Professor Kader Asmal, MP, Minister ofEducation, South Africa - Combating Racism in South Africa

p.2 Update by Niall Crowley

p.3 Combating Racism in South Africa:A Challenge for the 21st century by Prof. Kader Asmal, MP

p.6 European Conference Against Racism by Ambassador Justin Harman

p.8 Establishing the European Centreto Combat Racism, Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism by Beate Winkler

p.10 Anti-Racist Workplace Week – A Review

p.12 Delivering Race Equality in the Workplace in the 21st Century by Gurbux Singh

p.14 Government Funds Major Awareness Programme to Address Racism by Philip Watt

p.16 Working Together Against Racism in Northern Ireland by Patrick Yu

p.18 The Race Directive and Irish Equality Legislation by Eilis Barry

p.21 The Association of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ireland by Rutilio Lopez-Reyes

p.22 Viewpoint – A Personal Perspective on Racism in Ireland by Rose T. Brock

p.24 Equality Studies Centre UCD,10th Anniversary Conference

p.24 Advisory Committee Meeting onEquality for Older People

Government funds major national awareness programmeto address racism in Ireland

Viewpoint - Rose T. Brock airs her views

The Anti-Racist Workplace Week has drawnto a close. This was a successful initiativestimulating a widespread interest whichdemonstrates the strong support for an anti-racist and intercultural society in Ireland.This edition of the Equality News isdedicated to the theme of anti-racism incelebration of this support and as the firststep in our follow-up programme to theAnti-Racist Workplace Week. The EqualityAuthority has a brief that covers ninedifferent grounds. Where possible we seekto move forward agendas that embrace allnine grounds in an integrated manner. Asappropriate we focus on individual grounds.The rationale for this focus on anti-racism inthe workplace rests on the need to:- give visibility to strategies combating or

preventing racism in the workplacegiven that it is a relatively new dimensionto workplace equality strategies.

- develop a knowledge base adequate toaddressing the specific needs andaspirations of Black and minority ethnicworkers.

- address a widespread societal concern atthe threat posed by racism inIreland.

Anti-racism will continue to be a feature ofour work programme for 2001. It will be adimension to our integrated strategies and itwill be a specific focus in its own right.Congress, IBEC and the CIF have expressedan interest in sustaining the partnership thatwas so effective in making the Anti-RacistWorkplace Week such a success. Discussionhas now begun to identify the most effectivestrategies to follow up and build on thisinitiative.

UPDATE BY NIALL CROWLEY

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Niall Crowley, CEO,Equality Authority

The contributions to Equality News arewelcome and appreciated. However, theopinions of outside contributors do notnecessarily reflect the position of the EqualityAuthority.

We would like your feedback on any article inEquality News. Please send comments, queriesor quips to Patrick O’Leary at:The Equality AuthorityClonmel Street, Dublin 2, IrelandLo Call: 1890 245545 Tel: +353-1-417 3333Fax: +353-1-417 3366 Text phone: +353-1-417 3385email: info@equality.ie www.equality.ie

Ballyfermot Dublin, October 1997Photo: Derek Spiers

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BY PROFESSORKADER ASMAL, MPMINISTER OFEDUCATION, SOUTHAFRICA

It is gratifying for an honorary Irishman, if Imay be permitted to elevate myself to thattitle, to be asked to contribute a short articleon South Africa’s experience in combatingracism. I know of few other subjects thatconfront the people of Ireland with some ofthe deepest issues of your own history andidentity as that of addressing racism. AsWeb Du Bois so presciently reflected onehundred years ago: the problem of thetwentieth century is the problem of thecolour line.

And the colour line now has entered an eraof globalisation. Mexican labour finds itselfpitted against American protectionist labour;unions across Europe are implicitly pittedagainst each other. These can easily seemlike "tragic" dilemmas in the strict sense ofthat over-used adjective - there does notalways seem to be a clear-cut "correct"answer. "Why should Mexican workersstarve?" says one side. "Why shouldAmerican ones be thrown on the breadline"retorts the other. And businesses areshrewdly aware of how best to exploit thesecleavages, by playing the workers of onecountry off against the workers in another.

One of the central features of globalisation isthe international mobility of labour. So thechallenge that faces Ireland has arisen as acombination of the forces of globalisation atwork, as well as the consequence of yourcountry’s prosperity. With prosperity,

Ireland has now become a country ofimmigration. Ireland needs the immigrants.The descendents of the emigrants of the19th century may wish to return to theirIreland, and many do, but most are toorooted in their new lands to solve yourcountry’s labour needs.

Ireland has increasingly attracted peoplewho are strangers in your midst. Theseimmigrant workers are different, perhaps incolour, perhaps in religion, perhaps inlanguage use, perhaps in all these respectsand more. They might, as they tend toelsewhere, take different jobs to you. Ofcourse, this should not be news to you, asthe Irish have in the past been an emigrantnation. People have left your shores,although primarily as a result of the short-sightedness of certain nineteenth centuryrulers across the sea.

In those days, when the Irish arrived at EllisIsland at the entrance to New York, therewas hell to pay. Harper’s Weekly, thatvenerable publication that remains in printtoday (under more enlightened editorship, Imight interject), greeting the Irish in 1851with the news that the Irishman was "low-browed" and "brutish" and even "simian".The article said specifically the "Celticphysiognomy" was "distinctly marked" byvarious racial features including "the smalland somewhat upturned nose [and] theblack tint of the skin." In 1866 the equallyvenerable Atlantic Monthly intoned that theIrish were genetically predisposed torebellion and lived "in a world of unrealitiesalmost inconceivable to a cool Saxon brain."The New York Tribune concluded in 1877that the only way to "civilize" the Irish wasthrough violence.

COMBATING RACISM IN SOUTHAFRICA - A CHALLENGE FOR THE21ST CENTURY

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It is sometimes said that a nation is judgedby how it treats the prisoners in its jails.That may be so. I rather think, like Baconthe writer, not the painter, though he maythink so too, ‘that if a man [or woman] begracious and courteous to strangers, it showsthat he [or she] is a citizen of the world.’

We therefore ought to be judged by themanner in which we treat the strangers inour midst. Some countries have been goodat this. Others have been rotten. Somecountries have sucked in the strangers, keptthem at arms’ length, and spat them outwhen they were done with them.

In my country, South Africa, those who usedto be in power welcomed strangers fromdistant lands - that is, as long as they wereof the same pigmentation - but treated theirfellow countrymen and women not only asstrangers, but also as slaves.

The white miners kept the best jobs andmade damn sure that the black strangerswere nothing but menial labour, locked inlow-paying, non-unionised jobs. Thestrangers bore numbers, like concentrationcamp victims, not names. The strangerswere merely units of labour. The strangerswere not allowed to vote, or participate inthe political and social life of the nation.They were never allowed to enter thehomes, or the neighbourhoods, or the citiesthat the whites gave to themselves.Apartheid was the crudest form of theexploitation and oppression of the blackstranger.

Apartheid’s end brought South Africa into aworld already under pressure to grant thestranger full equality before the law andequal access to social services. Since 1994,the South African Parliament has beenextremely busy, undoing all manner ofdiscriminatory apartheid legislation. Thecentrepiece of this, of course, is the 1996Constitution, out of which other values andlegislation also flow. Let me now focus my

attention to some of the efforts undertakenby our government to overcome themanifestations of racism.

There have been racially equitable reformsin all areas of law and policy - from welfareto taxes, from education to policing, fromhousing to land and water reform. Thisarticle could easily become a long list ofthese sector-specific achievements:undramatic but absolutely central to ourtransition away from racism and towardsdemocracy. Instead, however - givenlimitations of space - I will focus on onepiece of legislation of general importancethat was mandated by the Constitution, andalso happens to have been passed into lawrelatively recently (see http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/2000/index.html ):namely the Promotion of Equality andPrevention of Unfair Discrimination Act No.4 which was gazetted on February 9, 2000.

It is true that laws may not necessarily alterattitudes, but they do reflect changing ethicaland moral mores that, in turn, affectconsciousness. Morevoer, legislation canshape human behaviour, and provide a basisfor national mobilisation, which is of vitalnecessity.

The preamble to the Act notes that:"although significant progress has beenmade in restructuring and transforming oursociety and its institutions, systemicinequalities and unfair discrimination remaindeeply embedded in social structures,practices and attitudes, undermining theaspiration of our constitutional democracy."The Act sets out to deal comprehensivelywith that problem. The Act is premised onthe recognition of "the existence of systemicdiscrimination and inequalities, particularlyin respect of race, gender and disability inall spheres of life as a result of past andpresent discrimination brought about bycolonialism, the apartheid system andpatriarchy."

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The Act - in section 24(1) - places upon theState a duty and responsibility to promoteand achieve equality, a task which is ahistoric reversal of the apartheid state’sdeliberate manufacture of racial inequalityover decades. The State cannot adopt abenign attitude towards this issue. The lawlays a positive obligation to act, whichreflects the Constitutional Principle that theState must vindicate the rights of citizens. Ifif fails to do so, citizens must be able tocompel the Government to act through thecourts.

In addition, by section 24(2), all personshave a duty and responsibility to promoteequality. This means that the private sectorhas no privacy from the imperatives ofdealing with our legacy, from whichapartheid-era businesses benefited.

The Act gives the Human Rights Commission- as well as any other relevant constitutionalinstitutions - the right to request any Stateinsitution or private person to provideinformation on any measures relating to theachievement of equality, includinginformation relating to compliance withrelevant legislation, codes of practice andprogrammes.

I have focused on a single piece oflegislation. Many other laws such as theEmployment Equity Act, and initiatives suchas my Department’s Values in EducationInitiative, surround and bolster it in what is acomprehensive assault by our government,on the shaken and broken - but not yetfinally demolished - edifice of apartheid.

The Department of Education takes the issueof human rights and equity very seriously.This is reflected in our policies andstrategies. Concern with human rights anddiversity is interwoven into the newcurriculum and management guidelines. MyDepartment’s special project in the area ofdiversity and discrimination is the Values inEducation Initiative (whose Report, Values,

Education and Democracy can be obtainedfrom: http://education.pwv.gov.za/what’snew/htm ). This initiative promotes adialogue on the values that should informour education system in order to have thecohesive, democratic and peace-lovingsociety our Constitution calls for.

The South African government is committedto the full implementantion of the policiesdesigned to eradicate racial discrimination,including the strengthening of bodiesinvolved in combating racism. We need tocreate a discourse where all see anti-racismand non-racialism as part of building a newSouth Africa.

Be assured of South Africa’s support -through the sharing of our experiences andinsights - in your endeavours to combat theevil of racism.

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The Council of Europe was founded fiftyyears ago to ensure that the atrocities ofW.W.II stemming from racism, xenophobia,anti-Semitism and intolerance would neverbe repeated. The aim was the constructionof a democratic European society based onrespect for the equal dignity of humanbeings. In effect, anti-racism has been at theheart of the Council’s activities from theoutset. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, theCouncil was the first organisation to confrontthe reality of re-surging racism in the newEurope. It created an action plan whichmainstreamed anti-racism in its core humanrights activities. In 1993, it established theEuropean Commission against Racism andIntolerance (ECRI) to ensure action at local,national and European level to combatracism, including through country-by-countryreports [ECRI’s second report on Ireland willbe carried out in 2001].

With its pan European membership of 41states and its anti-racism credentials, theCouncil of Europe was the obviouscandidate to organise the EuropeanConference against Racism, Europe’scontribution to preparations for the WorldConference against Racism in South Africa inAugust 2001. The Council respondedenergetically to this challenge - the outcomeof the European conference was the resultof painstaking preparations over 2 yearsinvolving representatives of member statesand NGOs. The documents unanimouslyadopted by the conference, which were theculmination of this effort, will have animportant influence on the other regionalpreparatory conferences which will takeplace in Chile (for the Americas), Senegal(for Africa) and Iran (for Asia) over thecoming months.

Indeed, UN High Commissioner MaryRobinson, who is Secretary General for theWorld Conference, praised both thesubstantive outcome of the StrasbourgConference and its meticulous organisation.At the outset, she had called for anavoidance of a talking shop with fine wordsand no substance. She insisted on therebeing an action-oriented approach in thelead-up to South Africa with specific follow-

up and review provisions. She also urgedagainst turning this and other futureconferences into opportunities where onesection of the international communityabuses another - they should not be hijackedby narrow sectional interests. In my view,widely shared within the Council of Europeand by the UN Secretariat, these threeobjectives were met in Strasbourg.

Ireland made a significant input into theprocess which, I think it fair to say, was outof proportion to our size and population.This was the result of careful advanceplanning and the crucial partnershipestablished at an early stage between therelevant Government Departments andAgencies and with the NGO community.The Irish Delegation was led by the Ministerfor Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr.O’Donoghue, who provided the Conferencewith a comprehensive overview of the legaland other measures taken to tackling racismand racist views or attitudes in Irish society.He reiterated the determination of theGovernment to promote a more inclusivesociety, referring to the programme tocombat racism and racist attacks by raisingpublic awareness (which was formallylaunched in Dublin in October).Due to the groundwork laid at thepreparatory conference in Dublin in earlySeptember, the participation of variousGovernment Departments and Agencies(including the Equality Authority), thecontribution in Strasbourg of a significantnumber of Irish NGOs (whose participationwas assisted through financial assistancefrom the Department of Justice, Equality andLaw Reform) and an effective co-ordinationframework provided by the NCCRI, Irelandwas in a position to make a targeted impacton the exchanges in each workshop dealingwith the four principal themes (legalmeasures, policies and practice, educationand awareness and information and the

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISMStrasbourg Oct 2000

By Justin Harman, Irish Permanent

Representative to the Council of Europe

media). Co-ordination within the Irishdelegation, governmental and non-governmental, was effective throughout - atthe last co-ordination meeting, MinisterO’Donoghue committed his Department tomaintaining the effective partnershipestablished over the period ahead, includingpreparing for South Africa.

The Irish contribution was reflected both inthe exchanges in the workshops, wherereference was made both to the long-standing experience of Travellers and themore recent changes as Ireland evolves intoan increasingly multicultural society. Irishinput was reflected in amendments to boththe general conclusions and the politicaldeclaration, drawing in particular from theoutcome of the preparatory meeting inDublin Castle in early September. In thepolitical declaration, an Irish initiative toinclude a commitment for concretemonitoring and evaluation of follow-upaction by States was widely supported.

Ireland was one of the only delegations toinclude representatives of its national policeforce - a point commented on favourably bya number of other delegations and by theUN High Commissioner. Indeed, there is agrowing level of co-operation between theGarda Síochana and the Council of Europe -within this framework, a Conference on‘Police and Human Rights’ will be organisedby the Garda Human Rights Office and takeplace in Dublin Castle in November.

What did the European Conference achievein practice? Firstly, the political declarationsigned by Ministers representing the 41states present confirmed that acts of racismand racial discrimination are human rightsviolations. Secondly, all states accepted thepersistence of violent occurrences of racism,racial discrimination, xenophobia andintolerance throughout Europe. Thirdly, theConference pointed to those areasparticularly conducive to manifestations ofracism and racial discrimination, notably thediscrepancy between law and practice; thelack of access to the law; and the latent,creeping racism in many public institutions.The Conference adopted general conclusions

which can, and hopefully will, serve as afuture action plan, or as a series of'benchmarks', for Europe in follow-up to theWorld Conference next year.

There was on occasion frustration at thefailure to secure inclusion of certainamendments to the general conclusions. Atthe same time, there was appreciation forthe difficulty of obtaining agreement among500 delegates from 41 states, particularly onrevised concepts, over the space of 3 days.Given the extent of prior discussion in thelead-up to the Conference, securing changesat the Conference itself was self-evidentlygoing to prove more difficult than in anational context (not least owing to thecomplexities of achieving a commoninterpretation in each of the differentlanguages). Nonetheless, some importantchanges were introduced following pointsraised in the workshops, not least by Irishparticipants. For example, the use of theterm "tolerance" was successfully challengedand, in a number of places in the texts,replaced by the concept of "respect".Similarly, the concept of "vulnerable groups"was altered; the reference to "victims", whichmany participants viewed as a pejorative andprejudicial term, was also replaced. Theimportance of addressing the genderperspective of racism was specificallyhighlighted.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council ofEurope (at Ireland’s suggestion) has askedthe Secretariat to prepare proposals for afollow-up to the Conference. A specialprocedure exists to monitor compliance bymember States with their commitments - ithas now been decided to include non-discrimination, including the measuresspecified in the political declaration of theEuropean Conference, as a new theme inthis monitoring process. The Committee willreturn as a follow-up to the Conference inlight of a meeting of the EuropeanCommission Against Racial Intolerance(ECRI) in December.

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"Racism and xenophobia are again killingand wounding people in Europe, arousinganxiety and fear. The victims are mainlyforeigners from outside or inside Europe, butalso national citizens from minority groups" -stated the 1995 Report of the ConsultativeCommission on Racism and Xenophobia, thebody entrusted by the European Council tolook into the issues of racism andxenophobia in its Member States.

The Consultative Committee then went on toexamine the feasibility of establishing amechanism operating at a European leveland under Community law to examineracism and make concrete recommendationsto tackle it. Underpinning this was a beliefthat the future of Europe was beingdetermined by its cultural, ethnic andreligious diversity. To safeguard this future,the European Union would have to addressthe problems and also highlight ways it wasmaking a positive contribution toencouraging tolerance and understanding.The result was the proposal to establish aEuropean Monitoring Centre on Racism andXenophobia.

The necessity to combat these trendsthroughout Europe:Racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism aretrends in parts of Europe. They musttherefore be fought throughout Europe. TheEuropean Union considers it one of its tasksto develop concrete solutions as part of acomprehensive strategy to combat thesetrends. In establishing the EuropeanMonitoring Centre on Racism andXenophobia (EUMC) in 1998, the EuropeanUnion began a process to meet this goal.The EUMC itself was granted the remit todevelop a comprehensive strategy to tackle racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism at alllevels of European society.

Establishing the EUMCThe European Monitoring Centre on Racismand Xenophobia, based in Vienna, is anindependent body of the European Union,which was established by Council Regulation(EC) 1035/97. The Centre started its activitiesin July 1998. Recruitment of staff has takenplace gradually since the end of 1998, andthe Centre now has a staff of 24 people toimplement its work programme.

The VisionThe vision of the EUMC is that all peopleshould be able to experience a Europe inwhich diversity and equality are respectedand seen as the riches and the horizons forthe future.

The MissionThe EUMC is a network of organisations,working in all sectors of society for equalityand diversity, and against racism andxenophobia in the European Union. It is anetwork of knowledge, a bridge-builder anda service organisation.

The EUMC’s AgendaThe primary task of the EUMC is to providethe Community and its Member States withobjective, reliable and comparable data atEuropean level on the phenomena of racism,xenophobia and anti-Semitism in order toassist them take measures or formulatecourses of action within their respectivespheres of competence. The EUMC studiesthe extent and development of thephenomena and manifestations of racism,xenophobia and anti-Semitism, analyses theircauses, consequences and effects andhighlights examples of good practice indealing with them.

To achieve its tasks effectively, the EUMChas drawn up an action plan focussing especially on RAXEN – the new EuropeanInformation Network on Racism andXenophobia. Supported by a special

EUMC-EUROPEAN CENTRE TO COMBAT

RACISM, XENOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM

By Beate Winkler, Director

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computer-based network and workingthrough a network of focal points in eachMember State, the EUMC co-operates withindividuals and institutions from academic,social and political fields dealing with theissues of racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism. Information and data, includingscientific research results supplied by theresearch institutions, NGOs, EU MemberStates, EU institutions and internationalorganisations, will be collected, stored andanalysed.

The RAXEN network will further theexchange of information along all the partiesinvolved. Furthermore, all interested partieswill be given access to the latest findingsand information on on-going initiatives andprojects. The EUMC will co-operate withinformation providers and establish a systemfor co-ordinated use of the databases inorder to facilitate comprehensivedissemination of the information they havesupplied.

Round TablesThe EUMC also initiates and promotes theorganisation of roundtable discussions at thenational and European level. Round Tablesare based on subjects at the core of thework of the EUMC. They involve membersof permanent consultative institutions of theEU Member States, representatives of NGOs,social partners, research centres andcompetent authorities as well as otherpersons or institutions dealing with issues ofracism, xenophobia and anti-semitism.National Round Tables are organised in eachmember state of the EU.

Furthermore the EUMC publishes anAnnual Report covering:- The extent of racism, xenophobia and anti-

semitism in the Community;- examples of good practice;- documentation of the results of Round

Table discussions, meetings and events;- information on progress of individual

projects and- activities and development of the Centre.

The EUMC also publishes a quarterlynewsletter entitled ‘Equal Voices’, whichshares information and provides a forum ofdiscussion on developments on racism,xenophobia and anti-semitism in Europe.

For further information, please contact:EUMC, Information and Communication UnitRahlgasse 3, A-1060 ViennaTel: +43-1-580 30 37Fax: +43-1-580 30 91Email: information@eumc.eu.intSome Publications can be downloaded fromthe EUMC website - www.eumc.eu.int

ANNOUCING THE NATIONAL FOCAL

POINT FOR THE EUMC IN IRELANDThe Equality Authority in partnership with theNational Consultative Committee on Racismand Interculturalism have been identified asthe National Focal Point in Ireland for theEuropean Union Monitoring Centre on Racismand Xenophobia.

This important joint venture places bothorganisations as key channels ofcommunication between Irish initiativesagainst racism and work at European Unionlevel. The joint venture should also assist anenhanced networking among Irish initiativesagainst racism across the country.

The first task of the joint venture is anexercise to map out what is known where andby whom in the field of combating racism,xenophobia and anti-semitism. An overviewreport, to a common European Unionguidelines, will also identify anti-racistinitiatives and organisations.

This mapping exercise should assist thedevelopment of networking around theNational Focal Point and the identification ofhow best to develop this joint venture. Welook forward to a wider participation in themapping exercise.

For further information:-Lisa Fingleton, The Equality AuthorityTel: 01 - 4173333 or Lo Call: 1890 - 245545

Philip Watt, Director, National ConsultativeCommittee on Racism and Interculturalism.Tel: 01 - 4785777

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The overwhelming response to the recentAnti-Racist Workplace Week clearlyillustrated the commitment of social partnersto challenging racism in the workplace andsets a clear agenda for work in the future.

The week was part of a joint initiativebetween the Irish Congress of Trade Unions(Congress), the Irish Business andEmployers’ Confederation (IBEC), theConstruction Industry Federation (CIF) andthe Equality Authority to promote anti-racistworkplaces. Another key element of theinitiative included the production of aresource pack which contained a policystatement from Congress, IBEC and theConstruction Industry Federation.

The Anti-Racist Workplace Week waslaunched at the Equality Authority on the 6thof November. In addition, a number ofevents were organised at national andregional level to stimulate activity atenterprise level. Gurbux Singh, Chairpersonof the British Commission for Racial Equalitywas the key speaker at two seminars on raceequality in the workplace hosted by theEquality Authority. The first was targeted atemployers, trade unions and HR personneland the second involved a briefing sessionwith Black and minority ethnic organisations.The response to the initiative was veryencouraging with over 20,000 posters, 40,000leaflets and 6,000 resource packs beingdistributed in the run up to the week. Inaddition over 50 events and activities wereorganised during the week around thecountry.

The following is an outline of some of themany events that took place throughout theweek:

ANTI-RACIST WORKPLACE WEEKREVIEWAnti-Racist Workplace Week 6th-10th November 2000

JURY’S HOTEL GROUP IN CONJUNCTION

WITH SIPTU organised an educational

poster campaign to raise awareness

about different cultures and traditions

which were distributed throughout the

hotel chain.

Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne,

launched a major poster campaign

‘Racism - Challenge It’ which was

organised by the GARDA RACIAL AND

INTER CULTURAL OFFICE. The posters

were distributed to Garda stations

around the country.

THE ESB organised an essay

competition called ‘Racism - a

challenge for ESB’.

IBEC AND INTERACT launched a

research report entitled ‘Employment of

non-EU nationals/refugees in Ireland:

Employers and refugees experiences’.

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IMPACT AND THE COOMBE WOMEN’S HOSPITAL used the week to highlight the

issue of health services for refugees and asylum seekers with a lunch time seminar.

IMPACT also launched a policy statement entitled ‘Principles for the provision of

services to refugees and asylum seekers’.

EIRCOM co-ordinated a number of awareness raising events during the week including

a company radio interview with Kensika Monschwengo and disseminated information

through the company intranet, bulletin boards and canteen area.

RADIO KILKENNY in conjunction with IBEC, SIPTU and Kilkenny Community Action

Network broadcast a series of interviews during the week to highlight the issue of

racism in the workplace.

AER RIANTA, IN CONJUNCTION WITH IBEC hosted

a seminar on anti-racism and recruitment with

Ashok Ohri from OSDC (Organisation and Social

Development Consultants), Edinburgh.

THE NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON RACISM AND INTERCULTURALISM

hosted a roundtable discussion entitled ‘Recruiting Abroad: Towards a Statement of

Best Practice’.

Pictured at the launch of the Wexford Area PartnershipAnti-Racist Workplace Week initiative launch are:(L-R) Des Geraghty, General President, SIPTU; FionaEnglish, Equal Opportunities Programmes Manager,Wexford Area Partnership; Michael Wall, Chairperson,Wexford Area Partnership; Niall Crowley, Chief Executive,Equality Authority; John Farrell, Regional Director, IBEC– South East Region.

By Gurbux SinghChair, British Commission forRacial Equality

We should move forward with optimism saysGurbux Singh, Chair of the BritishCommission for Racial Equality, in an articlebased on a speech which he gave at theAnti-Racist Workplace conference in Dublinon November 10th.

I believe that we are at a turning point inhistory. The eighties was a decade ofcorporate greed and institutional insensitivitytowards the workforce. People were hiredand fired with little regard to their personalfeelings and circumstances. The nineties wasa decade of recession, redundancy,unemployment and negative equity.

I hope we have moved away from thosedark days to a more enlightened age.Companies, businesses and organisations inboth the public and private sector havestarted to realise that their workforces aretheir most valuable assets. Much thought andeffort is invested by companies in recruitinggood people. And that applies to ethnicminorities too. Many organisations havealready realised that a good worker is agood worker, regardless of the colour oftheir skin, sex, religion, cultural origin or anyother differentiating factor.

Demographic experts say we are going toface a shortage of workers in years to come.Our society is changing. There is an agingpopulation. Some analysts predict that by2040 every person of working age willsupport twice as many pensioners as theydo today. The pool of people available to

work is shrinking, and competition to recruitnew workers is becoming more and moreintense. The reputation of a company as anemployer of people will be just as importantin the recruitment business as the salarypackage that accompanies the job. Workerswill choose organisations which pay well,which give them the training anddevelopment opportunities they need, andoffer the best working environment andpromotion prospects.

But all too often staff are treated withoutdignity, without consideration of theirhuman and emotional needs. It is still thecase in the twenty-first century that women,people with different ethnic backgrounds,members of the Traveller community,disabled people and older workers arediscriminated against by employers – bothduring recruitment and in their pay andpromotion prospects. If we really want toencourage a society where success is basedon talent, ability and hard work, then muchmore still needs to be done.

Black, Asian and other ethnic minoritymembers of staff may suffer the sort ofracism at work that is invisible and unseen.They are forced to sit alone in the canteenbecause they are ostracised by colleagues.They are only spoken to when peopleabsolutely have to speak to them. They aregiven no help or advice on training or careerdevelopment. They are passed over timeafter time when promotion opportunitiescome up. They are never invited to the pubfor a drink with the others on a Fridayafternoon. They are never given a bonus atthe end of the year, even though they workhard, have never taken a day’s sick leaveand have high productivity.

More importantly, the way in which staffmembers are treated at work has a

DELIVERING RACE EQUALITY IN THE

WORKPLACE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

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significant impact on others. If femaleemployees see sexual harassment gounchecked, they lose confidence in theiremployer’s ability to protect them and toprovide a safe working environment. Ifethnic minority employees see racist abusego unchecked, they lose confidence in theiremployer’s ability to protect them andprovide a safe working environment. Anemployer who allows people to be subjectedto the insidious, demoralising, soul-destroying effects of the institutional racismthat undoubtedly exists in someorganisations, is failing those people as anemployer.

Companies, businesses and organisationshave a clear choice. They can lose out andput themselves at risk of discriminationclaims by ignoring diversity, bydiscriminating against potential employeesand by treating people badly once they arein the organisation. Or they can recruit fromthe widest pool of talent – and that poolautomatically includes black and ethnicminority candidates – they can look aftertheir workers and treat all their staff withequal dignity and care and reap the businessbenefits.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I dobelieve that we are at an exciting andunique time in the movement for equality.There is a climate for change, and a realdesire to see change take place. We at theCommission for Racial Equality aretremendously excited at the prospect of thenew Race Relations (Amendment) Act, whichhas now received Royal Assent. This willplace a public duty on institutionsthroughout the land to positively promoterace equality. And we now have the HumanRights Act in force. It was a long time incoming but it is perhaps the mostmomentous piece of legislation to enter thestatute books since universal suffrage. Colleagues at the Equality Authority are, Iam sure, just as excited about theEmployment Equality Act 1998, and the

Equal Status Act, 2000. In both our countrieswe can see a real chance for change insociety, in public attitudes to equality and inthe lives and prospects of countless people.

Everyone has the right to live their lives freefrom the shadow of discrimination, free fromthe fear of injustice, free from the threat ofviolence. And everyone should have theunfettered right to enjoy their daily lives inthe knowledge that they are equal with theirfellow citizens, regardless of race orethnicity.

Together we can help bring about a fair andequal society, including a fair and equalworkplace. We must not, and we will not,fail. I believe the ‘noughties’, as this decadehas been named, will see a differentcorporate culture emerge. Business dependson it. Jobs depend on it. Lives depend on it.

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NEW SEX DISCRIMINATION LAW

By Marguerite Bolger and ClionaKimber

Essential reading for anybody who mustdeal with sex discrimination on a day-to-daybasis. Evaluating over 25 years ofdevelopments in sex discrimination law, thiscomprehensive book:•Describes clearly and accurately sex

equality law in Ireland today•Places Irish sex equality in the context of

EU law•Critically evaluates the law and makes

suggestions for the direction of sexequality law in the future

• Is the most up-to-date reference sourceavailable on equality issues for womentoday.

• Is, authoritative, written by two practisingbarristers, specialists in employment law

Available from all major bookstores, ordirect from the publishers at 01- 662 5301

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GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME FOR NATIONALPUBLIC AWARENESS OF RACISM

Government gives go ahead forNational Public Awareness Programmeto address racism.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and LawReform has recently announced that theGovernment have agreed to provide £4.5million over three years for a publicawareness programme to address racism andpromote a more inclusive, interculturalsociety.

The National Consultative Committee onRacism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), whichwas set up by the Minister to advise theGovernment on matters related to racismand interculturalism, has completed anevaluation for a public awarenessprogramme after an intensive three monthresearch and consultation process with socialpartners, statutory organisations, politicalparties, and community groups working withBlack and minority ethnic groups, includingTravellers. The Minister’s key proposals,which have been accepted by Government,are:

The NCCRI evaluation should form theframework of a three-year publicawareness programme.

•A core budget of £4.5 million over thethree-year period will be allocated for theimplementation of the plan.

•The Equality Division of the Department ofJustice, Equality and Law Reform will haveresponsibility for coordinating theprogramme and its budget with a key rolealso being played by the NCCRI.

•The establishment of a broadly based highlevel steering group with an independentchairperson to implement the awarenessprogramme.

•The recruitment of additional staff toprovide administrative support to the highlevel steering group in the implementationof the programme over its lifetime

•Expert services may be contracted out forshort-term projects as required toimplement certain aspects of theprogramme.

The Minister’s approach, which is reflectedin the evaluation, is based on partnershipand seeking to develop initiatives that havethe potential to have a sustainable impact.This partnership approach involves thedrawing together of key Government andnon-government agencies and will includebodies such as the NCCRI, the EqualityAuthority and the forthcoming Receptionand Integration Agency.

Minster O’Donoghue said that the overallaim of the programme is to contribute tocreating the conditions for building a moreinclusive and intercultural society in Ireland,where racism is effectively addressed andcultural diversity is viewed as a strength.

By Philip WattDirector,

National Consultative Committee

on Racism and Interculturalism

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The primary objectives of theprogramme are:

•To act as a catalyst to stimulate publicawareness and understanding of culturaldiversity in Ireland.

•To help create the conditions that make itmore difficult for racism to exist.

•To contribute to the range of policies thatpromote an inclusive approach to minorityethnic groups, including refugees andasylum seekers.

To reflect the requirement for a strategic andintegrated approach, as identified in theevaluation. The plan of action will consist ofactions and initiatives around seven keystrands. These are:

•Establishing and maintaining the purposeand profile of the programme;

•Media and communications;

•Ensuring that statutory authorities are

aware of and committed to the aims of theprogramme;

•Education;

•Community and Local development;

•Political parties (a cross political dimensionto the programme) and

•Other elements (including the workplace;policing; sport) and the role of religiousorganisations.

The evaluation identified the need for apreparatory period before the programme islaunched. This is necessary to put resourcesand structures in place, for planning anddevelopment, integrating existing initiativesand to conduct baseline research onattitudes and opinions relating to minorityethnic groups, racism and interculturalism. In conclusion, the NCCRI looks forward toworking in partnership with the Departmentof Justice, Equality and Law Reform andbodies such as the Equality Authority theReception and Integration Agency, and thekey sectors identified in the evaluation, inparticular NGO’s working with minorityethnic groups, to implement a wide-rangingand innovative public awareness programmethat will be an important element in therange of policies needed to address racismin Ireland.

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WORKING TOGETHER AGAINSTRACISM IN NORTHERN IRELAND

INTRODUCTION

Racism is the violation of human rights andfundamental freedoms. Fighting racism isthe daily experience and survival of amajority of NGOs, on the island of Ireland,who work for minority ethnic communities.NICEM develops its own strategy in fightingagainst racism through alliance building withthe NGO sector, public and private sector,trade unions, academic and media, etc. inorder to support ethnic minority issues at thelocal level, as well as through networkingand campaigning on anti-racism with NGOsat European level.

RACISM IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The experience in Northern Ireland of theissue of racism has been quite similar in theSouth. Cultural diversity in the make-up ofour society has until recently, not been afeature of policy-making and public debate.Racism has not been identified (to be moreprecise the denial of racism) until recently,was an issue within a Northern Irelandcontext. Racism in Northern Ireland can beunderstood in the context of the extensionof the sectarian divide and the generalisedlack of democratic accountability.

Although the total population is relativelysmall, it does reflect the richness of ethnicdiversity in Northern Ireland. We estimatearound 25,000 to 30,000 black and ethnicminorities (most of them are British citizens),living in Northern Ireland. The majorminority ethnic groups are the Chinese,Asian, Irish Travellers, African-Carribbeanand Muslim, etc.

"Orange" and "Green" symbols serve toidentify difference, but only within a notionof a society which is mono-ethnic and in which Christian supremacy prevails.

Interestingly both Protestant and Catholiccommunities throughout the island ofIreland have a long history of religiousmission in the former colonies of the BritishEmpire- the so-called New World. It was,and for many still is, the mission of superiorwhite people to progress God’s salvation ofthe "New World". Their colonial experiencein terms of religious mission and formerrulers or civil servants perpetuates thediscourse of white supremacy throughoppression and exploitation.

Despite, or even because of this experience,there has been a tendency to deny theexistence of racism in Northern Ireland. Thisis demonstrated by the refusal to extend thefirst race relations legislation (Race RelationsAct 1965) in the UK to Northern Ireland onthe grounds that there existed only tinynumbers of minority ethnic communities.Over thirty years on, when minority ethnicgroups successfully lobbied the racerelations legislation, in February 1997, asimilar argument was put forward by theUlster Unionist MP, William Ross, during the House of Commons debate on the RaceRelations (NI) Order.

There are common-sense ideas in NorthernIreland which reinforce such views. A pointoften made in local discussion is that thereare only small groups of racist people andthat the majority are generally "nice" tominority ethnic communities. This appearspartly true because people in NorthernIreland are not aware that racism does exist;they tend not to be aware of institutionalracism and there is ignorance about the

BY PATRICK YUExecutive Director,Northern Ireland Council forEthnic Minorities.

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cultural differences and background ofethnic minorities.

It is a sad fact, however, that institutionalisedracism has become the daily life experienceof ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland,manifested in the denial of opportunities,resources and services. The situation is madeeven worse by the fact that people fromminority ethnic communities are often facedwith a language barrier, for example, thosewho have no knowledge of English or havetheir own unique communication patternsuch as that used by the Irish Travellers. Theresult is that these communities do notbecome familiar with the local servicesystem and service provision is not culturallysensitive. Poverty and racism co-exist likethe two sides of a coin. The social processeswhich create poverty and racism leaddirectly to a final destination which is socialexclusion, whether intended or not. It isessential therefore that the general public inNorthern Ireland should be aware of thesepatterns of racism, poverty and socialexclusion. And that public, private andvoluntary sectors have a responsibility totheir service users to become aware of waysof challenging racism in their workplace.

NORTHERN IRELAND COUNCIL FORETHNIC MINORITIES (NICEM)

NICEM is a voluntary sector, membership-based umbrella organisation representativeof minority ethnic groups and their supportorganisations in Northern Ireland. Currently,it has 18 affiliated minority ethnic groups asmembers which represents the Chinese,Asian, African-Carribbean, Muslim, IrishTravelling and Filipino communities inNorthern Ireland. It also has more than sixtylocal organisations and around fiftyindividuals as associated members.

NICEM responds to racism, poverty andsocial exclusion, by employing the followingstrategic areas of work:

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1:

Mainstreaming ethnic minorities intogovernment’s policy and practice

These include the following activities:•Lobbying legislative protection and good

policy practice. •Responding to government consultation

papers and different social policies andpractices.

•Representing minority ethnic groups indifferent government sponsored workinggroups such as the Promotion of SocialInclusion Working Group on EthnicMinorities.

•Promotion of human rights and racialequality through training, conferences,educational programmes and joint projectwith partner organisations.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2:

Capacity Building Minority EthnicOrganisationsThese include the following activities:•Training the staff, women and leaders of

the minority ethnic organisations ondifferent areas of concerns, includingknowledge and skills base.

•Giving advice and support to minorityethnic organisations such as financialmanagement, office administration, ITsupport, recruitment procedures andpractice and equal opportunity.

•Developing community infrastructure forminority ethnic communities such aspolicing, local government, education,health, welfare benefits, immigration, etc.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3:

Raising Public Awareness on RacismThese include the following activities:• Anti-racism training for public and

voluntary sector.• Anti-racism trainer’s training for minority

ethnic organisations.• Standard setting of Anti-Racism Training

through NICEM’s Manual.• Organising educational programmes in

schools and youth clubs.• Publish "Mainstreaming" Magazine as a

forum for discussion policies that affectethnic minorities.

• Setting up a unique Reference Library onrace issues and collection for public uses.

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4:

Advocacy services for immigrants,asylum seekers, refugees and victims ofracismThese include the following activities:• Provide free legal advice and

representation at Tribunal on immigrationand asylum applications.

• Provide one-stop services for asylumseekers, including emergencyaccommodation and support fordestitution.

• Provide free legal advice and referral caseson racial discrimination, racial harassmentand racial attack.

• Provide support for victims of racism,racial discrimination, racial harassment andracial attacks.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5:

Campaigning and NetworkingThese include the following activities:• Local level: working in partnership with

trade unions, voluntary and communitysectors, political parties, statutory sector,and human rights organisations, inparticular the Human Rights Commissionfor Northern Ireland and EqualityCommission for Northern Ireland.

• UK: working in partnership with key blackorganisations and the Commission forRacial Equality. NICEM is also the steeringgroup member of both the UK RaceEuropean Network (UKREN) and the UKBlack Human Rights Network.

• Island of Ireland: NICEM is the foundingmember of the Platform Against Racismand is now a new member of the NationalConsultative Committee on Racism andInter-culturalism.

• European: Active member of the StartingLine Group which is the co-ordinatingbody lobbying for a Directive on Racialand Religious Discrimination and aDirective on the Rights of Third CountryNationals. NICEM was a member of theNGOs Resource Group of the Council ofEurope in preparing the EuropeanConference Against Racism andXenophobia as the part of the processpreparing for the UN World Conference2001 in South Africa.

By Eilis Barry, BL - Legal Adviser

Member States have until the 29th of June,2003 to implement the provisions necessaryto comply with Council Directive 2000/43.The purpose of the Directive is to lay downa framework for combating discriminationon the grounds of race or ethnic origin witha view to putting into effect in the MemberStates the principle of equal treatment.Ireland has the groundwork of thelegislation in place with the EmploymentEquality Act 1998 (E.E.A. 1998) and therecently implemented Equal Status Act, 2000(E.S.A. 2000) (which also paves the way forthe ratification of C.E.R.D.).

There are striking similarities and differencesbetween our domestic legislation and theterms of the Directive. The exemptionspermitted by the Directive are fewer andmore strictly construed than those allowedby Irish legislation which will have to beaccordingly amended.. However, the scopeof the Directive is narrower to the extentthat it does not apply to difference oftreatment based on nationality and iswithout prejudice to provisions andconditions relating to the entry into and theresidence of what are called third countrynationals. The definition of the ground ofrace for the purposes of the EmploymentEquality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act2000 is broader -

"As between any two persons that they areof different race, colour, nationality or ethnicor national origins".

THE RACEDIRECTIVE ANDIRISH EQUALITYLEGISLATION

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ScopeThe scope of the Directive is wide - itapplies broadly to matters covered by bothpieces of legislation, including employment,vocational training, working conditions,dismissals, pay, membership of organisationof workers or employers. (self employmentis also covered)It explicitly applies to - "social protection, including social security

and health care"- "Social advantages"- "Education"

In contrast public bodies are included moreby implication in the Equal Status Act, 2000and there is a major exemption contained inSection 14 in so far as "the taking of anyaction that is required by or under -

(i) "any enactment" is allowed.

Significantly there is no equivalentexemption permitted by the Race Directive.

Common ConceptsThere are concepts that are common to bothpieces of legislation and the Directive.

Direct DiscriminationThe definition of direct discrimination issimilar in wording to that contained in theEmployment Equality Act 1998 in relation toall nine specified grounds. Unlike the EqualStatus Act 2000 the wording in the Directivedoes not include discrimination byimputation or association.

Indirect DiscriminationThe Directive also has explicit provisions inrelation to indirect discrimination. In theEmployment Equality Act 1998 there aredifferent standards set for different grounds.In relation to the gender provisions, thediscriminatory practice or requirement whichhas the disproportionate negative impact hasto be objectively justified (section 22).However in relation to the non gendergrounds, (including the ground of race andthe Traveller community ground) theoffending practice/requirement only has tobe reasonably justified (section 31). In theEqual Status Act 2000 the same test appliesto all of the nine discriminatory grounds:-the practice or requirement only has to bereasonably justified (section 3).

In contrast the indirect discriminationprovisions of the Directive are morestringent. The practice which would putpersons of a racial or ethnic origin at aparticular disadvantage has to "objectivelyjustified by a legitimate aim and the meansof achieving that aim are appropriate andnecessary".

HarassmentThe Directive allows members states todefine the concept of harassment. Both theEmployment Equality Act 1998 and theEqual Status Act 2000 have a mixedsubjective and objective definition ofharassment.

Positive ActionThe provisions in the Directive are enabling(Article 5).

The Employment Equality Act 1998 alreadyhas positive action measures in relation to - men and women- persons over the age of 50

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- persons with a disability- members of the Traveller community

The Directive will open up the way formeasures in respect of the ground of race.The Equal Status Act 2000 allows positiveaction measures for what are calleddisadvantaged persons and measures whichcater for the "special needs of persons" arealso allowed. These previsions are broadenough to allow Ireland to adopt specificmeasures in relation to disadvantage limitedto racial or ethnic origin as envisaged by theDirective.

Remedies: Effective Proportionate andDissuasiveThe Directive requires that judicial and/oradministrative procedures, (including whereappropriate conciliation procedures) for theenforcement of obligations under theDirective be available. It also requires thatsanctions imposed by member states mustbe "effective proportionate and dissuasive".The 1998 Act established the Office of theDirector of Equality Investigations as a forumfor seething redress (There are distinctprovisions and enforcement procedures inrelation to clubs). There is a hierarchy ofrights in so far as any gender claim may bebrought directly to the Circuit Court whereno financial limit is imposed on potentialcompensation. All other non gender claimsunder the Employment Equality Act 1998and all claims under the Equal Status Act2000 must be brought to the O.D.E.I. (or theLabour Court if a dismissal is involved). Thefinancial compensation is limited for e.g. indismissal cases the ceiling is 104 weeksremuneration. The maximum financialcompensation that can be paid in any claimunder the Equal Status Act 2000 is £5,000.

Exemptions - Employment Equality Act1998The Employment Equality Act 1998 allowsprovisions in relation to residency,citizenship, proficiency in the Irish languagewith respect to employment in the CivilService, including the Garda Siochána, the

Defence Forces and local government. Italso allows a requirement in relation toproficiency in the Irish language withrespect to teachers in primary and postprimary schools. The Act also allowsemployers to require the holding of aspecified educational technical orprofessional qualification "which is agenerally accepted qualification in the Statefor posts of that description". Theseprovisions may have the potential ofallowing indirect discrimination on theground of race. There are no equivalentprovisions in the Directive.

Equal Status Act 2000 - Exemptions:The most profound exemption in the EqualStatus Act 2000 is that contained in Section13 which permits the taking of any actionrequired by any enactment. There is noequivalent provision in the Directive. Thereis also no equivalent provision to thecontroversial "public order" exemptioncontained in section 15 of the Equal StatusAct 2000

Conclusion:It is likely that the Employment Equality Act1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000 will haveto be amended in so far as these apply tothe ground of race and the Travellercommunity ground in relation to: - the definition of indirect discrimination and

the burden of proof.- the ceiling on compensation in

employment cases and £5,000 ceilingunder the Equal Status Act 2000

- the section 14 statutory exemption and thesection 15 ‘public order’ exemption in theEqual Status Act 2000.

The exemptions in the Employment EqualityAct 1998 will have to be explored.The provisions on Positive Action in bothpieces of legislation could be strengthenedto provide explicitly for measures in relationto the ground of race.

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The Association of Refugees and AsylumSeekers in Ireland ARASI ( which is anumberella Association of multi-ethnic andinter-cultural Community Groups) wasestablished in July 1997. A Director andChairperson from the Board of allAssociations belonging to ARASI wereelected in response to the growing racismand hostility being expressed towardsrefugees and asylum seekers in Ireland.Another critical aim was the recognition ofthe need for the community to develop self-help systems to promote their human rightsand civil liberties in Ireland.

In its early days, it was a loose associationof those from the refugee and asylum seekercommunity, with no pernament base. Theassociation was reliant on support fromNGOs, human rights groups and othersympathisers.

As refugees in any appreciable number are avery recent phenomenon in Ireland, ARASIdraws its membership (which includes thewhole of the refugees and asylum seekerscommunity in Ireland and other NGO andstates organisations) and activists primarilyfrom people who are relatively new to thecountry.

Just over three years since its inception,ARASI is a dynamic NGO Association, withmany enviable achievements to date. The25th of June 1998 saw the organisation’s firstAGM, which resulted in the election of thesecond board. The second AGM was onSeptember 10th, 1999. A constitution hasbeen drawn up together with an annualreport. Active members of ARASI come froma variety of backgrounds and countries, andinclude asylum seekers and those who havebeen granted refugee’s status and those whohave received Irish citizenship.

In the previous years ARASI has organised anumber of social and educational activities.Musical and cultural evenings have beenheld, including multi-cultural food festivalsin Trinity College, in SPIRASI etc.

A photographic and art exhibition wasstaged in the ILAC Centre library. Membersregularly give talks to schools and youthgroups. ARASI has also worked in conjuctionwith many other groups on variousinitiatives, including demonstrations, a streettheatre event and carnival, as well asundertaking political lobbying and mediacampaign work under the aegis of theAsylum Rights Alliance.

ARASI continues to be a key player in botha consultative and an active role in the workof the major organisations who deal withasylum and refugee issues, and isrepresented on the board of some of theorganisations board of directors e.g. IRC,NCCRI, Interact Ireland, Clann HousingAssociation Ltd, Apart of Ireland Now, etc.ARASI is also represented in some EURefugee Organisations such as Tensor andECRE. All these have been achieved withnominal funding. ARASI was also involvedwith an Irish filmmaker in the production ofa video about the Association. This won aprize in Europe, and the prize money of10,000 ECU provided the basic core funding.

In May 1998, ARASI was proud to invite LizMacManus, T.D., to open its office in PrestonStreet, off Amiens Street, which was securedthrough the help of the Big Issue Magazine.Unfortunately in August ARASI was madehomeless once again. Currently ARASI isaccommodated at SPIRASI, 213 NorthCircular Road, Dublin.

ARASI produces a monthly newsletter - TheVoice of Refugees - which used to beproduced with the help of AmnestyInternational and Comhlamh. An exhibitionentitled Art Against Racism was also held inOctober. ARASI also continues to beinvolved in the work of the Asylum RightsAlliance. It is also developing guidelines torun projects, to enable better understandingof the refugee’s issues. Informationhighlighting issues of refugees and asylumseekers in Ireland can now be accessed fromour website at www.arasi.org.

ASSOCIATION OF REFUGEES AND ASYLUMSEEKERS IN IRELAND by Rutilio Lopez-Reyes

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?!*!!!!?!*?

As a foreigner in this country, and one whoshouts their foreignness at a distance, I havelearnt over the years to turn the other cheekat verbal insults which people seem toassume they have the right to hurl at me,and those like me, when we go about ourdaily business. However, it does not meanthat I do not mind such behaviour towardsme and my children and others like me.

In any given year, there is usually a numberof Australians, Canadians and US citizenswho come to Ireland, spend some timetravelling around and even get temporaryjobs, some which can last anything from ayear or more. Despite their presence, onedoes not hear a common loud outcry abouttheir presence and their taking of jobs andpositions from the citizens of this country.The absence of such an objection, coupledwith the loud outcry of ‘floods, hordes’when referring to those who come from theso-called ‘Third World’ and who happen topossess a melanin rich skin, convinces methat the objections expressed about thepresence of the latter has to do with plainracism. Why else is it alright for Irish peopleto travel every summer to the US to seeksummer jobs or placements in hospitals etc,but not alright for people from African orAsian countries to do the same? Why was italways alright for Europeans to exploit,plunder and pillage the resources of Africaand even trade in the peoples of thatcontinent quite freely and continue, in somemanner to do so in these ages but objectwhen those from that continent try to searchfor a better living in Europe? Cries such as:‘Europe is too small and crowded’ do notrun true when one considers that theEuropeans continue to travel to favouredparts of the world to help themselves withjobs and resources without expecting anyrestrictions in their exploits. In my opinion, ifit is acceptable for a person from Ireland toexplore possibilities of a better life elsewherein the world, including Africa, it should beacceptable for those in that continent to do

so in turn. The assumption that Europe, USand other western countries are the onlysource of expertise does not buy anymore.The notion that people from Africa are onlygood for manual jobs and cleaning jobs isalso not true and is itself based on racism.

In addition, there is a constant demand forone to justify one’s presence in the country.In my travels through Africa with Europeans,I have never witnessed them being quizzedabout their presence in that country andtheir reason for being there. Yet in Ireland,such questions continually plague one. Theyare never-ending and often come from thesame people: ‘Where do you come from?’‘Do you like it here?’ ‘How long are youintending to stay?’ ‘Why did you choose tocome here?’ ‘If you do not like it, why areyou here?’ etc. The often-repeated questionto a black person who answers ‘Ireland’ to‘Where do you come from? Where do youreally come from?’ belies the assumption thatto be Irish, one has to be Caucasian. Now,whilst bi-racial children were, in the past,condemned to life in the orphanages as ifthey would disappear into nothingness, it ishigh time those who hold such notions beaware that, in and outside Ireland, there arenumerous children born of Irish and otherparentage and that ‘other’ in places such asLiverpool and others, can often beCarribbean, African or African American.

'In this country, incidents of verbal insultsand verbal rapes are numerous.For some reason, people feel they are free tohurl racial abuse and taunts and spit at thedrop of a hat on the street, in a queue at abank, cinema, theatre etc., at a bar, that is ifone is courageous enough to venture neara bar/pub. Let us be clear that the StephenLawrence kind of incidents have not beenconfined to the streets of London only, eventhough there have not necessarily beenimmediate witnessed deaths on the streets ofthe cities yet. There are numerous incidentsone can quote including those where

VIEWPOINT BY ROSE T. BROCK

?!*?

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?!*?

people are refused tenancy even when therooms are still available. Some ofsuch incidents are perpetrated by the policeand done such that it is noteasy to report them and if reported they canaggravate the harassment andhindrance against normal day to dayexistence.'

Apart from recognised footballers andmusicians, there are numerous bi-racialchildren of part Irish parentage and oneassumes that they have the right to callthemselves Irish and be treated as such andshould not have to continually be calledupon to justify their Irishness.

The fact is, having taken so long to ratify theUN convention on racial discrimination andin the absence of an effective anti-racismlegislation, it has not been easy to do anything about such racist incidents. Now, evenwith legislation at last in place, the onus isstill on the victim to prove any such incidenthaving happened and this is intimidatingenough.

Apart from effective legislation, somepositive measures, to make people awareand to promote affirmation and acceptanceof people who are different, need to be inplace:

•The history of colonialism and its effectcould be part of the civics syllabus. Thiswould help the children to understandsome of the facts which have resulted inthe predicament of citizens of other states.

•Development education for teachers aswell as children should be promoted.

•Every person taking up a position wherethey serve or deal with members of thepublic, including children, should undergoanti-discriminatory and anti-racism training.Those who are already in the positionsshould also avail of any such training onoffer. This training, which can be in theform of regular workshops, in theworkplace should be given by trainers whohave been well trained to give it and whowill be adequately remunerated for givingsuch training.

•Wherever possible, an attempt must bemade by relevant government bodies toinclude members of different ethnic, racial,religious etc, especially if such bodies aresupposed to be serving members of thoseparticular groups.

•Representatives of the state and membersof the different media should themselvesbe mindful of the language they use andtake responsibility for the results ofemotive language some of them mightengage in.

•In the schools, during the early years,children could be introduced to children ofother lands. By reading stories from othercultures, showing them pictures of childrenand the various games they play. Thiswould give an opportunity for children tolearn that difference has nothing to do withsuperiority.

In conclusion, I wish to point the aim of thispaper is to make people aware of what isgoing on and how damaging racism can beto both the victims of it and the perpetratorsof it. This is an appeal for positive change.People who are black are human beingswith all the positive attributes of humanbeings. Whatever negative forms of charactersome of them might display are no more, noless just because they are black or differentin features and perhaps in their way of life.Difference, whilst it might be challenging, isnot necessarily threatening and can havepositive results if embraced and understood.

Rose T. Brock.

Rose T. Brock is a South African who hasbeen living in Ireland since 1979. She taughtScience (Biology and Physical Science) inHigh Schools in Zimbabwe, Kenya andLesotho before coming to Ireland. InIreland, she worked for a few years as apart time lecturer of Physiology in the thenGalway RTC. She is founder member of theGalway 'One World' Resource Centre andgroup. She has been involved in a varietyof issues relation to development education,justice in trade, 'Third World' Debt, racialawareness and gender and agediscrimination. She writes for theConnaught City Tribune and has publishedsome poetry.

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Advisory Committee on Equality for Older PeopleConsultative Meeting - Tullamore Court Hotel - 30 January, 2001

The Equality Authority is hosting a Consultative Seminar on Equality for Older People. TheSeminar is being held to inform the work of the Equality Authority’s Advisory Committee on

Equality for Older People. The Advisory Committee is currentlycompiling a report on the equality issues affecting older people.

The Equality Authority would like to invite older people to share theirviews on the themes outlined above and the recommendations whichshould be made. It is very important that the final report reflects theviews and aspirations of older people and that the recommendationswhich are made are practical.

The seminar will take place in the Tullamore Court Hotel on 30 January,2001. The seminar is free of charge and lunch and refreshments will beprovided. Transport to and from the hotel and the train station can bearranged for delegates where necessary.

For further details, or to book a place please contact Martina Kelly at theEquality Authority, Clonmel Street, Dublin 2, before Wednesday 20December 2000. Places are limited and will be given on a first come firstserved basis.

EQUALITY AND SOCIALJUSTICE: CHALLENGES FORTHEORY AND ACTION

Equality Studies Centre, UCD, 10th Anniversary Conference December 15th 2000

The purpose of the conference is tocontribute to the ongoing debate bothnationally and internationally, on how todevelop a more egalitarian society. The topicis particularly relevant in Ireland, at thebeginning of the new Millennium, becauseof the political changes, North and South;the challenges posed by the persistence ofeconomic inequality, in spite of increasedprosperity; the difficulties faced by refugeesand migrant workers living in Ireland; thegrowing pluralism of our society; and thechallenges faced by Ireland internationally asa global player in the field of social justiceand human rights.

This all day conference will includepresentations by:Professor Chris McCrudden, Chair ofHuman Rights, Lincoln College, Oxford -‘Equality and the Law’Professor Anne Phillips, Chair of GenderStudies, London School of Economics -‘Gender, Class and Justice’

Professor Andrew Sayer, Chair ofSociology, Lancaster University – ‘The Concept of A Moral Economy’Dr Alpha Connelly, Mr John Baker andProfessor Kathleen Lynch from theEquality Studies Centre will also presentpapers on core equality issues incontemporary Ireland.

The closing address, which will incorporatethe launch of Equality Studies Centre’s 10thAnniversary Report and Strategic Plan, willbe given by Mary Robinson, UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights.

The conference is also an opportunity forthe Centre to celebrate its contribution overthe past 10 years as a leader in the equalityfield. It has contributed to the education ofequality and social justice activists, fromIreland and many other countries, as well asundertaking extensive research and outreachwork in the equality field. The conferencewill help to identify future challenges for thework of the Centre.

Venue: O’Reilly Hall, Belfield Campus, UCD. Start time: 9.30amLunch will be provided, and there will be anevening reception at the close of theconference.

Further details are available form theEquality Studies Centre on (01) 706 7104.

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