Madam, - In her column "Shame on us for our treatment of immigrants" (Opinion, October 18th), Breda O'Brien highlights the case of a Russian woman, a secretary fluent in three languages, reduced to the status of cleaner here in Ireland and exiled from her family. Apparently, in this journalist's view, no responsibility for this woman's economic or familial situation rests with her country of origin; it is all our fault.
I think there is already a feeling of shame in this country about issues of institutional and clerical abuse of children and the appalling treatment of women in the Magdalen homes. Indeed almost all of the older generation were subjected to corporal punishment (which would be classified as abuse today) and often some level of sexual abuse. Our self-esteem has suffered. Therefore, before feeling ashamed on another issue, I would like some more reliable authority than Ms O'Brien, someone who has to take responsibility, not just assign it, to prove to me that such a feeling is justified.
I want to know if we, as a nation, are seriously negligent in our treatment of immigrants compared with other countries. At a recent "ethnicity" conference, more than one speaker referred to restrictions on immigration, which are current in many countries, as if they were exclusively Irish phenomena. This kind of critique is unbalanced and unfair in that it never alludes to the positive and generous aspects of our own Government's policy.
Finally, I would like to ask Ms O'Brien: if she had to deal with the enormous administrative burden inherent in the movement of vast sections of populations, some without documents, even some unaccompanied children, would she set any limits or simply have an open-door approach? - Yours, etc.,
CECILIA McGOVERN,
Wellington Road,
Dublin 4.