It is time for a debate on the integration of immigrants so that they know where they stand, writes Bryan Mukandi
SOMEONE RECENTLY asked my wife if she was Irish. She is a black Zimbabwean who has been living here for the last eight years or so. This was the first time anyone has thought she might belong here.
One of the first questions that I'm asked whenever I meet someone for the first time is where I'm from. Many people who do not ask me that question just assume that I am Nigerian.
In fact, there are quite a few Irish folk who are of the impression that Zimbabwe and Nigeria are the same place, or next door to each other. As a black person, you quickly come to feel that there is one big box in the country's collective psyche called Africa, and that all black people are placed in that box until proven otherwise.
It does not take long for the observant outsider to realise that categories like African, Nigerian, Brazilian, Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Malay, Asian, Polish and east European are all related.
Some are subsets of others, many are incorrectly used interchangeably, and all belong to the bigger category known as immigrant.
A lot has been said about the so-called two-tier system of health here. That does not really surprise me because I come from a place that came to terms with the two-tier system a long time ago. What I found surprising was the subtle caste system.
From my understanding of the Indian caste system, the Brahmins were traditionally the teachers, scholars and priests. The Kshatriyas were the kings and warriors and the Vaishyas traders. Shudras were farmers, service providers and artisans. The Untouchables were considered as either a lower section of Shudras or were thought of as being outside the entire caste system.
While political power is said to have been in the hands of the Kshatriyas, the Brahmins were the keepers of religion. Based on that, I do not think it would be too much of a stretch to think of economists, academics and business leaders as our keepers of religion. Although once upon a time the heads of the church may have had that role, I doubt that the same is true today. Were Eddie Hobbs and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to go out and ask people to do conflicting things, my money would be on Eddie succeeding to sway the majority.
Today's Kshatriyas are led by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, and include his Cabinet, Dáil Éireann, the judiciary and Irish professionals. They are our modern-day kings and warriors, while our Vaishyas are the regular folks who are the heart and soul of this country.
They are Pat the postman in Collooney, the taxi driver who decided he would break down the country for me and orient me around its politics. And the lady from the supermarket on a minimum wage who reminds me of my mum and insists on referring to me affectionately as "pet". These people are the Vaishyas as far as I can tell. Then there are the Shudras, those whose role it is to serve but who get to maintain their dignity. From where I stand, that's where that box called immigrant goes. Doctors, accountants, business people, waiters and waitresses, artisans, care givers . . . we all fit into this one group.
The only thing we have in common is that we do not belong. The exclusion many of us feel is such that most immigrants share a connection with others in the same boat even if they are from the other side of the world. My Polish friends and I sometimes play a game where we compete about which of us are most harshly judged based on nationality.
The bottom rung on the social ladder belongs to the Untouchables. These were outcasts, treated almost like biblical lepers. The treatment and attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees in today's Ireland at times is as cold. Lepers had to shout out, "leper, leper!" when a "clean" person approached them. Because that requirement no longer exists, there are some in the immigrant community who feel they are treated badly as a result of mistaken identity.
They are professionals who, when at work, are treated respectfully by clients and colleagues. When not in their places of work and with no proof of their social standing, they join the ranks of the Untouchables.
I wonder what it will take for my wife to consider herself, and to have others consider her, Irish. As far as I am concerned, I am a Zimbabwean but she is a Dub. What bar will she need to clear for the guy on the street to consider her one too? And what about her friend who was born in Ghana but has lived here for over 20 years? Then there is the little Nigerian girl from church who has lived in an asylum house for years, speaks a little Irish and was showing off her Irish dancing the other day. Where does she belong?
I am planning on living here for the foreseeable future. This country has, all things considered, been pretty good to me. Because of that, I want to give back to Ireland as I take from it. I want to contribute to this country but I feel as though Ireland does not know what to do with me. Minister of State Conor Lenihan recently reiterated his call for a debate on the integration of immigrants. I sincerely hope his call is taken seriously and some sort of public consensus is reached. If nothing else, we will all know where we stand.