We are better than the fear mongers

EDITOR — I was deeply troubled by the tone of the debate reported on Cllr Alan O’Connor’s motion calling for the Council to affirm support for the protection of rights to those seeking international protection in last week’s issue of The Southern Star.

It would appear self-evident that the protection of basic international rights would be supported without equivocation, but this does not seem to have been the case.

We are ourselves a nation of migrants, leaving our homes en-masse when needs be, and thankfully for many, returning again when possible.

The idea that Ireland is full, or that we have done our bit and can now close the door to those seeking help and a better life, is based on faulty assumptions and downright closed mindedness. Years of mismanagement of our public service has left us with a shortage of housing and a struggling healthcare system, but this mismanagement can be corrected.

Scapegoating migrants, be they international protection applicants (a minority), those fleeing war in Europe, or economic migrants (the category we have long been a part of ourselves), is a dog whistle; stoking fear and resentment at an ill-defined ‘other’ in order to protect entrenched power structures.

We should be striving for better, not taking lessons from the worst and implementing our own ‘Ireland first’ style politics of division. Our economy and future relies on inward migration. You do not have to imagine a future ageing population requiring fresh faces for the workforce, simply look around at our local food industry which is heavily reliant on staff from overseas, be they here short-term or settled for the long term.

From our hospitals to our hospitality industry, migrants are helping make Ireland what it is.

The debate around Cllr O’Connor’s motion can not have made those members of our society feel very many welcomes in their new home.

Climate catastrophe will only increase the numbers arriving to our island in the coming years. We need to prepare for this now, building the infrastructure to absorb people into our communities rather than keeping them separate.

We are better than the fear mongers. We have a hundred thousand welcomes, and we have an innate understanding of people’s need to travel to far off shores in order to thrive.

Chris Heinhold,
Durrus.

We must continue protests to end this futile war

EDITOR - Worldwide protests to end the war in Gaza are happening everywhere. We need to protest outside the American embassies around the world as well because they are complicit in the slaughter of over 20,000 Palestinians. The US is the main supplier of weapons to Israel.

The world is calling for an end to this futile war in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. I am glad to hear it got a standing ovation at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in the presence of the Palestinian ambassador.

Noel Harrington,
Kinsale.

Moved by the generosity and love of donors

EDITOR – I write to thank your readers for the extraordinary kindness they have shown during 2023 towards those living in some of the poorest and most troubled countries on earth, by supporting the work of Christian Aid Ireland. I was especially moved by the outpouring of love shown for those affected by the Turkey-Syria earthquake, with donations of €600,000-€700,000.

In Gaza,1.9m people have fled their homes to escape the conflict, with most living in shelters where unsanitary and overcrowded conditions are leading to the spread of disease. Our partner has built mobile bathrooms in four shelters to support those living there.

Meanwhile, nine out of ten people in the Strip are going to bed hungry, with two-thirds going days without food. In response, our partner is working with local farmers to get fresh vegetables to families living in shelters.

Christian Aid Ireland is calling for an urgent and permanent ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and a commitment to building an enduring peace. Besides conflict, the other factor driving millions into poverty is climate change.

In Kenya, for example, flooding recently displaced almost half a million people from their homes, just months after the country emerged from severe drought. Besides bringing aid to those whose crops, livestock and homes have been affected, we are working to create a properly resourced Loss and Damage Fund to compensate countries affected by climate disasters.

This vital work is only possible because of the donations we receive. I am hugely grateful to your readers for the sacrifices they make to bring hope to communities living in poverty and crisis.

Rosamond Bennett,
Chief executive,
Christian Aid Ireland,
Dublin 2.

Doping our racing dogs is no laughing matter

EDITOR - Mrs Brown’s Boys’ Buster Brady’s fictitious charity, Home for Alcoholic Greyhounds in Finglas will need a name change if some greyhound owners/trainers insist on doping their greyhounds.

A trawl through cases investigated by the Greyhound Racing Control Committee for doping transgressions at Irish greyhound racing tracks reveals that greyhounds are being doped with drugs that make full use of letters of the alphabet Hydrochlorothiazide, pentobarbital, theobromine, naproxen and other exotic sounding drugs are somehow flowing into greyhound veins.

Depending on the betting gamble that is being undertaken, these drugs can slow a greyhound down or can speed up its running performance. The greyhound industry’s anti-doping programme, to ensure the integrity of this so-called sport, displays more gum than bite.

Since its inception in 1919 at a track in Emeryville, California, doping has been a feature of greyhound racing. For those who utter the guff that greyhound racing and hare coursing has to remain part of Irish society because of its ‘economic and social value’, then Mrs Brown’s regular expletive infused riposte fits the bill. That’s nice!

To inflict a Mickey Finn – careful now, Mrs Brown – on a greyhound, one of nature’s most gentle and trusting dogs, shows that some greyhound owners and trainers will jeopardise the well-being of an animal in pursuit of a grubby gamble. The only home for canine drug pushers should be prison. Then we can see who’s laughing.

John Tierney,
Campaigns director,
Association of Hunt Saboteurs,
Dublin 1.