People seem to be quite happy to have foreigners invest in our economy and to work for foreign companies. Yet they also can be quite intolerant of those who have come to Ireland (North and South) to build a life for themselves. There are those that will insist that 'foreigners' are taking our jobs, our houses and know how to get every benefit going. What these people usually fail to recognise or acknowledge is that a large portion of jobs created in Ireland both north and south, are by foreign businesses and foreign investors. If you are working for HMV, Next, Sainsbury's, Mc Donalds, KFC, New Look, Paypal, etc you are working for a foreign business. If we are willing to take jobs from foreign companies, shouldn't we also be willing to give immigrants the respect and right to make a life for themselves here?
We are all being affected by the financial crisis, that hasn't only hit Ireland but the whole world and as we are human we tend to need someone to blame. Unfortunately many people have decided that immigrants are the problem, which is untrue. They claim that immigrants are taking all the jobs and forcing Irish people to move abroad for employment, yet also claim that they are all on benefits and are not contributing to the economy. Which is it?
Back in the 1980's Ireland (North and South) faced a similar financial crisis and there was a mass exodus of young people seeking employment and opportunities in other countries, just like what is happening now. The number of immigrants in Ireland back then was extremely low, and the people knew that the governments and banks were the reason why they were struggling, this is also the reason why we are struggling now.
There has been a rise in the number of racist attacks in Ireland in the last few years, and this is very concerning. Ireland is known around the world for being the friendliest and most welcoming nation and yet many of us are not living up to that reputation.
B~
No comments:
Post a Comment