Sunday 30 June 2013

Racist B&B, anti-immigrant racism on increase during the recession, and clubbing Anglo Irish Bank executives in a sack

"Put former Anglo Irish Bank executives into a big sack, along with all shareholders, creditors, members of the last Irish government, relevant members of the Irish Central Bank, Irish and European regulatory authorities,  then hit the sack with a club until the screams of pain are unbearable".
You will know by now that the above is a rough approximation of a Frankfurter Allegemeine editorial, written in response to Anglo Irish bankers joyfully taking the piss out of us all surrounding Fianna Fail's decision to make the banks' debts sovereign debts which the taxpayer must repay. 

You might have thought there would be lynching parties throughout the land, with every ex-Anglo manager swinging from the lamposts, their (still very comfortable) houses having been first burned to the ground. 

You might have thought that every member and supporter of Fianna Fail would suffer the same fate, or at least get a good kicking - depending where they were in that abominable party's hierarchy.

But no, that is not the "Irish way".

Instead, another article in The Irish Times described how racism was on the rise in Ireland, with immigrants being the recipients of public hatred and bile, rather than the people who bankrupted the country. Here's a piece by Judith Crosbie in last Saturday's edition:

"What surprised Ernest about the monkey chants during his daily commute to Maynooth was their persistence. As an African man in Ireland he says he is used to racist insults but when a man taunted him on the train and then followed him off it, he knew things had reached a new low. “In a coach full of people he did a monkey chant and told me to go back to my own country and to stop taking our jobs,” he says.

“Then he followed me off the train and walked beside me doing monkey chants. It amazed me that no one stepped in and said, ‘What do you think you are doing?’ ” he says.

The Gardaí were called when he confronted the man but Ernest declined to press charges. “I don’t see any cases of anyone getting convicted over racist insults. It’s a waste of my time to take something like that any farther,” says Ernest, who doesn’t want to give his real name.

This week, a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute, commissioned by the Integration Centre, showed that Irish opposition to immigration has spiked since the recession began. The number of people who say they are not in favour of immigrants coming here from different ethnic backgrounds or from poorer non-European countries has jumped from about 5 per cent in 2002 to about 20 per cent in 2010, according to the report.

Whether this has a racist motivation is unclear. There is also a growing opposition to immigrants of the same ethnic background, with the number of opponents rising from 4 per cent to 15 per cent.
Some campaigners fear a growth in the types of racial tensions that have plagued other European countries, and say recent cuts in funding to migrants’ projects and the absence of a Government policy on integration are among the causes.

Campaigners also sense a rise in racist incidents. Earlier this month racist graffiti was posted around Dublin; it included anti-Semitic slogans on the Anglo Irish Bank headquarters building on North Wall Quay, and a message saying “Out if you’re not working” on a family home.


The Immigrant Council of Ireland’s poster campaign on buses and trains in Dublin, to encourage reporting, has increased reports of incidents from one to five incidents a week. The council says 17 serious incidents were reported in one month. Official statistics compiled by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration show a decrease in racist crime. Campaigners attribute this to the recording system, which does not categorise incidents as racist crimes, and to a lack of Garda training.


Vocal politicians
Some politicians have also become more vocal on the issue. In January, Sen Paschal Mooney of Fianna Fáil said he would not get into a taxi driven by a foreign national. In April Kevin Sheahan, a Fianna Fáil councillor for Co Limerick, said Irish people should be given priority over foreign nationals on housing lists.


There may not be much political gain from such statements. Political parties are usually quick to admonish their members for such comments and the Immigration Control Platform, which favours strong limits on immigration, says it won’t be running candidates in next year’s local or European elections because of poor results in previous votes.

But Seamus Treanor, an Independent councillor on Monaghan town council and county council, believes people’s concerns about immigration are real and need to be heard.
Campaigning for the local elections for the first time in 2009 opened his eyes to the “seething anger” about immigration, he says. “We were sold a pup. We were told there would be between 5,000 and 10,000 immigrants coming in here and now look at the numbers,” says Treanor, who topped the poll in both the town council and county council elections and has just finished a term as mayor of Monaghan.

Ireland should have introduced a strict immigration policy and refused to sign up to EU rules that allow people to move here, he says. “People can come in from other EU countries, work for a few years and stay on the dole indefinitely. No country can stand that,” says Treanor.


Perhaps this gobshite will also call for restraints on Irish people emigrating abroad,  thanks to the mess that bankers, investors, and his political class made of the country?

Or maybe he should open a racist B&B in monaghan?





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10 comments:

DC3 said...

"anti-Semitic slogans on the Anglo Irish Bank headquarters." Must have been the Anglo bit that scrambled the perpetrators "brain." Ireland keeps on producing them GM, one generation after another. The only collective and individual intelligence being a delusional cutehoorism. Mesmerising.

Ella said...

Hi GM, it's incredible it's ok for an Irish banker to put us into hock for the rest of our natural but for a foreigner to come here and make a contribution to the economy... go figure....

"Official statistics compiled by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration show a decrease in racist crime. Campaigners attribute this to the recording system, which does not categorise incidents as racist crimes, and to a lack of Garda training." - Lack of Garda training? Is it that difficult to categorise an incident as racist? I don't think so..

Anonymous said...

The incident described where an African man was racially taunted and intimidated in full view of those on public transport is sickening. Not one person took a stand and decided to challenge the nasty little gobshite responsible. I would not have stood idly by.

I have been to West Africa and was treated very well by the local people who were amongst the friendliest and most cordial people I have met anywhere on my travels. This contrast between how we are treated well abroad, but do not reciprocate this decency in many instances disgusts me.

I can't change the mindless nature of many fellow Irish, but on a personal level, I do what I can by being friendly and respectful towards West African residents and visitors. If you read this blog, you are obviously not one of these morons and I ask you to also do your bit to treat our African brothers ands sisters in the same decent way that you would like to be treated.

Unknown said...

The idea that Ireland is the land of "Cead mile failte" is a lie. We're no more or less friendly than most places.

Racist people are morons, they aim their anger at the wrong people.

DB said...

"Campaigners attribute this to the recording system, which does not categorise incidents as racist crimes, and to a lack of Garda training."

You would have thought some scumbag following someone making monkey noises might be easily recognizable as a racist taunt even for the gardai.

DC3 said...

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/emigration-at-highest-level-in-a-decade-229502.html

Tis grand ya know, Ireland is not steeped in corruption. The Banks were only having the CRAIC.

The Gombeen Man said...

That's 63,100 people leaving our rotten country in just one year. Let's hope they receive better treatment abroad than "Earnest".

F said...

Always like to listen to Boikots rendition of 'no pasaran' when I think of the bigots.racists and sectarians. It gives me hope. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFa0LpT2OHU

DC3 said...

Once again Irish cultural hegemony misses the point. Blames the innocent while the blameworthy laugh all the way to the Ice Bucket. Got to love Ireland. Let there be no misunderstanding, GM, the same complacency that dominates today, is merely a continuation of the fawning veneration for establishments such as "Anglo," a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

"The Government had provided over €104m to non-profit organisations in the last decade to support Irish communities overseas, maintaining such funding for the emigrant support programme in 2013 with an allocation of €11.6m, despite the difficult financial situation of the exchequer."

Hey where's all that money going?
When I left the motherland or fatherland many years ago, I got myself a job and worked.
Never heard of "Emigrant support"
Redneck