Global Irish Civic Forum a ‘major step’ in connecting with diaspora

Ireland has a lot to learn about its diaspora, and a major step forward in that process took place this week at the inaugural Global Irish Civic Forum. This was a major tick in the box for the Irish Government's aim to connect with the diaspora, as outlined in Global Ireland: Ireland's Diaspora Policy published earlier this year.

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the forum was how important it is when discussing the diaspora to recognise the need to talk about identities, experiences, heritages, cultures, always in the plural. This heterogeneity does not contradict diaspora; it is its foundation.

Nowhere was this more apparent than when the focus of the discussion was on recent young emigrants. There is a disjunction between current narratives of emigration and the experiences of many young people currently leaving. There was testimony from Britain, Australia and the United States about the homesickness, isolation and loneliness that people experienced, which can be exacerbated rather than alleviated by the ease of contact with family and friends afforded by social media.

The existence of other, very contrasting experiences, was illustrated by the speaker from the floor who said “My kids are not emigrants, they are abroad. The word emigration is not in their vocab”. These young people are surfing the global labour market with an intention of probable return. Their rejection of the term “emigrants” is largely due to the historical association of the phenomenon of emigration with poverty and discrimination.

They may see themselves differently if they decide to settle and put down roots somewhere beyond Ireland, and perhaps have to deal with being perceived as immigrants rather than temporary highly skilled labour.

With many recent emigrants now abroad five or six years, there was a sense at the forum that the Government thought it was now or never to get them back. Consequently, there was a session on returning migrants, which was very informative. A stream of speakers from the floor challenged what they perceived to be the Government’s approach: it’s all about jobs. It was repeatedly pointed out that there are many obstacles for someone returning to Ireland to hurdle quite apart from finding work.

It is not enough to be a returning citizen to be sure of a welcome. Many people have to deal with problems arising from not being able to fulfill habitual residency tests for social welfare, and other bureaucratic barriers to resuming their life in Ireland, when seeking housing, insurance, health care and access to pensions, for example.

Speakers said there had to be a change in culture in Ireland towards returning emigrants. One person said: “You become a second class citizen when you leave Ireland. You lose your vote, you lose other rights as well.” Returning migrants often feel simultaneously like both “insiders” and “outsiders”, and find this situation complex to navigate. Quite a number end up re-emigrating.

There are a number of ways the Irish Government could reach out to emigrants abroad, and one is to end their long-term disenfranchisement. Reading the agenda for the forum, it was immediately obvious there was one very large issue that was not given space for a proper discussion, namely votes for Irish citizens abroad.

The absence was all the more glaring given the recent same-sex marriage referendum and the response it evoked amongst young emigrants abroad, who remain stakeholders in Irish society. The issue was repeatedly raised from the floor.

I was told by one member of the Department of Foreign Affairs that a vote for overseas citizens in general elections “will never fly”. But was there an expectation 10 or 15 years ago that marriage equality would be passed with a substantial majority in 2015? It is certainly hard to air an issue sufficiently when minds are closed and space is not provided for a full discussion.

There was huge experience in the room over the two days of the forum, with 200 people from 17 countries representing 140 organisations working with Irish communities worldwide. Overwhelmingly, the participants rated the opportunity to meet so many others from different parts of the diaspora dealing with similar problems as the best aspect of the two days.

There were many issues barely touched on, second and third generation members of the diaspora and Irish survivors of institutions and abuse being just two. I hope they get a full hearing at the next Global Irish Civic Forum, along with a panel on votes for Irish citizens abroad.

Mary J Hickman is Professor of Irish Studies at St Mary’s University in London, and chair of the Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad (Vica) campaign.