KAREN CRYAN,
Sir, - With regard to so much negative publicity lately about asylum-seekers, I would like to add a few words on a personal note. I have worked directly with asylum-seekers for the last 1½ years in the capacity of trainer on a Preparation for Work course.
The people I have worked with have always shown great interest in getting work and/or training and upskilling themselves. The problem as I see it is that because the vast majority of Irish do not have any contact with asylum-seekers, they revert to stereotypes. When people are different from us, unless we have direct contact with them that will breakdown those stereotypical images, each group grows more isolated from each other.
The answer I am convinced lies in our common humanity. I have always found that I have more in common than not with the wide variety of people I have worked with. And when we can talk to each other, have the crack, discuss our children, our worries and so on, this is when we can lose our sense of difference and see instead our huge amount of similarities.
Now that our children are in school together, we can at least have some hope for the future. As for the Immigration Control Platform, I think that it is sad that in this troubled world, people are devoting their energies to fuelling negative beliefs, rather than to something positive and constructive. - Yours, etc.,
KAREN CRYAN,
Dunboyne,
Co Meath.