Irish Times profiles Irish in Turkey
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006The Irish Times profiles the Irish in Turkey today, coinciding with the first day of the Pope’s visit to that country. Journalist Aengus Collins says there are about 60 Irish people who have moved permanently to Turkey, with most settling in Istanbul. About the same number are living in Turkey for the short term, with most of those teaching English. About 1,500 are registered as having bought holiday homes.
The report notes that many of the Irish who came originally intended staying only a short time, while others came because they had a Turkish spouse or parent. It also says that the Irish community is well-integrated into Turkish life, and socialising tends to be with Turkish friends rather than other Irish expats; at Eamonn Lehane’s Irish bar, none of the clientele are Irish. The low costs of living and accommodation are reported to be attractions for many of the Irish.
Most of the Irish interviewed for the article report no religious tension in the Muslim nation, with one woman saying that “For anyone that I know here, it just doesn’t affect their daily life.”
The full article is available on Ireland.com (subscription required).
Can digital radio help emigrants keep in touch?
Monday, November 27th, 2006Digital Radio Mondiale technology would allow the transmission of RTÉ radio into Britain and through much of Europe. Éan member Enda O’Kane has been working with the research group Irish Overseas Broadcasting as part of his efforts to improve Ireland’s radio links with our emigrants.
Enda says:
Global coverage short wave has always been plagued with fading crackles and pops and was the traditional link with home for many. Digital Radio Mondiale is new, and gives the benefits of FM quality to short, medium and longwave bands.
DRM would allow Ireland, for the first time, to deliver and FM-like sound over the European continent, by bypassing expensive satellite systems.It will also allow RTE to broadcast Radio 1 in almost-FM quality over most of the UK using Longwave 252 to a new generation of radios now available.
Environmentally friendly DRM uses only half the energy of existing AM transmitters, having a minimum impact on atmospheric pollution.
The UK’s BBC and broadcasters in Germany, Holland, France, Sweden and the Vatican are just some of the DRM stations now beaming across Europe.
DRM is very attractive to small countries such as Ireland. It is cheap, does not need a satellite dish and avoids the control of a satellite “gate keeper”. Motorists and listeners with portables can easily keep in touch with home.
A DRM demonstration was well-received at the recent Over-50s Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin.
Simple-to-use DRM radios are now on the market in Germany from €199 plus shipping to many countries.
These Morphy Richards and Sangean models can be purchased directly over the web:
http://www.radiostore.de
http://www.thiecom.de/shop1/index.html
Here are links to a number of articles about the new technology:
Signalling a new era for Irish radio reception in Europe
RTE’s Digital Radio Scheme: Why it can’t replace FM for special-interest or remote audiences
Digital TV and Radio – an excerpt from a Consumer Choice article by John Cradden
RTE’s Digital Radio, an unworthy successor to FM
Visa mixup puts South African resident in jail
Sunday, November 26th, 2006An Irish golf instructor who has lived in South Africa for five years spent 12 days in jail in a visa mixup, according to the South African Sunday Tribune. David Graham was in the process of applying for a visa extension when he was arrested in June in Durban. Immigration officials had misread a figure on his documentation and concluded his paperwork was invalid.
Graham was told he would be deported, and was sent to jail; although he was informed he would be put in the prison’s immigration section, he was instead put in a cell with murder suspects. Graham says he bribed fellow prisoners in order to survive; South Africa’s Home Affairs department took four days to find him because he was in the wrong section of the prison. His own lawyer did not know how to find him.
Graham was finally granted bail in August; his case was dismissed in October. The newspaper reports that a department of home affairs spokesperson said they were investigating the matter.
Read the full story on iol.co.za.
Gap between EU provisions and practice highlighted
Friday, November 24th, 2006The European Citizen Action Service recently hosted an event highlighting the difficulties of workers migrating within the EU. The event featured 14 citizens representing a cross-section of migrant workers explaining their experiences and making recommendations for future action.
The event highlighted the gap between European principles and lived experience. Participants reported inconsistent application of rules, red tape, and insufficient information.
The case histories of the 14 citizens are also recounted on the ECAS website. Their stories highlight a number of problems:
– working below qualifications and barriers to recognising experience earned abroad when returning home
– the “vicious circle” of formalising residence and looking for jobs
– hidden obstacles to setting up a company in another EU country
– pensioners losing out because of poor social security coordination.
Ireland’s role as both an emigrant and immigrant nation was highlighted in the case studies. Irish woman Eve Geddie, who migrated to Brussels after graduating with a European Masters in Human Rights, said she was treated with disrespect by officials there, and her residence card was delayed, without which employment agencies refused to register her. In this catch-22 situation, she ran out of money and and was not able to get clear information about benefits to which she might be entitled.
Two Polish women and a Czech man recounted their experiences of working in Ireland. Agata Szarek found a job easily but she experienced discrimination as an employee; she has since started her own business and also interprets for the local Polish community. Through her interpreting duties she has realised the obstacles faced by many, including employer abuse and the language barrier. Meanwhile, Joanna Kasztelan recounted her experience working as a cleaning lady in a bakery. She was forced to carry heavy objects and work extra hours without pay, and was insulted by colleagues. When she found a new job her old employer threatened to withhold her outstanding salary. Ondrej Manda from the Czech Republic, a university graduate, was unable to find a job corresponding to his level of education and could only find work in a factory.
The report made a number of recommendations:
– a strong commitment to close the gap between EU Treaty provisions and practice on the ground
– the creation of a single information source on legal and practical information for citizens and officials
– training, resources and interpretation services for first-contact officials
– exploring the possibility of job centres the ability to check the credibility of job offers and inform people of their EU rights
– exploring the possibility of a personalised number to make it easier for citizens to switch social security and tax systems.
A full report on the event will be published shortly. Case studies and further information on the event are available on the ECAS website.
Migration the focus of Dermot Bolger’s latest
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006Dermot Bolger, the poet who was the keynote speaker at Éan’s 2005 conference, has a new play that touches on both emigration and immigration. “The Townlands of Brazil”, playing now in Ballymun’s Axis Arts Centre, tells the stories of two young women: one, a mother who emigrates to England in the 1960s, and the second, a Polish widow and mother who immigrates to Ireland forty years later.
Bolger told the Sunday Business Post:
“My extended family would be a typical Irish family [in that] I have loads of cousins with Wolverhampton accents and Liverpool accents and very few with Irish accents.
“When I was growing up, my own generation felt that we didn’t have to emigrate, but we soon realised that we were just a brief hiccup in the system, and once the 1980s started, there was a whole generation of young people who had to go abroad again. Of course, now that has turned around, and people are coming back, and immigrants are coming in.
“But when I talk to Polish people and Romanian people who live here, I often feel that I’m looking at my uncles and aunts, and all those generations of Irish people who had to leave their homes and start new lives.”
Emigrant Services funding to increase by 25%
Friday, November 17th, 2006Funding for Emigrant Services abroad will increase by 25% in 2007, to €15.2 million, up from €12 million this year. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern commented, “This represents a fifteen-fold increase in such provision since 1997 and reflects the Government’s strong commitment to the welfare of the Irish abroad.�
The funding will mainly go to groups in Britain that provide front-line services to emigrants there. There will also be substantial increases for emigrant groups providing services in the United States, Australia and elsewhere.
The funding increase was announced in the 2007 Estimates published today. Other Foreegn Affairs-related funding incraases include a nearly €130 million increase in aid to developing countries, up from 600.5 million this year to €738 million next year.
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