The inauguration of a new organisation representing Africans in Ireland was marked yesterday by expressions of concern over racism, the inability to work and barriers to integration into Irish society.
The president of the newly established African Forum, Dr Taiwoo Matthew, said communities across Ireland must not buckle because of the fear of the unknown and the untried.
The Nigeria-born member of Ennis Town Council said the biggest issue facing African asylum-seekers in Ireland today was not being allowed by the Government to work.
"Not being allowed work is crushing and frustrating, and there is among the African community a lot of talent wasting and rotting away." he said.
More than 150 Africans attended yesterday's event in Ennis, Co CLare.
One man told the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Tony Killeen, that not being able to work made the public believe he was a parasite.
A woman said she still could not work in spite of being in Ireland five years as the Department of Justice had not made a decision on her application.
The chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, Mr Peter O'Mahony, said that Ireland, along with Denmark, had the most repressive regime in Europe in relation to the right to work for asylum-seekers.
"This part of Ireland's history will be seen as very unsatisfactory, with the Government adopting a nonsensical position," he said. There were huge barriers integrating into society and an absence of cohesive Government policy on immigration.
