Archive for May, 2008
« Previous EntriesEmigration and Samantha Power, ex-Obama adviser
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008An Irish Independent columnist has written a reflection piece on Dublin-born Samantha Power, the former foreign policy adviser to US presidential candidate Barack Obama. Writer John Crown focuses in on the emigration at an early age of Ms Power, who left Ireland at an early age with her mother and brother after the breakup of her parents’ marriage. He notes that although she has spoken of the difficulties of settling in, she has become a ‘simply staggeringly accomplished woman’.
What would have happened to Samantha if she had stayed in Ireland? What would she have been doing? Would she have been influencing international policy and winning Pulitzer prizes, or would she have been forced through party loyalty to stand in the tent at the Galway Races (thankfully now defunct — well done, Mr Cowen) and share pleasantries with the building industry?
Would she have been advising taoisigh on foreign aid, or responses to genocide or dealings with peak oil in a warming world, or would she instead be picking which incompetent to put in a given ministry in order to achieve regional electoral balance.
I think that Ireland could never have allowed her to thrive and grow the way that America did… [T]hank God she emigrated.
Read the article on IrishIndependent.com.
HSE sending children abroad involuntarily for care
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008A local newspaper report has revealed that it is HSE policy to send troubled children out of the country to as far away as the US – for services that they say are not available in Ireland. The report says that children are being held against their will, without physical contact with their families, and have had their passports confiscated.
The Mayo News is reporting this week that five teenagers who had been put into the care of the Health Service Executive are now in the Boys Town camp in Nebraska. The first teen was sent from Roscommon two years ago as part of what the newspaper calls ‘an experiment’; three more may be sent out by the end of May. The paper reports that it is the ordinary policy of the programme to only hold children against their will for a six-month period; after that, they are ordinarily free to leave. However, the passports of the Irish children have been confiscated, and a number of them have been kept against their will for six months, according to the report.
Another issue raised in the report is that it is Boys Town policy to encourage visits between families and children, but Irish parents have been denied access to their children.
The HSE acknowledged that its policy is to send young people abroad sometimes, in a statement to the newspaper:
From time to time the HSE use facilities outside its jurisdiction, including facilities in the UK and USA. These children are under the care of the HSE and are sent under the direction of the court for specialised treatment that is not available in Ireland. There would be regular reviews, care plans and ongoing contact between these facilities and HSE staff.
Kieran McGrath, a child welfare consultant told the Today FM’s evening drivetime programme that there are over 5,000 children in care in Ireland and about ten have been sent out of the country because the services the HSE says they need are not available here.
Of reports that they are being held against their will, Mr McGrath said, “Youngsters always want to go home, it doesn’t matter whether they are far away or near at home, youngsters will always want to go home, regardless of the circumstances.”
The newspaper concludes its report with the following:
In 1778, many Irish children that misbehaved were sent to New Zealand’s Botany Bay. It is astounding that 230 years later, children are still being sent to remote camps in far-flung parts of the world as a solution to their behavioural problems.
“Towards an Irish Diaspora Policy”: authors seek feedback
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008Two Maynooth academics have published “Towards an Irish Diaspora Strategy: A Position Paper”. Mark Boyle, a Geography professor, and Rob Kitchim, the Director of the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis and Chair of the Irish Social Services Platform, are welcoming feedback on the working paper, which is published by the NIRSA.
The paper suggests that it is now time to develop a unifying strategy for its relationship with the diaspora. With the shrinking Diaspora and the changing nature of the Irish experience both at home and abroad, Boyle and Kitchim say that strengthening Diaspora initiatives could extend social, cultural, political and economic benefits for all parties.
The authors say:
The central ethos of an Irish Diaspora strategy should be that by helping each other – building networks of support, sharing advice, creating new ventures – Ireland, the Irish Diaspora and their new country of residence, the ‘New Irish’ and their home countries, all benefit and nobody is exploited. Here it is important to conceive of the Diaspora not as a primed resource waiting to be tapped, but rather as a precious resource to be cared for and tended, valued and re-engerised. As such, a strategy should not be conceived in terms of using the Diaspora but growing in partnership with it.
The authors propose that four relationships should be considered in an Irish diaspora strategy:
- Ireland – Irish Diaspora
- Ireland – New Irish
- Irish Diaspora – Irish Diaspora
- Irish Diaspora – New Irish.
They note, “Our focus has been on growing together in partnership, but it should be noted that the question concerning the voting rights of Irish citizens abroad needs to be part of the wider discussion and consultation process concerning a Diaspora strategy.”
Boyle and Kitchim envision this document as part of the first step toward a Diaspora strategy; they envision a consultation period, the formulation of a “Green Paper” setting out the proposed strategy, a debate on that Green Paper leading to the drafting a White Paper, and then the implementation of the strategy.
See the working paper on the NIRSA website.
US agency warns of tighter ID requirements
Friday, May 16th, 2008The Emerald Isle Immigration Center in the US and the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers are alerting us to heightened security measures in the US that will tighten requirements on documents needed to pass through checkpoints. Anyone travelling through the US must have proper ID when crossing the border and even when travelling internally.
The press release says:
The Emerald Isle Immigration Center has warned travelers in the US that security at checkpoints will tighten considerably in May, as part of an overall security measure to catch those on ‘watch lists’. The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration issued statements last week announcing “greater clarity” on the types of identification that will only be accepted from next month at checkpoints in the United States.
The new measures will require that travelers produce official state-issued or federal ID to pass through checkpoints as of May 26, 2008. From that date onwards, all adult passengers aged 18 and over, will be required to show a US federal or state-issued photograph ID that contains their name, date of birth, gender, expiration date of the ID and a tamper-resistant feature. Official ID Documents that have acceptable features include Driver’s Licenses, US or foreign government-issued passport, US passport card, DHS “Trusted Traveler” cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST), US Military ID, Permanent Resident Card, Border Crossing Card, DHS-designated enhanced driver’s license, State-issued driver’s license (from a state that received REAL ID extension), a Native American Tribal Photo ID, an airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan, a Canadian provincial driver’s license and an Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card.
Samples of acceptable documents can be found at (PDF, http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/apis_documents.pdf)
Non-US/Canadian citizens are not required to carry their passports if they have US-issued documents or individual states, such as driver’s licenses or Permanent Resident Cards. Those people who do not have US-issued documents are now expected to be carrying their passports while visiting the US. In a statement explaining why the new measures were being enforced, the TSA said: “This standardization of the list of accepted documents better aligns TSA with other DHS components, including Customs and Border Protection, and REAL ID benchmarks.
“Between April 28 and May 26, passengers who present a photo ID that does not include a name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature will be reminded of the upcoming changes at the checkpoint. After May 26, passengers who do not present an acceptable ID may be subject to additional screening.”
Increased scrutiny and the additional requirements for government issued-identification by TSA while flying within the US carries the risk that foreign passports may be closely examined and result in further inquiry about immigration status. While there is no uniform policy or procedure in place by the TSA in this regard, there have been instances where individuals suspected to be undocumented have been turned over to the immigration enforcement authorities by TSA. Handwritten passports or passports issued within the US without entry stamps may be considered red flags and lead to further questioning.
Scholar sees hidden Irish in emigrant song
Thursday, May 15th, 2008“Paddy Works on the Erie”, a song that appears in different versions throughout the Irish diaspora, is a secret song that has an Irish-language message in its chorus, which was previously believed to be comprised on nonsense syllables.
Dan Cassidy, who wrote the acclaimed book, “How the Irish Invented Slang”, says that the song dates back to famine-era immigrants. Up until this time, the meaning of the chorus, “Fil-i-me-oo-re-i-re-ay” has been lost. Cassidy says it’s an English phonetic spelling of “fillfidh mé uair éiritheâ€? meaning, “I’ll go back, time to get up.”
Cassidy says,
Fillfidh mé uair éirithe, (pron. fill’ih may oo-er Ã-rÃheh, I’ll go back, time to get up), is the hidden refrain of working and rising, rising and working, that is the sanas-laoi (secret song) of Paddy and Colleen and all immigrant workin’ stiffs to America.
The article is a great reminder of Cassidy’s book – well worth a read for anyone interested in how the massive migration of Irish people in the 19th century affected the development of American slang.
See the article on the Counterpunch website.
Martin McDonagh’s Irish roots explored
Thursday, May 15th, 2008Martin McDonagh, the acclaimed second-generation Irish playwright, is featured in a Guardian profile that highlights the impact of his Irish background.
The article picks up on criticisms that the award-winning writer of the Leenane Trilogy is prone to “paddywhackery”. His critics, the article says,
argue that the use and overuse of Irish characters who are, when stripped down, psychotic and amoral has created a subset of the “Oirish” cliche, a kind of Tarantino-comes-to-Connemara.
Defenders, says the article, say
he deserves credit for not falling into the trap other sons and daughters of the Irish diaspora have found themselves in, one in which they end up romanticising and glorifying terrorism in the name of Ireland from afar.
While there seems a bit of cliche in the views outlined, the article is worth a read. See it on the Guardian website.
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