Madam, - It was left to Pavee Point, spokespeople for our own marginalised, to draw attention to the outrageous living conditions of the Romanian families living in squalor on an M50 roundabout.
Their call was supported by many like minded groups with a genuine social conscience. They appealed to "official Ireland". Fingal County Council said: "We are liaising with the HSE and gardaí but we can do nothing because the families do not have a right to social benefits. . ." The Department of Justice said: "The various Government departments are considering all of the issues in this matter".
A spokesperson for the Romanian community in Ireland was concerned that Romanians would be given a bad name. And so it went on.
This reaction reminds me of the writer Christopher Nolan's description of those in authority in a certain place as "being well versed in the many ways of saying NO". In these days of plenty and of the reputed Celtic Tiger, the old reliable came to answer Pavee Point's call. Crosscare, an organisation of the Archdiocese of Dublin, immediately organised buses to bring the families to Holles Row for hot meals and showers. Crosscare depends mostly on the voluntary contributions by Mass-goers to its annual collection.
In the great EU there are many inequalities and much hypocrisy but nothing to match this. The Roma are entitled to come into Ireland, but not allowed to work - and then they are condemned for begging. The latest action of "official Ireland " is to try to organise their deportation to conditions which are apparently even worse than those on the M50 roundabout - but at least they will be out of sight.
Thank God for Pavee Point and Crosscare. They are shining models for our young people of how to react when ordinary folk find themselves in need of help. I hope the public will support both of these groups both vocally and financially. - ls mise,
DONAL DONNELLY,
Meadowbrook,
Dundrum,
Dublin 16.
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Madam, - The Romanian embassy says it has been informed that members of the Roma family who have been camping beside the M50 had sold their houses to come and live in Ireland (Weekend Review, July 21st).
Sara Russell of Pavee Point disputes this and instead believes the Roma family, saying: "We can only go on what the people tell us and take it on face value." Why does Ms Russell take the word of the Roma family at face value and not that of the representatives in Ireland of the Romanian government and people?
It seems the some people believe that anybody who comes off a boat or plane to this country and claims to be discriminated against and/or oppressed must be telling the truth. With this comes a demand for resources to be allocated to them and, further on, demands that our society must change to accommodate newcomers. All this in spite of the fact that such woolly multiculturalism has failed miserably in many of our European neighbours.
Many of these countries (France, Holland, Denmark etc.) have seen riots, ghettoisation, a breakdown of social harmony and cohesion, and a massive increase in support for far-right parties - all because minorities, and more pertinently their advocacy groups, have demanded more and more rights but have not been asked to accept the responsibilities that go with these rights. Indeed, demands that immigrants make an effort to integrate into host societies are still met in some quarters with accusations of bigotry and racism.
We have a chance to learn from other people's mistakes and make clear to immigrants to this country what is and is not acceptable behaviour - such as putting a six-month-old baby out to beg on the street. Sadly, if the hectoring letter from Dr Joanna McMinn (July 21st) and the verbose and one-dimensional article by Niall Crowley are anything to go by, it seems straight talking is still not on some agendas. - Yours, etc,
PAUL WILLIAMS,
Circular Road,
Kilkee,
Co Clare.