KEVIN WINDLE,
Sir, - The comments attributed to Mr Noel O'Flynn and Mr Joe O'Callaghan in your Southern Report of January 29th made depressing reading. Yet such a lack of moral courage from our public representatives is nothing new. Why try to tackle the tough issues when you can scapegoat a group of people who are banned from working and who have no vote?
Unfortunately, the difference in this case is that the scapegoats are easily recognisable on a street corner for any thug to have a go at. In Dublin, we have seen the racist attacks rise from verbal abuse to murder - and if yesterday's report is an accurate reflection of the situation in Cork, we must fear that city will follow suit.
But does anyone care? The Government stands idly by (isn't there supposed to be a racism awareness campaign in place?) and anybody who expresses concerns about what is happening to this country is castigated as a politically correct lefty liberal who is intolerant of other people's views. Surely, it is possible to despise the evils of racism while also understanding that people have legitimate fears about the arrival of a group of people from another part of the world in their area.
I still believe that most Irish people are friendly and welcoming, but unfortunately the lack of leadership from our Government, public representatives and the media is bringing out the worst in us. - Yours, etc.,
KEVIN WINDLE,
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18.
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Sir, - We were very disturbed to read the remarks of Noel O'Flynn TD (Southern Report, January 29th), in which he referred to "spongers, freeloaders, the people screwing the system".
We are members of NASC, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre here in Cork, which works with asylum-seekers, refugees and immigrants. NASC employs two full-time staff and a large volunteer corps (close to 100) helps out as well. Our organisation probably knows most of the asylum-seekers in the city and region and provides a range of services voluntarily, such as welfare advice, English classes and social activities. NASC is located in the convent of the Sisters of Mercy, St Mary's of the Isle. We could not have been established without the generosity and kindness of this order and a number of other religious houses, especially the Society for African Missions. We would also point out that the overwhelming majority of Cork have shown strong support for asylum-seekers and refugees, many of whom have endured unimaginable difficulty before coming to Ireland.
There are no more "spongers, freeloaders, people screwing the system" among asylum-seekers than in any other part of the population. Indeed, our experience is that there are very few such people in their midst. NASC has close and very good relations with the Garda, who are the first to say that asylum-seekers and refugees are exceptionally law-abiding. As for calling them "spongers", they are denied the elementary right to work and are thus dependent on the State for support. Mr O'Flynn should know that the kind of language he used, in this newspaper and others, is provocative and dangerous and can only increase the risk of asylum-seekers and other immigrants being exposed to ever-greater racism. In a week after a Chinese student was the victim of a savage racist attack which led to his death, we suggest that a greater degree of sensitivity on the part of public representatives is the least that can be hoped for.
There appears to be a concerted attempt by a handful of politicians in Cork city to play the "race" card for their own electoral advantage. Quite apart from the breathtaking irresponsibility of this tactic, we reject any suggestion that there is widespread racism in Cork. There is certainly ignorance and misunderstanding as well as occasional instances of actual racism, but we do not accept that a general anti-asylum seeker or anti-immigrant sentiment exists. We note that the Immigration Control Platform has almost no public support and that its leader received a derisory 293 votes when she stood for election.
We cordially invite Mr O'Flynn and any other public representative who wishes to do so to visit NASC and meet some asylum-seekers and refugees in order to hear some of their stories. He will find that, unlike some of his political colleagues, none has an offshore bank account or "sponges" or "screws the system" in any way. - Yours, etc.,
PIARAS MAC EINRI,
PAULINA CHIWANGU,
Joint Chairpersons,
NASC,
Cork.