Madam, - My name is Shobha Banerjee. I am a painter of Indian origin, I live and work in Paris, and I have been studying English in Dublin.
As a foreigner in this country, I would like to convey to you my impression of Irish society. I am doing it because I think that my ideas will give Irish people an insight into life in Ireland, and also, because I feel very strongly about it.
It is with great regret that I say that Ireland is plunged into sheer consumerism and materialism at the moment. Irish people are consuming too much and all the time. Moreover, they are always thinking or talking about buying and selling, producing, discarding or dumping things and consumption has become an end in itself.
I have not yet seen the country of poets and writers, of spiritual and cultural values, as I expected it to be.
Instead I see a rip-off society, mindless consumerism, a lot of pollution and social problems. Confronted with these problems, a handful of Irish men and women who are perplexed but mindful of the danger, are trying to understand the situation in their country.
I hope the Irish readers will understand my point of view and consider it to be a constructive criticism. - Yours, etc.,
SHOBHA BANERJEE International House Dublin, Dublin 2.