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SUMMER 08

Changing IrelandChanging IrelandISSUE 26 The National Magazine of the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - funding 180 CDPs

This publication and most projects featured inside are part of theCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

A FLOOD OF NEW VOLUNTEERS1-in-3 volunteers in Ireland today is non-Irish

THE MIGRANTS ISSUE

A FLOOD OF NEW VOLUNTEERS1-in-3 volunteers in Ireland today is non-Irish

INSIDE

We came,

. . . w e s a w ,

We came,

. . . we saw,Ye lot areall the samePage 6

8 ways to promote

integration

Pages 11-15

We still want

regenerationPages 24-25

ww ee vvoo lluunn tteeee rreedd !!ww ee vvoo lluunn tteeee rreedd !!


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2changing ireland good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die

Published by: Changing Ireland is published by the Community DevelopmentNetwork, Moyross, Limited, Limerick, Ireland, with funding from the Departmentof Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.Address: Changing Ireland, Community Enterprise Centre, Moyross, Limerick.

Tel Editor: 061-458011.Tel Administrator: 061-458090.Fax: 061-325300.E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]: www.changingireland.ie

Editor: Allen MeagherEditorial team: Sean McLaughlin, Juan Carlos Azzopardi and Allen MeagherDesign: PrintZone, Limerick.Printed by: Walsh Printing Services, Castleisland, Co. Kerry

THANKS TO . . .Changing Ireland thanks everyone involved in the production of Issue 26.

DISCLAIMERThe views expressed in this newsletter are those of the author concerned.They do not, by any means, necessarily reflect the views of the Editor, theeditorial team, the management committee of the Community DevelopmentNetwork, Moyross, Ltd., or the Department of Community, Rural and GaeltachtAffairs.

The buck stops here

PRODUCED

INMOYRO

SS

BYTHECOM

MUNITY

DEVELOPM

ENTNETWO

RK

IT is a long time since an evaluation has been carried out intothe Community Development Programme. The last one in

1999-2000 showed incredible returns on the investment,especially given the high volunteer involvement. However, theNexus Research report also showed that CDPs were notgenerally taking on issues regarding new communities.

How things are changing!Eight years ago, interculturalism and anti-racist work did

not feature highly among the eight main priorities named byCDPs. In terms of target group priorities, new communitieswere rated eighth out of nine key target groups.

A problem at the time was the perception by CDPs that theyhad a lack of expertise in the area. Now, many CDPs havebuilt up skills and expertise and are ready and willing to passon their know-how. This edition of Changing Ireland focuseson integration and interculturalism to highlight what is beingdone and to provide an impetus to those community groupswho have not engaged with immigrants and refugees to date.

The Community Development Programme is part of amovement in Ireland that empowers, expresses solidaritywith, and belongs to the marginalised in society, includingvulnerable immigrants and refugees. Thankfully, today, themost reputable organisations working towards integrationtake a Community Development approach to their work

from Partnership Companies to the Migrant Rights CentresIreland.

While local groups may wish they had more resources, wecant look elsewhere for someone else to do the work. TheState has welcomed 400,000-plus immigrants into thecountry. The buck stops here with us at community level.There are many initiatives already happening around thecountry and weve highlighted what we believe are goodexamples that demonstrate a community developmentapproach.

We all have a duty of care to the community we live in,inluding short-stay residents. Integration work opens yourcommunity up to a wealth of talent and resources. Bear inmind that 1 in 3 volunteers contacting Volunteer CentresIreland today are non-Irish nationals.

Also, a minority of immigrants are illegal, undocumented,vulnerable and at a distance from mainstream society.However, they are within the reach of community groups, asare asylum-seekers.

Our diversity is not a passing thing. It is permanent. Andremember, migrants are active agents in bringing aboutpositive change. More aid goes to Africa from migrantsremittances than from official development aid.

EDITORIAL

Communitydevelopment

principles COLLECTIVE ACTION

PARTICIPATION OF MARGINALISED PEOPLE

INCLUSIVENESS

IS EMPOWERING AND ENABLING

THE PROCESS IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE TASK

IT IS NON- SEXIST, NON-SECTARIAN AND NON-RACIST

WE FOCUS ON SOLIDARITY NOT CHARITY

WE START WHERE PEOPLE ARE AT

WE EMBRACE EQUALITY

WE THINK GLOBALLY AND ACT LOCALLY

PROMOTES SELF-DETERMINATION

COVER PHOTO:Photographer: Ruby Wallis.Caption: Voluntary members of the Bangladesh Association and theGalway Intercultural Forum at Galways first annual InterculturalBarbecue held at the Spanish Arch on June 28th. Westside CDP wereinstrumental in providing us with the photograph.Incidentally, Galway is unique in Ireland in having adopted a city-specific anti-racism strategy. It has won recognition in Europe as amodel for other cities to follow.


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3changing ireland can you be an active citizen slouched in a couch? no!

HH II GG HH LL II GG HH TT SSNews briefs

Page 4

Volunteer profile

Page 5

Rise in volunteering

Page 6

Health News:

Toxic toothpaste

Pages 7-9

Integration in Ireland

Page 10

8 ways with a

Development approach

Pages 11-15

World refugee day awards -

celebration and controversy

Pages 18-19

Migration Nation

Pages 16-17

Programme news

and opinion

Pages 20-23

Regeneration

in Dublin . . and Horace

Pages 24-25

Tips for involving

immigrants

Page 26

Clondalkins new

intercultural centre

Page 28


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4 up to 12% of population are non-irish minister conor lenihanchanging ireland

SENATOR David Norris has paid tribute tocommunity groups in the West and Midlands forthe work they are doing to include members ofthe lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendercommunities.

This work is not based on academic claptrap,it is informed by the genuine experiences of realpeople in local communities, he said.

Senator Norris was speaking at the launch inMay of a Code of Practice to ensure that CDPs

and Family Resource Centres (FRCs) are friendlyto members of the LGBT communities. The launchalso included the distribution of posters in English,Irish and Polish.

The materials were published on the back of

work by over 20 groups - by local CDPs, FRCs,West Training and Development and the Gay,Lesbian and Equality Network (GLEN).

The work was prompted in part by the suicideof a gay man in a rural community.

Meta Ui Mhaille, co-ordinator of Plearaca TeoCDP in Rosmuc, one of the groups involved,outlined why the work was important: Ourgroups were aware of the difficulties facing LGBTpeople, particularly young people in rural

communities, but no CDP or FRC had all theanswers on its own.Jim OBrien, chairperson of West Training, the

regional support agency involved in the work,said that very often documents and codes like

this are prepared and published in anorganisational vacuum: they are meant foreverybody and ultimately impact on nobody. ThisCode of Practice is developed for concretesituations and has a ready home in the networkof FRCs and CDPs.

Since the launch, other groups around thecountry have sought copies of the guide andposters.

For more information, contact: West Training,

Mayoralty House, Merchant's Road, Galway.T: 091-567827. E: [email protected]

The Code is available for download in theResources section of: www.westtraining.ie

Community groupswelcome gay people- Code of Practice launched in West and Midlands

Project news briefs

THIS years Doolough FamineWalk, organised by LouisburgCDP and AfrI, focused on thetheme of conflict and war overscarce resources including water.

The walk took place in May, the20th occasion of the event, andeach year it aims to remindpeople that famine and hunger isthe norm for millions of people.

Project-launch in Roscommon

On May 13th, Clodagh McDonnell, recently-appointed Principal Officer withthe Department of Community Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs, officially launchedthe Roscommon Womenss Network CDP and opened the projects new officesin The Old Mill, Castlerea. The Network had its genesis back in 1997 with theWomens Coalition and it joined the Programme in 2005. It is currentlyexpanding its outreach services. (For more news from the Network, see page

15). Clodagh McDonnells new role involves overseeing the CommunityDevelopment Programme.

20th famine walk

TUAM Resource Centre CDPlaunched a book on July 18thcataloging the experiences andlifestyles of non-Irish residents ofthe Galway town. Volunteerscarried out the research, calling

door-to-door for information.Tuam: A Town of Many Nationswas launched by Conor Lenihan,Minister for Integration.The research findings werecollated by Ann Irwin.

Tuam book launched

"WHEREVER men and women arecondemned to live in extreme poverty,human rights are violated. To cometogether to ensure that these rights berespected is our solemn duty."

This was the key phrase pushed bythe late Joseph Wresinski, founder ofthe International Movement ATD

Fourth World, and across Irelandtoday people are being urged to signup to the statement in advance ofceremonies on October 17th to markthe UNs International Day For The

Eradication Of Extreme Poverty.Plans are currently being put in

place at local and national level tomark the UN day.

If you would like to help markOctober 17th, contact: ATD FourthWorld, 31 Mountjoy Square, Dublin

1. T: 01-8558191. E:[email protected]

www.oct17.org/enwww.atdfourthworld.ie/www.atd-fourthworld.org

Plan now for Oct 17th

A GROUP of volunteers fromcommunity groups in Limerick,including CDPs, visited Dublin inApril to see how theircounterparts in the capital are

leading the way in tackling drugsthrough their Community PolicingForum.

The Limerick group attended aforum meeting in Store Street

Garda Station and werepleasantly surprised to see around20 Gardai attending, a sign theytook that the forum works and istaken seriously. A similar forum

will be set up in Limerick shortly,under the guise of the Mid WestRegional Drugs Task Force (whichincidentally has launched a newwebsite: www.mwrdtf.ie)

Drugs taskforce visit

EARS seminar for Sept 11thTHE Equality and Anti-Racism Sub-Committee (EARS) runs an annualseminar for communityorganisations to discuss issues,share information and examine bestpractice.

The fourth annual seminarorganised by the Equality and Anti-Racism Sub-Committee (EARS) isscheduled for September 11th.

The theme is: Integrating equalityand anti-racism work into thepractice of community developmentorganisations. There will be 4workshops (running parallel) on

disability, ageism, racism and sexualorientation.

EARS can be contacted throughMathews Thayil, a CommunityDevelopment Worker with Tallaght-based CDP, the Special Project onLong Term Unemployment (SPLTU).

T: 01-4623222.E: [email protected]

EARS does not have an office of itsown. It has been in existence since1998 and is supported by CDPs,FRCs and community developmentsupport agencies.


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5changing ireland key challenge is integrating immigrants to become citizens minister lenihan

Paddy Loughnane is a voluntarymanagement committee member ofThurles Action for CommunityDevelopment CDP, based in Co. Tipperary.

What are you reading at the moment?The Tipperary Star and Im on thecomputer at the moment too, thatsreading. Im reading a book calledMemories of Scoil Alba 1949-1999. Itsabout where I went to school.

Whats the last film you saw?

I dont really watch movies. I dont evenwatch telly. The last movie I watched wasThe Warriors about gang-wars in NewYork in the 1970s.

Person you most admire?My wife, Mairead. She helped me changefrom what I was to what I am. Outside thefamily home, Id admire the late PopeJohn Paul II. I went to see him in 1979and was amazed to see how thousands ofpeople turned out to see one man in thehope they could make a change in theirlives. When he was shot he went into the

jail to forgive that person. Im not areligious man but hes a fella I had toadmire.

The top 4 issues in Ireland today?Number one is the environment, globalwarming and so on. Number two is therecession and its hitting a lot of people inthis neck of the woods. People areoutspending their incomes and giving theirchildren the habit of having everythingthey want. I wonder will the children copewhen they grow up. Number three ishidden standards, like the Church record,Berties record. If an ordinary man didwhat Bertie done hed be doing time.Theres no equality.

We need more volunteers to try and build thecommunities and the towns because to behonest the politicians only talk about it.They just put the red tape in front of us.And opportunities: People who havelifelong experience working voluntary withpeople on the street should be given anequal chance at jobs as people with

degrees.We need less red tape in organisations. A lot ofvolunteers have great ideas, they send the

ideas up the line, but they cant go furtherbecause of red tape and bureaucracy.

Volunteers do put a lot in but they getdrained by the politics of CommunityDevelopment.

How long are you workingwith the CDP?A year and a half. Before this, I was withother groups.

How and why did you get involved?I felt people like us were needed to bringback the community spirit to Thurles.Weve built a lovely community back

around us again. We got LoughtagallaPark back up and running for example.Ten years ago, the older people weretrying to close it down after vandalismand anti-social behaviour. We formed anew committee and I brought in sixteenagers to make their points and theyformed into a sub-committee and theyworked with the older people. Everyonelistened. Instead of breaking trees, theyoung people are now planting them.

What difference has being involvedmade to you?

Im on a few boards of management atthe moment, but Id rather not be, Immore a man of the street. I give people onthe streets time. Id sit down with thewinos and ask them what can we do

together.

Have things changed for(your community, eg women,older people) today?The community has become a littlestronger now and we look out for eachother more. The older people arerespected now and we dont leave themput up with hassle. And we give theyoung people an equal voice.

What motivates you as a volunteer?My own background. Ive seen both sidesof the law.

How do you get new volunteers?Well, theyre trying to start a Tidy Townscommittee here and they advertised ameeting in a hotel. I said, Why are yecalling meetings in a hotel? We have togo into the housing estates and meetpeople there and theyre doing that now.Theyre meeting with residents on thestreets and thats the best place to go. Youneed to show your face.

For more information about Thurles

Action for Community Development,contact them at: TACD Ltd, Kickham St,Thurles, Co. Tipperary.T: 0504-90666.E: [email protected]

Volunteer Profile:Paddy Loughnane

Volunteering


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7changing ireland labour force participation rate for immigrant adults is approx. 90%

Toxic toothpaste supplied

to asylum-seekers- community worker says it is symptom of bigger problems

THE owner of the Eyre Powell Hotel inNewbridge, Co. Kildare, has refused toidentify the source of toothpaste distributed toresidents and containing toxic ingredient, DEG.Joe Germaine would only say it came from asupplier in Dublin.

The 60 adult and 30 child residents, allasylum-seekers, are long-stay and they foundafter using Cool Mate that their gums bled andthey suffered toothache. Cool Mate contains a9.8% concentration of the toxin, DEG, which ifingested in sufficient doses can cause death orserious injury. It attacks the liver and kidneys.The Australian authorities have banned thetoothpaste, as has the USA, Saudi Arabia,Spain and Austria, among others.

Conditions in the Eyre Powell Hotel as thedirect provision centre is called - were so dismalgenerally that a public meeting was called

recently to see what could be done. At that time,the residents were unaware the toothpaste theywere using was dangerous.

RAISE THE ALARMEfforts by the Newbridge Asylum-Seekers

Support Group (NASSG) to raise the alarmhave met with little obvious co-operation, todate. Mick Power, chairperson of The BridgeCDP, wrote on behalf of the NASSG to theMinister of Health, Mary Harney, on June 9th.The group asked for Minister HarneysDepartment to:- chemically analyse the product;

- carry out a health screening of residents,and;

- see if the product is being used by other directprovision centres.They also asked the Minister to ensure that

no residents are dispersed to other centres untilsuch time as the above has been completed.

Asylum-seekers who complained too loudly inthe past have been moved to other centres, faraway from where they had made friends. Itkeeps them mute on many issues, which iswhere The Bridge CDP (in Newbridge) and theKildare Partnership come in: they can speak up

and be a voice for the vulnerable and voiceless.Both CDP and Partnership have activelysupported the asylum-seekers group for someyears. Anne Daly, the Partnerships Community

Participation Programme manager, has workedvery closely since 2004 with the NASSG andwith residents of the Eyre Powell. She liaises withthe CDP co-ordinator Mary Hennessy.

ENOUGH WORRIES ALREADYThe Irish members of the NASSG were the

first to discover the toothpaste was a bannedproduct in many countries and they thoughthard before voicing their concerns to residentsin Eyre Powell. The average asylum-seeker hasenough worries to contend with and might not

react well to being told that the Government-funded accommodation centre was,inadvertently, supplying them with toxictoothpaste, said Anne Daly, a communityworker with the Kildare Partnership.

Also, it would do asylum-seekers no good ifthe media and public got the impression that themain issue in asylum-seekerss lives was the typeof toothpaste they use, she said.

However, the local members of the NASSGviewed the problem as primarily being aboutpublic health. Without delay, they made theirconcerns public and after six weeks of being

supplied with Cool Mate, an alternative cheaptoothpaste was provided by the Eyre Powell.Meanwhile, the Reception and Integration

Agency (RIA) responded by accusing thecomplainants of scaremongering and a war

of words broke out, with Mick Power writingback to the RIA in late June to say:

CLASSIC COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT

People living in the Asylum Process, and inparticular in Direct Provision, are denied a lot ofrights within that system and should not bedenied information about a product which maybe adversely affecting their health.

This is a classic case of Community

Development in action, where collective actionachieves results and where participation bythose directly effected is key.

As a result, at local level, the toothpaste waspromptly replaced (with Tesco own-brand) andgeneral conditions in the Eyre Powell arereported to have improved somewhat.

However, there is still a fear that other directprovision centres may be using Cool Mate. Thegeneral public may also be at risk because itseems it is legal to sell the product despite thetoxins, said Anne Daly.

The toxic toothpaste was only a symptom,

said Anne, of the wider issues facing asylum-seekers and of the way Irish society treats them.She pointed to the fact that the Minister had yetto reply (as we went to press) to the NASSGsconcerns.

Ethnic minorities & health

By ALLEN MEAGHER


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8changing ireland labour force participation rate for indigenous adults is approx. 65%

Ethnic minor

FOR ten years now, many people fromethnic minority communities have had apoor experience accessing supports in timeof sickness. A survey has found that 44% ofcallers to the new Health Information andAdvocacy Centre based in Dublin had

problems gaining access to basic healthservices.

The main item causing confusion is thecomplicated process of applying for amedical card/ GP visit card. Complicatedapplication forms, an unclear process andlong waiting times for the decisions wereamong most common problems.

In some cases, the Centre has seen asylumseekers denied an application for a medicalcard from their local health centres on thegrounds that they would not be entitled to a

medical card anyway, because they are livingwith friends and not in direct provision centre.The difficulties are further exacerbated if a

person falls out of the immigration system,

and this often happens not by their own fault.In one case, a womans work permit lapsedbecause of inaction of the employer. Soonafter, her GP suspected she might have abrain tumor. The proper diagnosis warranteda series of tests which, in her situation, she

could not afford. For this ill person, trying tosecure another work permit with a newemployer became a first priority; her health the second.

In another case, a man resident in Irelandand working for five years broke his leg andreceived a hospital bill for several thousandeuro. The immigrant almost left Ireland,because he could not afford to pay the bill.Lucky for him, the HIAC were able to informhim that with a relatively simpleadministrative procedure (where he has to

present the evidence of his income, residentialand employment status to the hospital) hecould reduce his bill to a mere 60 euro orpossibly the bill could be waived altogether.

CHANGING Ireland has received a

sample of Cool Mate toothpasteproduct in its packaging from anasylum-seeker in the Eyre Powell. Thereare no company details, no country ofmanufacture, and no reference to thetoxic DEG substance that led Australianauthorities to ban Cool Mate last year.

The packaging carries the uselessclaim that it is Designed in Germany(this possibly refers to the packaging,rather than the product). Some, thoughpossibly not all, ingredients are listedon the packaging, and none is listed on

the toothpaste tube. Instead ofingredients, the tube bears the sloganNatural Taste & Super Clean.Nowhere on the tube or packaging isthere any information about thecompany or where it wasmanufactured or who the Irish supplieris.

The only reason people buy CoolMate is because, one presumes, it ischeap and available. In Eyre Powell,the residents were supplied with thetoothpaste for around six weeks beforeit was withdrawn.

DEG in toothpaste according to aninternet report - killed 107 people inthe USA before being banned intoothpaste in 1937 (it is still used inpaints and solvents).

Nomanufacturerdetails

If you findCool MateIF anybody knows where Cool Matetoothpaste is being sold ordistributed, let Changing Ireland

know and we will pass theinformation onto the Department ofHealth and Children. Contact details:page 2.

After five years work,man almost fled country

- thought he owed money to HSE

Profit-making through direct provisionTHE Governments system of direct provisionfor asylum-seekers (they get bed, board,secure accomodation and 19.10 a week)means valuable work for dozens ofcontractors nationwide. Companies who are

awarded contracts seek naturally to beefficient and to make a profit. In 2004, thepayment for the contracted services was inthe range of 189 to 222.60 per personper week. Profits are generated by keeping

costs per head at a minimum.The direct provision system is flawed,

says Anne Daly, a community worker withthe Kildare Partnership. She says that itkeeps people in limbo for years without

rights and those that benefit most from thesystem are the companies who won contractsfor direct provision centres.

She believes that, The residents are seenas a commodity.


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9changing ireland economic anarchy of capitalist society is real source of evil - albert einstein

IF you had a cold, or a twisted ankle, orworse still a suspicious lump, would youstep into an office advertising itself as aSurgery? An Irish person might in Ireland,but no sane foreigner would, unless theywere led through by a trusted friend.

It would take more than a sore throat or

bleeding gums to propel me through the doorto meet the GP, worse still the GeneralPractitioner, in his Surgery.

Surgery here means a doctor will look atyou for four-to-five minutes, prescribe a doseof tablets or recommend a trip to hospital,and charge you 60. But, in other peoplesEnglish, the word surgery indicates a placethey might cut your leg off or operate on you.

SURGERY SIGNSCONFUSE PATIENTS

Said one former patient: In my language,surgery means a place where the surgicaloperation is performed. So when I saw GPsurgery sign I never thought that this is theoffice of local family doctor.

So, who knows how many sick immigrantswent without treatment when they had ahealth problem?

A decade of immigration has educated theauthorities and they have to the great reliefof thousands of immigrants opened aninformation centre aimed at plugging the gapfor non-Irish people living in Dublin city. It

took time:Step 1: 20 years ago, a community

development organisation was set up calledCairde (it came to life during a crisis in thehealth service).

Step 2: A decade passed and Cairdeestablished an Ethnic Minority Health Forum.At Forum meetings, citizens from over 20nations sit at one table and discuss healthissues effecting their compatriots resident inIreland.

Step 3: The Forum set up the HealthInformation and Advocacy Centre (HIAC)upon securing funding from Dublin CityCouncil and the HSE.

COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT APPROACH

Today, the information centre is staffed andbusy working crucially, from a communitydevelopment approach to produce relevant,accurate and culturally appropriate healthinformation (and advocacy) for people fromethnic minorities.

Hopefully, in future, people new to Irelandcan make more use of the health systemfunded partly by their own taxes.

The HIAC has produced a number of easy-to-understand guidebooks on health and onMonday, June 16th, Minister for Integration,Conor Lenihan, officially opened the Centre.He explained that the main aim of HIAC wasto improve ethnic minority take up of primarycare.

While this is of course a commendableaim, it is says spokesperson Tommy Byrne a

stop-gap measure in Dublin: Nonetheless,the successful opening of the Centre is a clearillustration of a collaborative approach as away to deal with complex health needssensitively and effectively.

RECOMMENDED WEBSITEIn the future, the HSE hopes to mainstream

the provision of accessible information on anational basis. In the meanwhile, anyone inthe country can ring the Centre and there isalso a useful website: www.healthfacts.ie

The website lists every hospital in the stateand every doctors surgery in Dublin, andChanging Ireland recommends this websiteto anyone seeking information about thepublic health system and / or about their ownpersonal health. The website has the potentialto serve hundreds if not thousands of visitorsdaily.

The need for the HIAC is very obvious. Inthe first six months, and despite havingminimal resources and almost no promotionalbudget, the Centre had to carry out nearly1,500 actions on behalf of over 1,300

people. These actions involved dealing withhospitals, GPs, the HSE and the Departmentof Social and Family Affairs on behalf of illclients.

CEO of Cairde, Paddy Connolly, remarks:The main issue which users of the Centrehave raised with us is the barriers they haveencountered when accessing health services.This is often illustrated by rigid bureaucracyand a lack of available information.

The Health Information and AdvocacyCentre is based alongside its sister-

organisation Cairde on: 19 Belvedere Place(off Mountjoy Sq. NE), Dublin 1. Queries tothe community health nurse are welcomeover the phone and the number to call is:01-8552111.

es & health

Foreigners miss out on

Irelands health services- though Dublin is working to reverse trend

Polish clinic in LimerickA PRIVATELY-RUN health clinic for Polishimmigrants opened in Limerick city last

October.The staff of the Medipol clinic on John

Street speak Russian, Czech and Slovak as

well as Polish and include doctors, a

paediatrician and a gynaecologist.Pat OSullivan, president of the Irish

Polish Cultural and Business Association,said it changed peoples lives: Polishpeople living here had to go over and backhome to attend to routine medical problems,often due to language difficulties.

Patients pay50 per visit and can

recoup this money from their Polish health

insurance. There are up to 10,000 Polishnationals living in the greater Limerick area.

Not everyone, of course, can afford private

health care.


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Who are the main playersat Community level?THE main players at community level inpromoting integration and interculturalisminclude: 70 Local Partnerships, 180 Community

Development Projects, 100 FamilyResource Centres, many local refugee andmigrant support groups and religious

groups. Local Citizen Information Centres. 250+ ethnic minority groups around the

country. The Immigrant Council of Ireland(www.immigrantcouncil.ie) has a directoryof groups around the country.

Integrating Ireland has regional fora

(www.integratingireland.ie). National organisations supporting

communities include the NationalConsultative Committee on Racism andInterculturalism (www.nccri.ie) the MigrantRights Centre Ireland (www.mrci.ie).

The NCCRIs Synergy Initiative is based inBorder Counties. Local Partnerships, Community

Development Projects, Family ResourceCentres, local refugee and migrant supportgroups.

Integration in Ireland: the buck stops here

changing ireland true liberation of women cant happen without the liberation of men - thrse casgrain10

One word racism. One catchphrase -Interculturalism which is essentially aboutinteraction, understanding and respect.

We all have a role to play - integration isnot just something done by government

policy - we as members of localcommunities and organisations have a vitalpart to play, says Carina Fitzgerald, theNCCRIs Community Development SupportOfficer.

Why are new communities a priority?

Olusola Ekeh signing people in at the opening of Clondalkins Intercultural Centre which is supported bythe Clondalkin Partnership.

WHILE many existing communitydevelopment projects have identified theneed to engage with new communities intheir areas, and want to work oninterculturalism and anti-racism, not manyhave actually done so, says Alice Binchyof Tallaght Intercultural Action.*

Most projects find it difficult to engageand make contact with ethnic minoritygroups in their area in a realistic andmeaningful way for lack of financialsupport, resources and knowledge,concluded reporters at last years EARSseminar. **

Projects feel:- They dont know what to do;- Their main priority is the long-term

residents of their community;- That the work is specialised and someone

else should do it;- That they dont have the staff or the funds

to do this work.* ** Alice made this point to 20

community groups from the east of Irelandattending a seminar last Novemberorganised by the Equality and Anti-RacismSub-Committee (EARS). Much of the advicequoted here flows from that EARS seminar.

Whats the challenge?

Support THE National Consultative Committee on

Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) has aCommunity Development Support Unitwhich freely gives assistance and technicalsupport to community groups working onintegration and interculturalism. It aims tobring added value to the supports

provided by other organisations and tohighlight the collective issues and needs ofethnic minority groups to relevantgovernment bodies, policy-makers andservice providers at all levels.

For more information, call CarinaFitzgerald at the NCCRI on: 01-8588002.

The NCCRI is ten years old and is anindependent expert body on racism. Itswebsite features a Racist Incidents ReportForm which people can download:www.nccri.ie

Tap for

informationTHE following organisations and methods willyield a lot of useful information, whateveryour query: Central Statistics Office website:

www.cso.ie Reception and Integration Agency:

www.ria.gov.ie Citizens Information Centres:

www.citizensinformation.ie Department of Enterprise, Trade and

Employment: www.entemp.ie The Equality Authority: www.equality.ie Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre:

www.nascireland.org Cairde, which tackles health inequalities

among ethnic minority communities:www.cairde.ie

Immigrant newspaper:www.metroeireann.com

Local health centres. Word of mouth for example, from direct

provision hostels. Schools and local authorities. Find out who is living in the local area.

Collect data. For example, volunteers fromethnic minorities helped Tuam ResourceCentre CDP to survey the town and theproject launched a book on the diversemake-up of the Tuams population.

Things to do!WONDERING what kind of event to organise.The following are recommended by thosewith experience, though try not to run a one-off tokenistic event. Plan for a follow-up: Welcome Events International Sports Day Coffee mornings-meet and greet Organise social evenings where people

from new and existing communities couldmeet in a social context and share theirculture, food, stories and music

Mainstream learning opportunities -promote inclusive participation on courses

Promote events in ethnic minoritylanguages as well as English

Day trips to museums, parks and places ofinterest

Organise a Mother & Toddler Group Challenge stereotypes and misinformation

by organising awareness raising events.Some tips: (a) Use existing forums/groupsas a medium to speak to the community.(b) Invite a person from a minority ethnicgroup to speak. (c) Organise diversitytraining for voluntary groups, serviceproviders, sports clubs.


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11changing ireland the usa spends 1/20th of its gdp locking people up in prison

8 ways to promote integrationthrough community development

8 ways to promote integration

FROM Roscommon to Cork and Tallaght to Mayo, CDPs take a community developmentapproach to promoting integration and to protecting the rights of migrant workers andasylum-seekers. NINs are now part of many local community groups and often lead byexample.

1. Change attitudes with a series of myth-killing workshops. CORK

2. Encourage fellow-NINs to volunteer locally. GALWAY

3. Organise knitting groups. MAYO

4. Hold an intercultural fun day. LONGFORD

5. Start up a quilting group. ROSCOMMON

6. Network with others and open a drop-in centre. TALLAGHT, DUBLIN

7. Ask for a course in Inter-Cultural Awareness. CORK & KERRY

8. Nominate people for awards. NEW ROSS

EEnnccoouurraaggee NNIINNss ttoovvoolluunntteeeerrsays Eunice Ofoegbu Westside CDP, Galway city

COMMUNITY Development plays animportant role for people in thecommunity, particularly for those who aredisadvantaged. I have been involved incommunity development for the past fouryears with a special interest in non-Irishnational groups and single parent families.I served as a board member in theKiltimagh CDP and launched severaleducational and recreational programmesfor the refugee community in CountyMayo.

Currently, I am involved with theWestside CDP as well as on the Board ofManagement of the Westside ResourceCentre. My two and a half years with theProject gave me a broad understanding of

the issues that affectpeople living in theWestside and manypeople throughout Ireland.We share many of thesame experiences.

For example, I am asingle parent raising asmall child, struggling toget an education in orderto participate fully insociety. It is a challenge,sometimes it can almostseem overwhelming. Iknow that I share the

same difficulties with many other singleparents. It is still nearly impossible to findchildcare that is affordable, flexible and ofa standard that meets the needs of mychild.

I have met many non-Irish nationals whoare struggling to integrate into Irish cultureand to learn English to communicateeffectively. I encourage them to get involvedwith Community Development groups intheir local area. It can help them to build

the social networks that are so important forthemselves and their families. It helps themto highlight the issues that affect their livesand to work together with other people andgroups to bring about change and positive

outcomes for everyone in our community.Sometimes people ask me how I find the

time and energy to get involved with avoluntary committee when I am strugglingto get an education and raise my daughter.I tell them that it is important for me to showother people in situations like mine that youshould never give up hope. Keep fightingfor a better life for you, for your family andfor other people in your community.

- Eunice Ofoegbu lives in Galway withher four-year-old daughter. She is a

member of the voluntary managementcommittee of Westside Resource Centreand is also involved with Westside CDP.She was an activist with Kiltimagh CDP forfour years.

A guiding lightEUNICE has been a guiding light, a spiritof hope and a symbol of what is possible.The skills, enthusiasm and optimism whichshe gives us has kept our Project goingthrough some tough times. Also, she hasentertained us, for instance, with her

childhood memories that have us inhysterics.- A comment emailed in, without

Eunices knowledge, from Westside CDPVoluntary Committee

Westside CDPs new computer suite


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changing ireland see a volcano - try italy12

8 ways to pro

SSttaarrtt--uupp aa kknniittttiinngg ggrroouupp- it builds confidence and eases worries

Kiltimagh CDP, Co. Mayo

A VERY successful 12-week InterculturalCraft Circle is nearing completion inKiltimagh CDP, Co. Mayo. Most of the

knitting yarn/wool and needles weredonated by the local community and theparticipants included women fromNigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe,Iraq, Bangladesh and Ireland.

The course made a real difference.For instance, one woman, Sibongile

Svusvu from Zimbabwe found the knittingtherapeutic. She has a daughter living inZimbabwe and life is not easy on her. Sinceshe learned to knit, she now has to knit

every evening because itstops me from thinkingand worrying.

Lou Brennan taughtembroidery and crossstitch techniques for sixweeks, then MaryDempseytaught knittingfor a further six weeks toa mix of women from theMayo Railway Hotel(direct provision centre)and the local community.

The women enjoyed both sessions andpicked up the sewing and knittingtechniques very quickly.

It was great to see the interactionbetween all the women and as the weekswent by they became more comfortablewith each other, joking with each other andhelping each other with the differentstitches, said Mary.

Every week new women joined the CraftCircle after they saw the knit-work that theirfriends produced. They made andembroidered cushions and they knitscarves, lace wraps, dolls, teddies and

blankets. None of the women fromKiltimaghs direct provision centre didneedlework or knitting before but some ofthem proved to be naturals with needles.

A few struggled at the beginning,especially with the knitting, until they foundtheir rhythm and a comfortable hold. It wasvery gratifying for the participants andfacilitators, to see confidence grow alongwith their knitting, continued Mary. TheCraft Circle gave them much more than anew skill, now, instead of just sitting in theirrooms they can knit or do someneedlework. And they made friends.

Everyone made at least one piece ineach session, some completed two or threepieces. To end the Craft Circle, KiltimaghCDP organised a visit to the Museum ofCountry Life in Turlough, Castlebar to viewthe exhibition of early 20th century Aranknitwear. The museum arranged an Aranknitting workshop for the group on the day.

The women requested that we continuethe Craft Circle again in the autumn andwe hope to attract new participants,added Mary.

Hoolldd aa ddaayy ffoorrnntteerrccuullttuurraall ffuunn Acorn CDP, Co. Longford

SEAN Ward got involved with Acorn CDPin Longford town while on placement fromthe Addiction Studies programme atAthlone Institute of Technology. He decidedto remain on with the project as avolunteer and here he outlines the projectsimportance in County Longford:

The Acorn CDP is a unique organisation

in County Longford and the opportunities itoffers to new communities are vital for the

integration of different cultures. It hostsAcorn United FC, provides computer classesand facilitates free access to the internet

and to computers. Theoutcome: it enables peopleto learn new communicationskills.

Classes are also providedin arts, crafts and sewing.One outcome: it enablespeople to feel more part of

Irish society.Earlier this year,volunteers gathered to buildan Acorn CDP float for theSt. Patricks Day Parade.

The project has alsoprovided training in conflictresolution it organisedtraining in the GlencreeCentre for Peace andReconciliation.

The real highlight of theyear is Intercultural Family Fun Day which

was held on July 19th. It was a tremendoussuccess last year and won the project anational award.

One key difference between Acorn andother drop-in centres is that Acorn always

has a counsellor to hand, while in othercentres you may only get the opportunity to

seek professional help on a weekly basis.For more information, contact Acorn

CDP on 043-48373 or [email protected]

The project also

provided training in

conflict resolution it

organised training in

Glencree.


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13changing ireland sing out, its a beautiful day!

te integration

CChhaannggee aattttiittuuddeess wwiitthhmmyytthh--kkiilllliinngg wwoorrkksshhooppss Mahon CDP, Cork city

FOR three years, Mahon CDP hasbeen running equality awarenessworkshops in two local schools.

Each year, an asylum-seeker or refugeevisits from Nasc, the Irish ImmigrantSupport Centre based in Cork. They speakabout their personal experiences, how theycame to be in Ireland and what they werefleeing from, and they field questions fromthe young people, including queries aboutthe freebies, from cars to prams, thatasylum-seekers are rumoured to receive.

The workshops are successful indispelling myths and stereotypes young

people believe in. Theproject has learned thatthe most prejudiced beliefs

held by locals are aimedless at asylum-seekers andrefugees and moretowards economicmigrants, most notablyPolish people. On foot ofthis, the organisers addedan equality element to theawareness programme.

We now get a Cork woman in to talk tothe pupils. This woman had to leave Irelandin the 1980s to find work and lived inEngland for many years. She talks about

racist comments she received, such as beingtold, Yere only here to take our jobs goback home Paddy! Then we get in a Polishwoman whose experience in Ireland mirrorsthat of the Cork woman in England. Thishas overturned the stereotypes. Theresponse from the children is incredible, itsstopped a lot of the young people in theirtracks, explains Viv Sadd, Mahon CDP co-ordinator.

The awareness workshops also includetalks by a lesbian and a gay man,Travellers, people with disabilities, andolder people.

It is a CDP initiative in collaboration withMahon Youth Development Project andbuilds on earlier work when both

organisations brought a group of Mahonyouths on an educational trip to Poland,(following which a DVD was produced).

The youth worker is Denise Callanan.

For more information, contact: Viv Sadd,co-ordinator, Mahon CDP, Unit 7,Community Resource Centre, Avenue deRennes, Mahon, Cork. T: 021 4359070.F: 021 4359084. E: [email protected]: www.mahoncdp.com

Neettwwoorrkk wwiitthh ootthheerrss- intercultural network marks 10th year whild parent body celebrates 21st

West TallaghtResource Centre,

Dublin

WHEN the West Tallaght Resource Centre(WTRC) was established 21 years ago, itchose to be a small enablingorganisation rather than a largemanaging organisation, recalled AnnaLee recently in a report to mark theResource Centres achievements.

Anna was the first project leader and she

was joined on Thursday, June 19th, by staffand volunteers, past and present, andMinister of State John Curran for theCentres official 21st party.

So what has WTRC done to supportasylum-seekers and refugees over theyears? Quite a lot - it is over ten yearssince the first concrete action was taken:

WTRCs work in this area coincided witha Tallaght Partnership initiative to establishthe Tallaght Refugee Womens Group 1997.Both initiatives converged and becameTallaght Intercultural Action (TIA) in 1998.

TIA is a community developmentorganisation working with refugees, asylumseekers and migrants. It provides a drop-infacility, support and computer training formembers of new communities. The Drop-in

Facility, with the support ofthe Bridgine Sisters, andWTRC, is based in St.Maelruans Parish Centre. Itprovides a meeting place forrefugees, asylum seekersand Irish nationals to gettogether and participate in

multi-cultural activities.Information and training arealso provided.

WTRC was responsiblefrom the beginning foremploying TIAs staff andadministering their budget.This relationship continuestoday and staff numbershave grown to five. WTRC iscurrently working to enableTIA to become self-managing and independent. The TIA is 10

years old.The WTRC was always committed to thegrowth of local groups, to building theircapacity and supporting theirdevelopment, recalled Anna Lee. The TIA

is the proof of the pudding.For the record, the WTRC started as one

of nine projects (out of 150 applicants)funded under the Second EC Programmeto Tackle Poverty(1985-1989). Soon after,it became part of the CommunityDevelopment Programme.

Its stopped a lot of the

young people in their

tracks.


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changing ireland cook more at home, eat healthy, save money14

8 ways to pro

CCaallll SSHHEEPP ffoorr aa ccoouurrssee iinnIInntteerr--CCuullttuurraall AAwwaarreenneessss SHEP CDP, CountiesCork & Kerry

THE Social and Health Education Project(SHEP) operates in Counties Cork andKerry. It supports community groups byproviding trained tutors to conduct coursesin social and health education. For manyyears, intercultural awareness training has

been one of 12 maincourses offered by SHEP.

Working in partnership

with the Eastern EuropeanAssociation (EEA), SHEPdeveloped and facilitateda Culture Clubprogramme in 2006which facilitated 45-50people from abroad andfrom Ireland to share andreflect on their respectivetraditions. The CultureClub programme hascontinued with ongoingsupport from the EEA and

now meets regularly in theSouth Parish CommunityCentre in Cork.

Meanwhile, in 2007SHEP developed and delivered 10-weekintercultural dialogue programmes forimmigrants. The courses were held inBlackpool, Wilton and Cork city centre.

The community development approachadopted in the programmes has left those

involved feeling confident in their ownability to sustain their groups. Also, throughthese programmes, SHEP facilitators have

gained valuable new experience ofintercultural work and the capacity of theproject has grown, says Dr. Paul Doherty,Director, the Social and Health EducationProject.

The courses lead participants to askquestions about Irish culture as well as toexamine the diverse cultural traditionsrepresented in the immigrant populationitself.

SHEP commenced its work in 1974. Aswell as community training services, theproject provides counselling, advocacy andorganisational development support.

For more details of SHEPs interculturalwork, contact Liam McCarthy. T: 021-4666180 E: [email protected] is based in Village Chambers, TheVillage Centre, Station Road, Ballincollig,Co. Cork. Information about the project,including its International PartnershipProgramme in Nepal, can be found on thewebsite: www.socialandhealth.com

Noommiinnaattee ppeeooppllee ffoorr aawwaarrddss- our nominee won a national award

New Ross CDP, Co. Wexford

REZA Mirfattahi is an Iranian asylum-seeker, living in the Old Rectory Hostel, inNew Ross, Co. Wexford. On June 19th, hewas one of two Iranians presented with aWorld Refugee Day award.

He lists his place on the Voluntary Boardof Management of New Ross CDP as hisnumber one community contribution. Thereare many others including his involvement

in the local credit union, civil defence,Community Voice Group, and RAPIDnewsletter.

As an asylum seeker I am facing many

limitations as part of the asylum process,says Reza. Against the odds, many asylum-seekers manage to integrate very well, asRezas example shows very well.

While denied access to third level (as areall asylum-seekers unless they can pay thefees), Reza has completed courses throughlocal organisations such as the County

Wexford Partnership. His completion rate isindicative of the choice that is available topeople who can engage with thecommunity: English, suicide-intervention,lifeguard training, FETAC fitness, healthpromotion, mental health, swimming forteachers and child protection.

Mayor of New Ross, Cllr. Ingrid OBrien,described Rezas civic spirit as beingclearly imbued with a keen sense of socialjustice, decency and fairness. She said shewas impressed by the way he visited localschools, discussing the position anddifficulties facing refugees and asylumseekers in Ireland, and breaking downbarriers of ignorance between the differentnationalities in our town.

Another Iranian man, Mojtaba

Pouladpour, living in Co. Longford, won a

Refugee Award this year in the Health andWelfare category.

Rezas award-win is featured on pages18-19.

New Ross CDPstaff members andvolunteers and theMayor of NewRoss traveled toDublin to supportReza Mirfattahi atthe World RefugeeDay Awardsceremony.


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changing ireland do something good and meaningful, this week15

te integration

BBrriinngg ppeeoopplleettooggeetthheerr ttoo qquuiilltt RoscommonWomens Network

THE co-ordinator of Roscommon WomensNetwork CDP has been cursing ChangingIreland for the huge reaction her projectreceived to a report on their interculturalquilting. We reported how the quiltingticked many boxes in adopting a

Community Development approach:collective action, an anti-poverty aim,partnership, empowerment andsustainability.

We barely have time to answer thephone, said Nora, exaggerating a little.While the women were making the quilt, Isaid we should write up an evaluation,describing how it worked, and Im sorry wedidnt now because everyone who rings

asks the same questions.The project co-ordinator

is part-time, as is the

administrator MariaHarris and CE participantLorraine Campbell andthey have been underpressure to deal withenquiries following presscoverage of the Networks

success with intercultural quilting. A novelelement was that the Network organised forthe quilt to tour the county.

Calls came from around the country,including one on a Friday afternoon fromthe PAUL Partnership in Limerick.

They had me on the phone for an hour,and I was cursing Changing Irelandbecause I wanted to get home. But really itsgreat, I could talk about the quilt all day.

Others making enquiries include DublinCity Council, the October 17th committeeand Roscommon County Council.

Nora said that 60% of the 26 quilterswho came from many countries had neversewed a button before and they are very

proud. The quilt was produced to raiseawareness of October 17th, the UNInternational Day for the Eradication of

Poverty and it was funded by CombatPoverty and the Roscommon CountyDevelopment Board.

A local young parents group since wentto work to produce a quilt of their own, butfunding was an issue: We asked CombatPoverty for money for them but they saidthey dont provide funding just like that,said Nora. Six weeks later they got backto us and said they were getting tired ofseeing newspaper clippings landing ontheir desk about our quilt, so the board haddecided to give us 1,000. The youngwomen were over the moon and they madetheir own quilt. We call it the sister-quilt,said Nora.

To keep the staff and 14 volunteers in theRoscommon Womens Network on theirtoes, give them a ring. They would love tohear from you. Seriously!

T: 094-962-1690. E: [email protected] [email protected]

THE Combat Poverty Agency believes theCommunity Development Programmeshould be expanded with more projectsset up locally by and for people fromethnic minorities.

The new projects should be focused onspecific groups within an area, as therealready are Traveller groups in Kerry orin Clondalkin for example. In reachingout to non-Irish ethnic minorities, thegroup project approach could suitworking with people from the largerethnic groups such as Nigerians or Poles.

Combat Poverty identified the need in

its Submission late last year to theDepartment of Community Rural andGaeltacht Affairs on the futuredevelopment of the Community

Development Programme. It was one ofover 110 submissions received on theProgrammes future.

It named some specific issues relatingto the inclusion of ethnic minorities inCDPs: Work is needed with women and

young people. Generally, youngpeople from ethnic minorities are notengaging in activities withincommunities.

Adequate resources will be required toensure language was not a barrier. Theinclusion of language training under

the heading of literacy by the VECswas not helpful.

Work with a group focus (as well asindividual) would be required, i.e.

support for group formation and

development.

The CDPs should work with existing

ethnic-led organisations in communities

in recognition of the fact that many

ethnic-led organisations are nationally

rather than geographically oriented.

Relationships would ideally be

developed at national level with

national organisations, though the

Programmes lack of a national office

inhibits this at present.

Advocate on behalf of ethnic-led

organisations regarding lack of

funding.

Ethnic communitiesdeserve their own CDPs- says Combat Poverty Agency


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16changing ireland if paper can jam, can ink sing?

Integration:

Most foreignershere are BritishA REPORT released on June 30th bythe Central Statistics Office (CSO)shows that most Non-Irish Nationals(NINs) living in Ireland in April 2006

were from Britain. The ten largestethnic minority groups in Ireland arefrom:1 Britain (112,548)2 Poland (63,276 resident +

10,126 Polish visitors on censusnight).

3 Lithuania (24,628 + 1,168 visitors)4 Nigeria (16,300)5 Latvia (13,319)6 USA (12,475)7 China (11,161)8 Germany (10,289)9 Philippines (9,548)10 French nationals (9,046)

If you feel the statistics are not

reflected in your area, you may beright. For instance, two-thirds of allChinese people resident in Ireland livein the greater Dublin area (the cityand its suburbs). By comparison, fourof every five Latvians live outside thePale.

A TIP!The CSO report includes revealing

profiles of the 10 largest non-Irishgroups which should help to guidepolicy-makers at local as well asnational level. The profiles showwhere in Ireland people from the tenlargest ethnic groups live, who theytend to live with, what kind of workthey do, their marital status, theirreligious beliefs or lack of, theireconomic status, and so on. Log ontowww.cso.ie, wait a few seconds, thenclick on Census 2006.

Major conference

due for Dublin- theme: Community Development and InterculturalismTHE International Association of CommunityDevelopment (IACD) and Combat Poverty, inassociation with a number of other agenciesincluding Pobal and the NCCRI are hosting anInternational Conference on CommunityDevelopment and Interculturalism on 6/7thNovember 2008 in Dublin Castle.

The conference is to mark 2008 as the EUYear of Intercultural Dialogue and the 50thanniversary of the ratification of the Treaty of

Rome.Over 200 people are expected to attend,say Combat Poverty.

Issues of migration, poverty, social inclusionand human rights are transforming both ruraland urban social contexts in Europe atunprecedented speeds. We are interested inproviding an international forum to highlight,explore and reflect on the contribution thatcommunity development makes to interculturaldialogue and what intercultural dialogue meansfor the values and practice of communitydevelopment, say the organisers.

The other agencies involved include theCommunity Development Foundation, EANR,New Communities Partnership, the European

Anti-Poverty Network, Integrating Ireland,Pavee Point, CEBSD and the Centre for AppliedSocial Studies, NUI Maynooth, and Dublin CityCouncil.Conference aims:1. Use the theme of intercultural dialogue to

explore contemporary migration and

poverty in Europe.2. To explore and explain the role of

Community Development in this context.3. To increase solidarity with and share

understanding between European networks,activists, migrants, ethnic and indigenouscommunities and policy makers.

Objectives:1. To promote the role of community

development in challenging racism and in

shaping an intercultural and equal society.2. To include a focus on poverty and socialinclusion amongst migrants and ethnic andindigenous communities in Europe.

3. To promote the EU year of interculturaldialogue.

This conference is envisaged therefore as aplace where delegates will benefit from the richlearning across Europe and be a place toexperience and envision new forms ofintercultural dialogue through conferencepapers, keynote speeches, project visits and ashowcase of poetry, music and film from withinthe migrant community in Ireland and furtherafield, says Tara O'Leary of the International

Association of Community Development.For more information, contact MichelleGriffin (T: 01-6026630.E: [email protected]) orTara O'Leary (T: 0044(0)131-2082005.E: [email protected]).

ON May 1st, the Minister for Integration,Conor Lenihan, issued a policy statementtermed Migration Nation. It was a majorpiece of work undertaken over a ten-

month period by the new Office of theMinister for Integration. The 73-pagestatement outlines eight key actions ofpolicy and four key principles towardspromoting integration in Ireland. Amongthe points it makes are: In order to consolidate our position of

affluence, continued inward migrationmust be accompanied by a renewed

investment in social stability with itsdemonstrable link to productivity gains.The societal gains from properlymanaged immigration are obvious and

the demographic profile of the migrantswe have attracted to Ireland to dateillustrates this rather vividly.

The key challenge facing bothGovernment and Irish society is theimperative to integrate people of muchdifferent culture, ethnicity, language andreligion so that they become the new Irishcitizens of the 21st century.

The official word on our Migrati

On Census Day, April 23rd, 2006 . . . 420,000 non-Irish people were resident in

the State, coming from 188 differentcountries.

There were 44 countries - from Anguilla toWestern Sahara - represented by fewer

than 10 people. Some 17 per cent of Lithuanians aged from

five to 19 could speak Irish. Over half of the Nigerian people in Dublin

lived in Fingal. By comparison, on the citys

Southside, only 1% of Nigerians in Irelandlived in Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Non-Irish groups are dominated by peoplein their 20s and 30s, with significantly moremen than women. There were few children

and older people among them. 80% of Chinese said they had "no religion",

by far the highest per cent of any group,while 6 per cent said Buddhist and 1 in 20indicated Catholic.

People from countries outside Europe hadhigher overall educational attainment thanIrish people in the same age brackets.

While Nigerians were heavily urbanised,

British nationals lived mainly in rural areas,Polish people were largely here to work,and most Chinese were here to study. Suchdistinctions are significant for policy-making.


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17changing ireland 3% of all photocopier faults worldwide caused by people sitting up to copy their bums

tional news

WE talk a lot about being inclusive. Ourcommunity projects work with vulnerablepeople who are excluded or marginalised,while Government legislation exists to makesure we dont discriminate against certaingroups considered to be particularlyvulnerable.

Yet, when we consider or define

vulnerability, do we cast our net wide enoughor ensure that we are aware of changes incircumstances that might lead to more peoplebecoming vulnerable? Is it enough for us tofocus our attention on people with disabilitiesor older people, for example? And if it isenough, does that mean we fail to notice awhole new group of vulnerable people, withthe result that little or nothing is done to helpthem?

The first half of this year has seen asignificant shift in Irelands economic fortunes,and we are all feeling the pinch. Theunemployment figures for the summer of 2008were last seen during the grim old days when

we left in droves to find work that simply didnot exist here. This downturn has affected usall, but it looks like its having a particularlynegative effect on many of those who camehere since the EU was significantly expandedfour years ago. Are we, at national and locallevel, doing the best we can for our fellow EUcitizens who have been working here, livinghere and contributing to our countrys cofferssince 2004?

ILL-INFORMED RUMBLINGSNotwithstanding the ill-informed rumblings

that are often heard when significant numbersof immigrants arrive in any country, thesepeople have quietly gone about the business of

living their lives. Now, though, the shadow ofan economic downturn looms large over themas more and more jobs are lost, and, whilemany are returning home or going elsewhere,many others have made their lives here. Their

families have joined them, their children go toschool here, they pay rent or mortgages, theyhave their networks of friends around themand have opened shops and started businessesproviding themselves - and everyone else -with valuable services and goods. They werecontributing to the system and suddenly findthat, through no fault of their own, they nowhave to turn to that system for help andsupport.

Our social welfare system is confusingenough for those of us who speak English asour first language, but it must be all but

unintelligible for many of these recentimmigrants. Its encouraging, then, to seeexamples of local community projectsproviding information and translation servicesto those who find it difficult to decipher thecumbersome forms needed to claimJobseekers Benefit or Family IncomeSupplement.

FUNDING SHORTFALLSAs always, much of this work is limited byfunding shortfalls, and theres a sense thatcommunity groups are being left to respond intheir usual fire-fighting style. It seemssomewhat of an underachievement byGovernment for a recent press release toherald a statement on Integration and DiversityManagement from Minister for Integration,Conor Lenihan, as the first document of itskind from the Office since it was established inJune 2007. **

There appears to be a yawning gapbetween what is happening on the ground andwhat is happening in the corridors of power.And, while positive statements on integration

are to be applauded, perhaps increasedfunding for English classes or a multilingualcampaign to clarify social welfare entitlementsfor the unemployed would be a betterallocation of resources.

Each time conversational English classes aremade available in certain areas, they aremassively oversubscribed leading to largenumbers of disappointed applicants. Thosewho want and need to improve their Englishare frequently on low pay and cannot affordprivate lessons. And so the circle continues,with the vulnerable becoming increasinglyvulnerable. They lose their jobs and cannotunderstand the social welfare system; they

cannot afford to learn English so they neverfind out that they can combine Irish socialinsurance with those from other EU countries tobe eligible for Jobseekers Benefit. Instead theyare bounced between the Department of Socialand Family Affairs and the HSE, always unsureas to what they are entitled to, or who theyshould ask.

HUGE WORK DONEThere is no doubt that our CDPs have

already done a huge amount of work toinclude and involve those who have come toIreland, and a flick through past issues ofChanging Ireland reveals how much has been

achieved to date. As a whole new group ofvulnerable people begin to emerge, it lookslike, once again, CDPs will be found wheremost of the hard work is undertaken. As theytry to help migrant workers and their familiescome to terms with the effects of unemploymentand surviving on low income, theyll be lookingto the Minister for Integration to come up withsomething a little more concrete than a pressrelease over the next twelve months.

* Declan Weir works as a manager withClifden Citizens Information Centre in Co.Galway. He previously worked as DisabilityInformation Outreach Worker with FORUMCDP in Connemara and has reported ondevelopment issues west of the Shannon for

Changing Ireland since 2002.** NOTE: The policy statement referred to

by the writer is explained in more detail in aseparate report and is available fordownload.

Professional surveys of attitudes,conducted at both European anddomestic level, indicate that Irish peoplehave a high level of day to day contact

with our newcomer population and alower incidence of racially-motivatedattacks on migrant individuals.

Integration policy in Ireland will be atwo-way street involving rights and dutiesfor those migrants who reside, work andin particular those who aspire to be Irishcitizens.

Minister Lenihan says there is a need for

a partnership approach between theGovernment and non-governmentalorganisations, as well as civil societybodies, to deepen and enhance the

opportunities for Integration. Also, thereshould be a strong link betweenintegration policy and wider state socialinclusion measures, strategies andinitiatives.Migration Nation which is available for

download at:www.justice.ie/en/JELR/print/Migration%20Nation%20Launch

n Nation - Government seeks civil society partnership

Minister Conor Lenihan

asks DECLAN WEIR, CIC manager

Opinion

Do we cast our netwide enough?


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18changing ireland language ability is a key factor for immigrants seeking employment

REZA Mirfattahi made an impassioned speech on being presentedwith a World Refugee Award at a ceremony in Dublin on June 19th.He dedicated his award to people persecuted in his home country ofIran and appealed for Irish people to work in solidarity with theoppressed.

Among those listening was Minister for Integration, Conor Lenihan.Rezas speech focused on the positive virtues to be found amongrefugees and asylum-seekers. He was also openly critical of the regimein Iran:

Asylum-seekers and refugees can contribute hugely and can bevaluable assets to their new communities. As people who have fledinjustices, we are now safe in the hands of new hosts in this country.These communities deserve our deep andgenuine gratitude and appreciation. Thiscan be manifested by engagement withcivic society and contributing to our newadopted communities in Ireland.

Since coming to this country I have

been committed to integrating fully intoIrish society. I have attempted to achieve this by getting involved acrossthe spectrum of community organisations.

As an Iranian, he said he was deeply honoured to see that TomiReichental was at the ceremony.

Tomi is a survivor of Holocaust living in Ireland. His meaningfulpresence is a very clear message to those ignorant back in my homecountry who tried during the past three decades to portray a verydifferent picture about (Israeli-Iranian) history.

Reza said the Iranian regime ignored the long history of goodrelations between Persians and Jews, something youre unlikely to hearabout through the media.

Ireland could take the initiative and show the world that a freedom-loving Persian community living in exile is willing to integrate with their

Jewish and other neighbours and work to overcome the current

IRAN (or Persia) was renamedthe Islamic Republic of Iran byrevolutionary Islamists whoseized power in a 1979 coupmounted against the US-supported and autocraticShah. Repression of one kindwas replaced by repression ofanother.

Irans oil reserves mean it isgeopolitically important andthere has been war andconflict since oil became thenew gold. As recently as Juneof this year, the New Yorkermagazine reported the USgovernment had allocated$400 million this year for a

supposedly secret war thatincludes abductions and

assassinations within Iran,with the aim of destabilisingthe Iranian regime.

While US militaryintelligence agencies havereported publicly that Iransinterest in nuclear powerappears solely for civilian use,the Bush administrationcontinues to push the storythat the Iranian regime is benton developing nuclearweapons.

Repression within Iran takesplace against a backdrop ofgeopolitical wrestling. Inrecent years, opposition partyactivities are tolerated less and

less.- Editor

Repression in aninternationalcontext

World refugee

REZA Mirfattahi believes it unlikely that his award-win

will contribute anything to his case which is pending (for

close to three years now) and is due to be heard by the

Refugee Appeals Tribunal.The award just helps me to highlight the human rights

abuses of the fundamentalist Islamic regime in Iran, says Reza.

The whole asylum-process in Ireland is some kind of lottery.

There is no sense to it. How do they assess someone in a 30-

minute interview and by googling you on the internet?Reza feels himself changing inside and sometimes is

depressed, a bit jumpy, and under pressure as the waitingdrags on.

I dont know why Ive to wait so long, he says, echoingthe experience of many other asylum-seekers.

He singles out for criticism the performance of JimNicholson, a controversial former member of the three-person Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Mr. Nicholson, accordingto documents lodged with the courts, granted asylum on just

Reza Mirfattahi from New Ross and Iran, speaking at the World Refugee Day

awards ceremony.

Reza: Award will not win my case

As we face our

not turn your ba

SShhooww ssolwwiitthh uuss IIra- urges award-winning refugee, R


19/28

hallenge threatening both their futures, said Reza.Iran and Iranians should not be confused with the clerical regime.

ans culture has suffered from the fundamentalist yoke, but it is alivend defiant, he continued, asking for the free world to help.There are hundreds of young Iranian dissidents who are sittingared in places from Jordan to Turkey, or in refugee camps in

uropean cities. With a little help from the free world, they can becomee building blocks for democracy. As we face our oppressors, doot turn your back to us.He went on to bravely dedicate his award to the scared and

esperate wives and children of workers arrested in demonstrationsroughout Iran, the cut tongues of the Iranian trade union leaders in

prison, Mansour Osanloo andMahmoud Salehi, the beaten andarrested workers who are flogged inthe public places simply for peacefuldemonstrations, to the desperatemothers of young political prisoners

under torture in jail, to the women ofan oppressed by the Sharia rules who are treated as second classtizens to be ashamed of being born female, to the entire hostageation, the people of Iran, imprisoned in a jail as vast as the countryelf.Reza had begun his speech by thanking the people of New Ross foreir kindness and generosity, in particular supporters (who hadavelled by mini-bus with him) from New Ross CDP.He finished with an appeal for solidarity from the audience.EDITORS NOTE: We describe Reza in our headline as a refugee,

which he is by virtue of the fact that he has fled persecution in hisative country. It is of course another matter as to whether he isgally recognised as such by the authorities here. His current legalatus is as an asylum-seeker (someone seeking official recognition,

atus and protection as a refugee).

CONTROVERSY erupted atthe Refugee Awardsceremony in Dublin when aproposed award-winner, ofMuslim faith, was demotedfrom the honours list. MetroEireann reported that theKerry resident indicated hewould not shake hands withthe female presenter.

A refusal to shake hands

with another person isnothing new in Ireland,apart from the fact that thistime the antagonist was of anon-Christian faith.

The Kerry-based asylum-seeker had been selected forhis work with the KerryVolunteer Centre and as afundraiser for AmnestyInternational.

However, as MetroEireann reported, heinformed organisers prior to

the ceremony thatarrangements needed to beput in place so that he wouldnot have to shake handswith any female.

The person due to presentthe award was BenedictaAttoh, a Nigerian womanwho intends to stand as acandidate in next yearslocal elections.

Metro Eireann repor ter,Catherine Reilly, interviewedthe man and found he wouldnot shake her hand either.The would-be winnerexpressed confusion, said hedid not want controversyand said he had been happyto be nominated.

There are mixed viewsamong Muslims on the issueof shaking hands withmembers of the oppositesex.

Kerry residentdenied award after

handshake drama

19changing ireland poor recognition of degrees earned abroad is a barrier for immigrants

y awards 2008

two occasions in over 400 appeal hearings. He has sinceresigned from the post and the Refugee Legal Service hascalled for a review of up to 1,000 rejected asylumapplicatons.

The Refugee Appeals Tribunal is due to be replaced byanother body under proposed new legislation.

After Rezas appeal hearing takes place, he anticipatesa further 8-to-9 month wait to hear the outcome. Thats ifhes lucky - he knows people who have waited a yearand more, including people who were then turned down.

for me

ppressors, do

to us!

liddaarriittyynniiaannss!!

za Mirfattahi

WorldRefugeeDay awardTHE United Nations' WorldRefugee Day is observed onJune 20th each year. The event

honours the courage, strengthand determination of women,men and children who areforced to flee their homelandunder threat of persecution,conflict and violence.

Organised by the AfricanRefugee Network at the AfricaCentre, the Refugee Awardsceremony in Ireland aims torecognise the positivecontribution that many asylumseekers and refugees makelocally and to highlight theefforts of local people whoextend the hand of friendshipand solidarity towards them.

There are ten different awards

under five categories includingCommunity and Environment,Health and Welfare, Arts and

Culture, and Sports and Leisure.There are two awards in eachcategory, with one going to alocal person and another to arefugee/asylum-seeker.

The highest-profile winner todate is former Ireland managerBRIAN KERR who was honouredlast year for promoting socceramong migrant communities. Headvocated sport as a tool forintegration.

This years ceremony - anddrama - took place on June 19thin the Dublin City CouncilsWood Quay offices.

For more information, logonto: www.africacentre.ie


20/28


21/28

21changing ireland is minic a bhris bel duine a shrn

e news

THE Department of Community, Rural &Gaeltacht Affairs wishes to establish threemulti-operator framework agreements overa four-year period for training and supportservices to CDPs.

In a new tender document issued on June16th, the Department seeks expressions ofinterests for training and consultancy supportservices to projects funded through theCommunity Development Programme.

The tender names three lots of support, inthe areas of: Corporate Governance,Financial management, and HumanResources.

TWO TENDERSThe tender specifies that the eventual

service providers will have to provide qualitysupport in the form of direct and indirecttraining and development support tovolunteer board members and staff ofProjects. It will be possible to provide supporton a regional or national basis, it adds. Thetender is open to regional support agenciesthat worked with the Programme before aswell as other interested parties.

There will be a separate tender competitionfor the community development training andsupport. In the Limerick area, for the timebeing, CDP co-ordinators are discussing theidea of providing training to volunteers inneighbouring projects.

NEW NETWORKING STRUCTUREMeanwhile, the Departments AssistantPrincipal Officer, Sean McLaughlin, haswritten to projects, saying: Considerableskills and talents of both volunteers and staff

that have been developed over the years. Aspart of the overall support structures, weintend to harness this experience andlearning through formal networkingarrangements at local, regional and nationallevel and I will advise Projects in this regardat a further date.

In addition, the Department is progressingtowards the introduction of formal networkingarrangements at local, regional and nationallevel, as part of the future support structurefor projects. He said that plans are being laidby the Department for a national conference.

We remain fully committed to thedevelopment of volunteers and staff ofProjects and to providing support serviceswhere needs are identified, he added.

PROVIDING

ONGOING SUPPORTSean has confirmed the Department willstep in to provide support, including fundingto CDPs, in the interim period while a newsupport structure is being put in place.

We are positively disposed to projectsneeds, once they specify what those needsare, declared Sean.

New centralised support arrangementsshould be in place by the end of September.In the interim, projects have been affordedsome flexibility by providing them with, albeitlimited, resources to procure services thatmeet their training and development needs.

He urged people not to hesitate to contactyour Departmental contact if you have anyfurther queries, particularly where any matterarises that you consider may requireadditional assistance.

Volunteerreps resign fromPanel

By Maurice McConvilleREGIONAL representatives staff andvolunteers - of the National ConsultativePanel (NCP) have taken the very difficultdecision to resign from NCP. The reasonsfor our actions are laid out in the letterwe sent to Minister amon Cuv, JuniorMinister John Curran and Departmentofficials informing them of our decision.

The representatives are appalled bythe Departments decision to make majorchanges to the Community DevelopmentProgramme without the input orknowledge of the NCP representatives.Despite having agreed to a collaborativeprocess, the Department chose toundermine that same process, by taking

an arbitrary decision to make majorchanges to support structure to projects.

FELT LET DOWNWe had worked closely with officials

on the content and process of theconsultation and we had alsoencouraged regions and project toengage with the process. Representativesfelt let down by the Departments action.

It was agreed by representatives thatthe Departments action had made theprocess of consultation meaningless. Itwould be wrong for us to remain withina process where our input as regionalrepresentatives is not respected. We didattempt to meet with the then JuniorMinister, Pat Carey to put our case for afair and open consultation process,however we were not afforded thisopportunity. We therefore had no otheroption but to resign from the NCP.

LETTER OF RESIGNATIONIn their letter of resignation, the

representatives said:The National Consultation Panel was

set up with the purpose of shaping thenew programme for the CommunityDevelopment Programme 2007 -2013and we met with staff of the CommunityDevelopment Unit Dept, of CRAGAformally 3 times in 2007.

A cornerstone of CommunityDevelopment is consultation with those

affected by policy and programmechanges. However, after the initialengagement with the Consultation Panelin relation to the scope of theconsultation we have neither had accessto the responses from the consultationquestions nor any role in moving theconsultation process forward.

(We now) withdraw ourrepresentation and this letter is toconfirm to you that we are resigningfrom the National Consultation Panel.

We feel that the Panel has not beenput in a position to fulfil its role and wedo not wish to continue and thereby givecredibility to a process from which wehave actually been excluded.

The letter was signed by MattieSheridan, a volunteer withLarchville/Lisduggan CDP in Waterford,on behalf of the other volunteer and staffrepresentatives on the nationalcommittee.

- as Department provides for interim support

Tender

out fornewsupport

services Sean McLaughlin


22/28

22changing ireland it is often that a person's mouth broke his nose

Programme news

The Minister for Community, Rural andGaeltacht Affairs, amon Cuv, has praisedChanging Ireland for providing communitydevelopment workers and volunteers aroundthe country with a "voice" and a "centralforum" for debate on issues relevant to thesector.

Minister Cuv, whose Department fundsthe magazine, was in Moyross, Limerick onApril 24th, to launch the web and printversions of the 25th edition.

Changing Ireland not only gives peopleworking in community development a voice, it

also provides a central forum for the exchangeof knowledge, experience and ideas," he told a40-strong group.

HUMOURWith humour, he described what happened

most publications he receives, but assuredeveryone that Changing Ireland was onemagazine that does not hit his waste-paperbasket as soon as it comes in.

The articles were very readable, they areinteresting, they relate to ordinary peopleslives and they are practical, they talk about theway it is. And yes, you sometimes say thingswe mightnt agree with, but as a politician,

when somebody really challenges you, it doesperk you up and maybe make you think in anew direction and that needs to happen all thetime.

STRUCTURAL DIVIDEDuring his speech, the Minister talked of a

big divide in our society and, in reference to

urban deprivation effecting young people inparticular, he said that education and activitieswere key. He drew attention to the way societyis very much structured against young peoplefrom urban disadvantaged areas going on tothird level education.

He also spoke of achievements under RAPID,the full country coverage by the Partnershipsand about the Community DevelopmentProgrammes permanent place in tacklingdisadvantage within communities.

HEALTHY DEMOCRACY

Editor Allen Meagher said, It is a sign of ahealthy democracy and a credit to Ministeramon Cuv and his Department that theyfund a magazine that sometimes reflects criticalviews on local and national social policy. Theyvalue communities having a voice. ChangingIreland is proud to be the voice for many of theso-called disadvantaged communities. Andwhen we name a problem, we can also namea proven solution.

PROVEN SOLUTIONSOver the years, he said Changing Ireland

had highlighted "proven responses to suicide,antisocial behaviour, rural isolation and many

other solutions to supposedly impossibleproblems".The launch took place at the AGM of the

Community Development Network Moyross,which manages Changing Ireland on behalfof the Community Development Programme.During his visit, the Minister met with CDPvolunteers and packers from the area.

Rebecca Carey (packing team), Minister amon Cuv, editor Allen Meagher, CDN chairperson TracyMcElligott, and Lindsay O'Connor (packing team) at the launch of the 25th Changing Ireland.

Keep challenging us,says Minister at launch

- Moyross magazine is a voice for the sector

Dublin CDP pushesprojects fornational officeA CDP in Dublin is pushing hard to set up anational office for the Community

Development Programme and has askedeach CDP to contribute to a fund thatshould help make it happen.

A national office would give theProgramme a voice on national issues, suchas the recent finding that there was a 30%price differential in shopping baskets northand south of the border. Issues like this hitthe marginalised in society most and weshould be saying something about it, saidEmma Freeman of Ballymun.

For years, projects in the CommunityDevelopment Programme talked of the needfor a national office, but this time there ismovement.

Tender documents will be drawn up inearly July, the steering group will then beestablished, and the tender will beadvertised by late summer.

Project co-ordinator, Emma Freeman isdoing the leg-work and Emmas employer,the Community Action Programme inBallymun, has agreed to manage thefinances and report back to the steeringgroup if the idea takes off.

There have been a lot of enquiriesfrom people interested in joining thesteering group and Emma says she hasonly had one negative reply to the cash-appeal to date.

Emma hopes the study will be launchedby December (and not September, as sheinitially hoped for).

Each management committee in thecountry was asked to discuss the proposal,so Emmas argument needed to be strong.She wrote to say a national office isrequired as a matter of urgency:

Despite a review of the Programmehaving taken place, there is no indicationthat a clea

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