Sir, – Brianna Parkins’s Saturday column got me thinking (“Should young Irish people emigrate to Australia? I hate that my answer is yes”, Opinion, January 7th).
I am originally from Argentina but have been living in Ireland for the last 39 years. It was not economic problems in my country that brought me here, but love. When I came to Ireland unemployment stood at 20 per cent. That thankfully has changed, which shows how much Ireland has moved on.
Despite all the years that I have been here, I hesitate to criticize the country that received me so warmly so many years ago, where my children and grandchildren live. I don’t deny that I would like to have my own home, which at my age is not possible. I would like to see that doctors, nurses, teachers are valued, and not overworked. I would like to know that if I get sick there would be a bed for me in the nearest hospital. These are not extravagant demands but reasonable necessities.
If I had to put together my “ideal” country, like one chooses ideal football teams, mine would be as follows: I would like the cheap transport from Spain, the health system of Switzerland, the apartment blocks specifically for retired people of The Netherlands, the childcare benefits of Germany and the education system of Finland.
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But the other side of the coin is that most of the people in the world live not in the “greener” part but in the “less green” places, such as Central America and South America, Africa, India and much of Asia. For many people in these places the grass is not green and is unlikely to get greener because they can’t afford to leave.
Ask many people who come to Ireland, including my fellow Argentinians, and they will tell you that Ireland is their greener patch. Why? Because they can come and go with less fear of being attacked while out walking or driving home. Many have homes back in Argentina with hot water whenever you want but live in fear for their own lives. Here they feel they can trust a garda, that the banks are not going to close all of a sudden, depriving them of their savings. Here they don’t have to live with inflation that is presently at 60 per cent. Some of my friends washing dishes in Dublin restaurants used to have their own businesses in Argentina but would rather wash dishes than always feel afraid.
There are many things that Ireland can do better and can learn from Australia or Finland or Denmark, or whatever country one thinks is in a healthier situation. But to be able to live in Ireland is still a privilege.
We of an older generation must help younger people see that they have the power to change things. Our Government was not imposed on us; we elected it. I think we should encourage the younger generation to dream, to be discerning politically, to encourage them to vote, and to desire that change is accomplished not just for themselves but for the society as a whole.
People will always come and go; that’s what freedom is about. But we don’t want to create an environment where we always talk about half-empty glasses and the only thing we do about it is to look at the glass. – Yours, etc,
ANA MULLAN,
Smithfield,
Dublin 7.