REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT BY THE IMMIGRANT COUNCIL OF IRELAND
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT BY THE IMMIGRANT COUNCIL OF IRELAND, "VOICES OF IMMIGRANTS:..."
Dia dhíbh go léir. Tá an-áthas bheith anseo libh inniu. Míle bhuíochas as an cuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Thank you for such a warm welcome, and in particular my thanks to Sister Stan for the kind invitation which allows me to be part of this special occasion - the presentation of a very important research report, Voices of Immigrants: The Challenges of Inclusion.
So very quickly it seems our country has changed. Not so long ago the voices of immigrants would have been the voices of Irish men and women in Britain, in the United States, in Canada, or in Australia. We know from them and through them what it was like to uproot from a place you loved but in which you had no chance for a decent quality of life. We know from all the stories we have heard, all the songs we have sung about the aching loneliness, the cheap nasty labelling and stereotyping that broke already fractured hearts and reduced hope to misery. We know how hard they struggled, how much they sacrificed. We remember or do we, how important their hard-earned dollars were back home? We have seen with our own eyes how their children and grandchildren did them and Ireland proud as they became first-class citizens of those far off nations, their genius flowing through every single sphere of life from politics to the arts, from community to the corporate world. Their Irish way, their music, literature, dance, were gifts which enriched the cultures they grafted themselves onto.
And now we live in the Ireland they dreamed of and hoped for, strong, successful, confident. A land of opportunity to which migrants now come from around the globe, uprooting themselves from beloved birthplaces, bringing their talents, their culture, their commitment to Ireland’s shore. And out of our centuries long experience of being the stranger, the outsider, the one who longs for a welcome, out of our history of selfless missionary outreach to the developing world, out of our history of being an island of welcomes, what impression do we make on these strangers, what have these voices to tell us not just about themselves but about ourselves? This is a very good time to stop and listen.
Today more people from the US emigrate to Ireland than emigrate from here to the US. Almost uniquely in Europe, thanks in part to our emigrants we have a growing young population not a greying population. We have that resource of youthful energy so envied by many of our neighbours and we have a story of economic success that can only be sustained by a dynamic, creative, population. From the Vikings to the Hugenots, from the Ulster Planters to the Holocaust refugees, from the Vietnam Boat people to the Chinese and Italian restaurateurs and the Asian doctors and engineers, Ireland has always been engaged in a process of absorbing newcomers and through tough times. Why is it that now when times are much less tough absorption has become problematic and not just in Ireland but throughout Europe? Governments struggle with issues of citizenship, of asylum seekers, of orderly emigration and it is proper that they should do so and that they should be effectively, humanely resolved.
WB Yeats stanza seems appropriate.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has been a champion of those who know the vulnerability of being strangers in a new land. The extent of that vulnerability is recounted all too often in media stories - the despicable truth of wicked, cruel, racism made manifest on our streets, the outward showcase of the words of contempt or bigotry spoken in the private places where they fester into hatred. What a way to dishonour the memory of all those Irish who endured similar treatment abroad. What a way to dishonour the noble aspirations on which our country was founded and the values embodied in our Constitution which speaks of assuring the “dignity and freedom of the individual.” Racism is a cancer, a toxin. It runs amok where there is silence. It hides in embarrassment where it is contradicted by a listening friend, a neighbour, a partner on the golf course, a colleague at work. But thankfully the bigots are not the whole story – far from it, for the best and strongest impulse of decent Irish men and women is to have compassion for those in need, to be joyfully curious about the stranger, to offer friendship and to be a good welcoming neighbour.
Many years ago through Sr. Stan, I met an African woman who had come here in the most tragic and pitiable of circumstances, traumatised by the most outrageous violence she had witnessed in her homeland. Her beautiful little daughter was happily settling in school here when a bunch of apprentice bigots threw eggs at her. I felt so ashamed of them and hurt for the child, her mother and for my country which I know is capable of better and shows its generosity every day in a thousand untold and unsung ways. Getting to know each other is the best way to build bridges of trust and to lay to rest the suspicion, the fear, the ignorance which lie at the heart of bigotry. This report introduces us to lived lives, to real people who live their lives in Ireland. The testimonies of 22 immigrants from various backgrounds open their lives up to us so that together we can build in Ireland the kind of comfortable, inclusive, multicultural society which can make us proud.
The report is the result of a great amount of work and the authors deserve our sincere thanks for the efforts they have devoted to their task of raising awareness of one of the most seminal changes in modern Irish life. I hope we all benefit from the debate it will generate.
I thank the Immigrant Council of Ireland for organising this event today and wish you every continued success with your important work in the years ahead.
Go n-eiri go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.