Spicing up our shopping habits

Two friends who opened an Asian grocery are amazed at how many Irish people are coming through the doors, reports Carl O'Brien

Naseer Saeed scans the nationalities pouring into his Asian grocery, on Mary Street in Dublin, and proudly says he could be anywhere in the world. "When you work here for the day you feel like you're in a different country," he says. "A lot of the staff here say they like that. This could be London, for example. It's only when you go out on to the street that you realise you're in the middle of Dublin."

Saeed, who is 27, and his business partner, Imran ur Rahman, who is 22, both of whose families arrived in Ireland from Pakistan in the 1960s, established the Asian Food Co late last year. They grew up in Limerick and Cork, respectively, in a very different Ireland, where being foreign meant being the subject of intense curiosity. "When my dad arrived here, to set up a restaurant in Co Meath, he was treated like a pop star," says Saeed. "Women would come up and kiss him."

Although Irish people have been welcoming, they say, there has been a certain cooling in the reception in recent years, as the numbers moving here have increased.

"I tell a lot of customers who come here not to go out at night unless there are two or three others out with them," says Saeed. "It has started to become a bit of a problem in the last two to three years. You can have problems with guys who are drunk.

"I never had any problems. My Irish friends were spot on, my teachers took a big interest in me. But now lots of people from different countries are moving here to work. In a few years' time I wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit like London."

Ireland's Pakistani community once consisted almost exclusively of doctors and businessmen. Although they are still a substantial presence, the growth in the economy has seen migrant workers and students on work or study visas flock to the country. Census figures for 2002 show the population to be about 3,300, although many acknowledge the real figure is probably closer to 5,000.

Most Pakistanis tend to stay in Ireland for just a few years, whether they are migrant workers or junior doctors. Jobs and attractive salaries have been the main pulls, but the language, proximity to Britain and the similarity of our education systems have also proved major draws.

"We inherited much of our bureaucratic and education system from the British, so there is a good equivalence when it comes to degrees and qualifications," says Shaukat Ali Mukadam of the Pakistani embassy.

"We get many of the new arrivals here, mostly students," says Saeed. "For many of them it's their first time leaving home. They'll try and get as many jobs as they can and send whatever money they earn in the Spar, or wherever, back home."

Dr Chalikonda Prasad, who arrived in Ireland about 15 years ago, is one of the few junior doctors who stayed in Ireland and went on to qualify as a consultant. "I remember arriving to Ennis in February 1987, and my first shock was the cold," he says. "The second was walking to Dunnes Stores to do my shopping and seeing some kids playing in the street. Suddenly they all disappeared when I passed. They were peeping through the windows. That was the Ireland I was introduced to at the time."

He is positive about ordinary Irish people but scathing about institutional discrimination. "I live in a regular housing estate in Galway, and I have many Irish friends. The problems I see are within the medical profession, which seems to be biased against people like myself," he says. "Non-EU doctors are used like disposable doctors. If you look at the figures you see that 47 per cent of junior doctors are of non-EU origin. But as you go up the ladder less than 1 per cent are consultants. So, systematically, we are excluded from the system."

The discrimination, he says, is built in to the system with a two-tier training system and numerous barriers for foreign-trained doctors who want to be registered as independent specialists. Dr Prasad says he advises foreign-trained junior doctors to say they do not plan to stay in Ireland in the long term when applying for jobs such as senior house officers or registrars.

"If you say in an interview you are not sticking around then you have better prospects. Otherwise the attitude can be different."

On the other hand Dr Mazhar Bari, a 36-year-old scientist based at Trinity College, in Dublin, says he has experienced none of the discrimination that doctors appear to face. The father of one, who was born in Pakistan but has lived in Ireland since he was five, is the programme manager of the university's nanoscience laboratory, which develops cutting-edge technology products.

"If you look around this department you can see it's a multicultural atmosphere," Dr Bari says, glancing around the busy office. "There are people on the team from Japan, Spain, Bulgaria, Italy. It's a merit-based environment. There is no room for discrimination."

Having grown up in Navan, Co Meath, where his father established a fashion store, he says he never encountered any significant obstacles because of his background. "They were great times in St Patrick's Classical School. Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin were in my class and they were hilarious. I knew I was different, but my friends accepted who I was. It was never an issue for me."

Now living in Carrickmines, in south Dublin, he is planning to run for the Progressive Democrats in the Ballybrack ward in next month's local elections.

The move has raised eyebrows among some, particularly given the party's robust support for the citizenship referendum. But Dr Bari argues that restricting the citizenship rights of children born here to foreign parents would end the "abuse" of a loophole in the current system, preserving the integrity of Irish citizenship and bringing Ireland in line with other EU countries. "We are going to have a multicultural and multiracial society, but we need one which is open and fair and which has the right ground rules."

He says one of the factors that motivated him to enter public life was realising the lack of voice ordinary residents had on planning issues when development plans for the Luas light-rail system threatened to turn his housing estate into a "car park" if a proposed right of way had been allowed.

"I am Irish even though I have roots in Pakistan, and I think it is important to contribute to the community and to society," he says.

Although Dr Bari's experience has been overwhelmingly positive, many young Pakistanis arriving in Ireland are getting a very different impression of their new home. Racial slurs and insults are usually confined to drink-related incidents, according to students, but the aftermath of September 11th was a worrying time for Pakistanis, who are predominantly Muslim.

"I remember I was walking over to Jervis Street. There were people giving me looks. It was a mad feeling," says Saeed. "It was if I'd done it or something. People didn't realise that Islam means 'peace' and that it tells us not to kill innocent people. At one stage a guy shouted 'Osama' at me, but another Irish person intervened and said it was a stupid comment. I used to get upset at things like that. Now I just try to laugh."

He says that much of the ill feeling quickly melted away and that most people remain friendly and are taking a strong interest in Pakistani and wider Asian culture. "We expected there would be maybe 10 or 15 per cent of Irish people shopping here when we opened. I'd say it's easily closer to 40 per cent. It's unbelievable. From day one we were getting Irish people coming in to the shop, asking about lentils or spice which even I hadn't heard of," he laughs.

His partner is also upbeat about living here - and about the prospects for his new child. "I just found out that my wife is pregnant - one month," Imran ur Rahman says, breaking into a beaming smile.

Saeed slaps him on the back. "Well done! I didn't know. Best of luck," he says. Later, ur Rahman says: "Hopefully, things will be easy for my child. I've experienced quite a lot here. Maybe it will be different in a few years, with more people around. I think it will."