that potential and you open the door to hope – and to a radical new reality of empowerment and achievement. That is what we all wish for South Africa. That is what we believe is South Africa’s destiny.
I would like to extend my particular thanks to our Ambassador to South Africa, Hugh Swift, to Mrs Swift and to all of the Embassy staff, for their hard work in preparing for my visit, and for extending this hospitality to us here this evening.
I am delighted to have this wonderful opportunity to meet with you all and I hope you have a very enjoyable evening.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Go maire sibh.