Madam, - Gerry Kennedy (October 17th) surely oversteps the mark when he urges young Chinese architects to "forget where they and their parents came from". This is bad advice, even if it were possible. Like Mr Kennedy, I too spent time in an African country and the wise advice I was given by an old nun was: "Falling into water does not make you a fish". Indeed, I could hardly avoid an Irish influence since I worked in a educational system that had been largely founded and staffed by Irish priests and nuns. Nor could I resist trying to interest people in the aspects of Ireland of which I was most proud - Irish music and literature, for example.
It is woefully simplistic to insist (as Mr Kennedy does) that "multiculturalism" has been discredited and that "integration" is the way to proceed. One wonders if Mr Kennedy has ever enjoyed a meal in one of the many excellent Chinese restaurants in Ireland. Is he advocating that these restaurants "forget where they came from" and start serving bacon and cabbage instead of prawns in Szechuan sauce?
What has been discredited is what the Indian economist Amartya Sen calls "plural mono-culturalism" - the view that society is a federation of communities each with its own cultural values and rights. This view of a multicultural society would have Chinese restaurants serving only Chinese people, while the Irish were stuck with the bacon and cabbage. A true multicultural society is a cosmopolitan blend where all citizens are free to enjoy the benefits of their own culture, or someone else's, as long as fundamental rights are respected. This rules out Sharia law, female circumcision and other practices inimical to the rights of the individual.
So I hope the Chinese architects live and prosper in this country. China has a 4,000-year-old architectural tradition and they surely can do something for Ireland, blighted as it is with ugly office blocks and boringly uniform residential estates. - Yours, etc,
TOBY JOYCE, Balreask Manor, Navan, Co Meath.
Madam, - With due respect to my brother Gerry Kennedy of Killala, Co Mayo (October 17th), I suspect he does not live in the most multicultural region in Ireland and is therefore not in a position to understand multiculturalism. By contrast I live in London, in the most multicultural borough imaginable - Hackney. Far from "forgetting where [ I] or [ my] parents come from", I retain a staunch Irish cultural identity which I do not wish to lose. I love Ireland, return frequently and work there often. I am not so "integrated" into British culture that I lost my roots during the 30 years away.
The vibrant and rich cultures around me are filled with colour, music, film, art and a myriad of interesting and fantastic folklore, tales and delicious food. Here in Hackney cultures live in harmony; there are few cross-cultural difficulties and if we find there some it usually transpires that white racists are to blame.
I hope the Chinese community's architectural venture succeeds and brings new vibrancy to Dublin as have all the new cultures that I have experienced here in Hackney for 30 years. - Yours, etc,
MARGARET KENNEDY, Sigdon Road, Hackney, London E8.