Diaspora.fi looks at religion in globalising world
Friday, July 20th, 2007A new website has been launched that focuses on topics related to migration and religion. Diaspora.fi, subtitled “Religions in a Globalised World”, is an information channel for new publications, funding, conferences and other events. Site administrator Tuomas Martikainen of Finland says the areas of interest include religion in diaspora, religion and international migration, globalisation and the study of religion in local settings.
Visit the site at diaspora.fi.
Minister for Integration once faced ethnic abuse
Monday, July 16th, 2007Justice Minister Conor Lenihan, who has recently been appointed Minister for Integration, has told the Irish Independent that he was subjected to a serious incident of racial abuse while working in London in the 1980s. The incident occurred in a pub, when four men began shouting at him about the North.
“You have that awful dilemma: do I finish the pint or leave it? I made out as if I was going to the lavatory but I sprinted for the door.”
Mr Lenihan said the four men chased him down the street while shouting, “you Irish bastard”.
“I wasn’t particularly fit, but I can tell you I was in the Ben Johnson league of sprinting with those four lads after me…
“That kind of verbal abuse is a disgrace, and it’s not in any way acceptable”
Mr Lenihan, said the incident had rasied his awareness of the pain of racial abuse. He discussed the incident as part of an interview regarding his new position as Minister for Integration.
He also told the newspaper that he wanted to introduce citizenship ceremonies that would encourage integration; this would include citizenship tests as well as giving local communities the opportunity to welcome migrants. He will be focusing much of his efforts at integration in the education system, saying that the battle of integration would be won or lost in the schools.
The politician said, however, that his new post does not indicate a shift toward greater leniancy in migration policy.
“There will be no integration without deportation. I don’t want people to think that just because a new Minister for Integration has been appointed that somehow the doors are going to be flung open and Ireland is going to have open, unrestricted migration”.
Mr Lenihan had been criticised in 2005 for using a term that was interpreted as an ethnic slur against Turkish workers; he noted during the interview that he had apologised for the incident and did not feel it was an issue in his current job. He also said that he had been defended at the time by members of immigrant ethnic groups.
Read the articles in the Irish Independent:
DREAM Act goes to US Senate
Monday, July 16th, 2007The DREAM Act will be introduced into the Senate this week, as an amendment to the Department of Defence Authorisation bill currently being debated.
The move follows the defeat of the efforts for comprehensive immigration reform, and demonstrates how immigrant advocates are shifting their efforts to the passage of legislation that will assist immigrants on a more limited basis.
The DREAM Act would provide a path to legal residency and eventual citizenship for individuals who came to the US as undocumented children; they would need to graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service.
The Justice for Immigrants group is urging supporters to ring and email their senators. Geri Garvey adds,
“We expect anti-immigrant groups to spread falsehoods about the DREAM Act and to try to inflame their base to intimidate Senators like they did in the recent Senate debate about immigration reform. But DREAM Act supporters are passionate too. We can and must fight back and match their intensity.”
Visit these sites for Senate contact information:
Returning emigrant speaks of HRC hardship
Friday, July 13th, 2007Vincent Lavery, the 71-year-old teacher who returned from California to Ireland only to be told he was ineligible for pension or social welfare benefits, has appeared in an RTE news report on the habitual residency condition.
The report highlighted Mr Lavery’s political activism and his thirty-five year career as a teacher. “I never entertained the idea that I would live off the state”, he said.
“When I got back, reality hit me”, he said. “My credentials have not been approved, even though I’ve been involved in public education for 35 years”. He has been given €14,000 euro by a relative to enable him to maintain a basic lifestyle. “It’s not easy”, he said, his voice breaking.
Emigrant Advice worker Joe O’Brien said, “It’s something that needs to be tackled immediately because it’s simply unacceptable that returning Irish emigrants should be refused the safety and the protection of the welfare system here on their return”.
Minister for Social and Family Affairs Martin Cullen says that he will consider reviewing the current situation regarding the HRC, but as the reportre notes, time is running out for Vincent Lavery.
“There is the possibility that I go back to America”, he said. “There is that possibility, which would be the final chapter in this Odyssey”.
See the report on the Six-One News website.
Emigrant monument needs promotion, say city officials
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007A Cork monument honouring Irish emigrants isn’t getting enough attention, according to a report in the Irish Examiner. The newspaper reports that city councillors are concerned that the monument, which was launched in September, needs more promotion.
The Listening Post monument on Penrose Quay is comprised of four stainless steel posts, which play recordings of interviews with hundreds of emigrants, their descendents, people left behind and ship workers. Penrose Quay was a departure point for emigrant boats in the middle decades of the last century.
The monument was developed by sculptor Daphne Wright, Meridian Theatre Company artistic director Johnny Hanrahan and sound designer Dan Jones. The €100,000 project is the city’s first permanent sound installation.
But city councillors say not many have heard the Listening Post monument. “These are supposed to be listening posts. But I’ve never seen anyone listening to them”, the paper quotes Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom O’Driscoll. Mr O’Driscoll added the worthy project was suffering from a lack of promotion.
City manager Joe Gavin agreed to distribute brochures to Cork’s tourist offices and hotels. City arts officer Liz Meaney said the public reaction to the project’s launch was hugely positive.
Read the full report on the Irish Examiner website.
New moves on free travel for older emigrants?
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007Older emigrants living in Britain may soon be getting access to free travel in Ireland, according to a report in the Irish Post. The newspaper reports that leading politicians have promised that the issue is being prioritised to be addressed when the Irish Government reconvenes after the summer holidays.
Emigrant advocates have been campaigning on this issue for years, and while there appears to be much goodwill toward the idea among politicians, there have been difficulties in implementing a plan. Last year, then-Minister Seamus Brennan attempted to introduce a provision that would have allowed for free travel for those abroad who were receiving an Irish pension; the EU Commission rejected the proposal as discriminatory. Currently residents of the island of Ireland are entitled to the free travel scheme once they reach 66.
Most campaigners want to see free travel introduced for all Irish nationals who have reached pension age. The newspaper quotes a Department for Social and Family Affairs spokesperson:
“The Government will examine the introduction of free travel for Irish citizens of pension age, particularly those resident in Britain, when visiting Ireland and press the European Commission to examine a similar EU-wide scheme.”
The paper notes the free travel campaign is backed by the Green Party, a coalition government party, and the opposition Labour Party.
The issue was one of those that loomed largest at the Irish Pensioners Consultation and Conference Day recently organised by the Irish Elderly Advice Service at the London Irish Centre.
Read the full reports on the Irish Post website:
« Previous Entries Next Entries »