Immigrants into Ireland should make themselves “an asset” to Irish society because they have found a country where they can live “freely and safely”, an awards event in Dublin has heard.
“Show you’re not here for social welfare, you’re here because you can make a difference and because you’re a human being,” said Dr Jean-Pierre Eyanga Ekumeloko, one of the recipients of the Dublin South City Partnership (DSCP) awards for ambassadors of African descent.
“Make yourself an asset for Ireland because Ireland has given us the chance to live freely and safely. We owe it to Ireland.”
Reflecting on his own journey from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Ireland in the 1990s, Dr Ekumeloko said he was able to “fly high” because of the Irish teachers, academics, politicians, gardaí and businessmen who helped him along the way.
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Dr Ekumeloko was one of 14 people honoured for their work in health, education, advocacy, politics and community development at a ceremony in Dublin’s Richmond Barracks on Thursday as part of the Decade of People of African Descent in Ireland.
Other recipients included Bulelani Mfaco from the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland; psychiatric nurse Olubukola Amudat Idowu; Garda Emmanuel Adepoju; social worker Bronwyn April and PhD candidate Gordon Ogutu.
The event highlighted the “key skills” these people have brought to Ireland, said DSCP chief executive Una Lowry. “From enterprise to employment, we need these people coming in to keep the country running.”
Despite already being highly skilled in their area of expertise, many of the award recipients had to upskill when they moved here, she added.
“It can be very difficult for a person who has faced adversity in their own country to come to Ireland, go through direct provision, gain status, and start again,” said Ms Lowry. “They’ve gone through a lot of trauma before coming here and then the trauma of trying to gain status within this country. They shown huge resilience in doing that.”
Dublin city Community Cooperation chief executive Noel Wardick noted the significance of holding the event at a time of heightened tensions around immigration.
“It’s a very depressing, dangerous situation we’re in at the moment,” he said. “The political narrative has taken a very bad turn and we would call on politicians to be very cautious about the language they use and equally the media in how it reports it.”
Ireland already had an “appalling record of treating vulnerable people”, such as single mothers and disabled people, said Mr Wardick.
“That we would have an equally appalling record in treating some of the most vulnerable people reaching our shores doesn’t come as a surprise. And that’s a very sad thing to have to say,” he said. “We have a tendency in this country to portray ourselves as warm and welcoming but I think if you scratch the surface, it’s only certain individuals or certain classes of society that are treated warmly and welcomingly.”
DSCP community integration officer Mpho Mokotso, who organised Thursday’s event, said those who believe migrants are “uneducated” and here “to take from the Government” are being “misled”.
By putting themselves out there, the award recipients are “tackling the misconceptions being spread by social media and the far right,” said Ms Mokotso.
“The Irish have the dream of living in the US, Canada, Australia, Australia. Ask yourself, are you migrant when they get there? Should people not treat you the same in those countries? Why is it different when you move away, but it’s the opposite when people come here?
“We all want the same thing, we’re all human at the end of the day.”
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