Letters: Indian community deserve gratitude for their contribution to society

Irish Independent

13 hours ago

An attack recently on a chef going to work, in which he was beaten and had his mobile phone, cash, credit cards and electric bike stolen, was a despicable act of terrorism on an innocent man.
Last month, a taxi driver of Indian origin was assaulted in north Co Dublin and needed a dozen stitches to a head wound.
A six-year-old Indian girl was attacked by a group of 12- to 14-year-old boys while playing outside her house in Waterford.
Some Indian children are now afraid to go for a walk for fear of being attacked. What a sad situation in our country of 'a hundred thousand welcomes'.
President Michael D Higgins is quite rightly upset by this treatment dished out to these people who have come to our country to work and raise their families.
They make an immense contribu­tion to our community in many aspects of life. Many are nurses, doctors, caring professionals, cultural leaders and politicians.
Indeed, Ireland was led by Leo Varadkar (of Indian parentage) for a number of years, including through the Covid-19 pandemic, when his great leadership skills were to the fore.
In my own experience of being attended by Indian nurses and doctors in a Dublin cancer centre of excellence over a long period, I have nothing but the greatest respect for these wonderful healthcare profess­ionals.
Let us all hope that as more awareness is being brought to this unfair treatment of our Indian population, we will remember the philosophy of the great Mahatma Gandhi: no violence, please.
Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo
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It's time for diplomats to use their skills to hold UN Security Council to account
Is it not blindingly clear to everyone that the United Nations, an organisa­tion that was set up to ensure a degree of peace in the world, is not fit for purpose?
Countless letters to your news­paper over the years on the appalling situations in Gaza, Ukraine and other places around the world express public frustration indignation and disgust. But to what avail?
Aggressors are still protected by their powerful international partners in crime as they proceed with their atrocities in defiance of worldwide opprobrium. Nothing seems to change.
Has the time not come to put a stop to this protection by removing the veto that the five UN permanent members of the Security Council have abused so egregiously over the years?
I would suggest that Ireland's diplomats, who are highly regarded internationally, should start the ball rolling on this before it is too late.
Bobby Carty, Templeogue, Dublin 6
Impotent governments doing nothing about Gaza must answer to electorates
Mary Robinson recently referred to the possibility of 'complicity' by many governments in relation to the actions of Israel's government in Gaza and the West Bank.
While many democratically elected governments continue to express 'concern' at Israel's actions, not one has taken any direct action against its government.
These governments also seem to refuse to listen to their electorates in this regard, raising questions relating to democracy.
We need to let our elected representatives know our views. There can be no justification for the continuing Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
We should and must hold our elected representatives to account – democratically, of course.
Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork
Ireland does not have a teacher shortage, it has a compensation deficiency
It has been reported that more than 600 teaching posts remain vacant ahead of the new school term. The shortage of teachers is a growing concern.
Reasons are multifaceted and involve recruitment and retention challenges related to pay, housing and working conditions.
A teacher friend of mine said to me that this was not only a workforce issue, but the paucity of teachers was a sign of our housing crisis too.
It is no coincidence that most of the schools that are reporting serious recruitment difficulties are located in the capital and the comm­uter belt areas, where accommodation is both scarce and prohibitively expensive.
It could also be argued that there is no teacher shortage in this country. Ostensibly, we have thousands of qualified teachers who are no longer teaching.
It's my assertion that there's a shortage of respect and proper compensation for teachers.
I believe that a key factor behind the teacher supply crisis in Ireland is that teaching is no longer seen as being an attractive and sustainable career.
It is interesting to note that many Irish teachers are now pursuing opportunities to teach abroad.
This is often driven by factors like professional development, cultural exchange and a desire to experience new educational systems.
This should be a clarion call to Education Minister Helen McEntee to take up the cudgels on behalf of our teachers.
John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Trump and Putin forgot their table manners when sending out invites to talks
The world will surely note the scenes in Alaska, where Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed the fate of Ukraine without Ukraine's president present.
It was a worrying precedent: great powers deciding borders as if drawing lines on someone else's kitchen table.
If this is to become the way of things, one wonders what might happen should Mr Trump turn his attention to 'uniting' Ireland.
The negotiations would no doubt be held somewhere suitably neutral, such as Florida, with our own leaders invited only to admire the pens used to sign the agreement.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
US and Russia making a meal of things as they try to cook up a peace deal
It's early days yet, but what are the odds on the Putin-Trump summit being remembered as half-baked Alaska?
M O'Brien, Dalkey Co Dublin