by Lorraine Lally
As a female immigration lawyer who is white from a working class rural family I am very aware of labels and the damage that we inflict by not looking beyond categorisation. But we have a choice in how we treat others and the labels we carry are superficial and insignificant.
As an Irish emigrant child living in London I remember an article in The Gaurdian newspaper about a boy who came home from school and jumped into a bath of bleach. He was like me bullied in school. I did not understand and I cried he wanted to change the colour of his skin. Now I am older and I cry again for the community that permitted that child to be isolated within the education system. The Irish constitution provides for a right to education until the age of 16 years of age. I am proud of this provision. We have an obligation to educate all children. We must respect all human beings by realising that we share commonalities that will bind us together for a better society. I was listening to the radio yesterday and I heard a woman I greatly admire Brigid Quilligan from the Irish Traveller Movement speaking about the recent Court decision which permitted a second level school to give preferential treatment to the children of past pupils in their admission policy. Wait and think for a moment a school in Tipperary that positively discriminates in relation to the children it enrols to its school.
How many nationalitites will there be in that school? Will there be a clear non discriminatory representation of the local community? The answer is no and that is the truth. There is a failure to realise the Europe wide struggle with issues of equality in education for all children regardless of race,nationality and religious upbringing. surrounding the brutality in central Europe. There is now a strong relationship between the Irish Traveller Movement linking in with the Roma Community representatives in a common cause to prevent discrimination in Education. There is a pattern in other States and Ireland would appear to failing to protect children from different ethnic,religious and cultural backgrouds.
The role of the State and the liability of the State in providing for children and their educational rights would appear to provide a glimmer of hope. But the existing State policy is to fund schools that are run by Boards of Management that are not regulated by the State in the policies that they are implementing. There is an obligation to provide for all the children in the State which is reinforced with there European Convention on Human Rights by there is a lack of case law illustrating real success for the children concerned what we need is a clear change in policy to realise inclusive education where there is a chance at equality of opportunity.
It would seem that we will be waiting for the development of European Union standards on the area of protecting educational and cultural rights. The interesting aspect is that there is a long history of dialogue in the area which may lead to stricter changes to the provision of educational rights.
But the failure of EU law is that it often focuses on EU citizens and their families which will often not consider third country nationals or non-EEA nationals who need our protection most of all.
If you cannot receive reasonable access to schools then how do you have reasonable access to employment and then how do you manage in the State as a member of society. The answer is that the exclusion will not benefit the individual, the family or society. We need to draw attention to the inequality occurring in education and the reality that many are excluded due to a lack of opportunity.
1. Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to School Admission Policy
2. Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 20 Human Rights Quarterly , (1998), p. 691-704, para. 9. See also V. Dankwa, C. Flinterman, S. Leckie, Commentary to the Maastricht Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 20 Human Rights Quarterly , (1998), p. 705-730, at 717.
For more information about Lorraine check out http://www.helplink.ie/
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