Siobhán Kangataran: Our migrant communities need your voice

Irish Examiner

13 hours ago

In response to a recent spate of violent attacks against members of the Indian community in Ireland, the Embassy of India issued a warning to its citizens here to '​​take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours.' This warning, while well-intentioned, seems misdirected and ineffective in its intended protection against these unwarranted attacks on innocent people. I sincerely doubt the gangs of violent teens undertaking these attacks are carrying out citizenship tests before they pick their unlucky target. Nor would I imagine they are able to discern between Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or any person of another South Asian heritage.
I am of mixed white Irish, Indian and Sri Lankan descent, but I am often mistaken for being of Mediterranean origins, so should all people with a tan be asked to stay constantly vigilant for fear of clashing with racist attackers? Would it not be more effective for everyone — regardless of ethnicity or citizenship — to stop racism long before it gets to the stage of violence?
Racism doesn't start with physical attacks. The Irish Network Against Racism 'Pyramid of Hate' demonstrates how racism begins with bias, stereotyping, and insensitive remarks. Then it progresses through acts of prejudice to discrimination before we get to acts of violence and eventually the ethnic cleansing and genocides that we are seeing in Palestine, Sudan and the Congo. To paraphrase George Orwell, some lives are clearly less equal than others.
As a woman of mixed ethnicity, I am very aware of the benefits that brings — I have an Irish first name, an Irish passport, an Irish accent, and am light skinned enough that only Indian people seem to be able to identify my Indian heritage. In the past, I might have kept my head down and avoided speaking out about an issue I could choose to avoid, but if I have learned anything from the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 and the Palestinian solidarity movement since 2023, it is that the people who are not directly affected by a crisis are often in the best position to effect change.
Who are people more likely to listen to? Who is more likely to change people's minds? Is it the people who stand to benefit directly from a change in society — people who may already look, sound or act differently from the majority? Or are we more likely to listen and learn from people who feel familiar to us and can communicate in a way we are open to receiving?
People take part in a silent assembly for migrant workers and their families outside the Department of the Taoiseach in Dublin, following the recent attacks on members of the Indian community. Picture: PA
One of the reasons I moved back home to Ireland from London after 11 years away was the awe (and envy!) I had for the progressive changes in Irish society. This progress was hard-earned through grassroots movements and conversations over the kitchen table. We still have a long way to go before we achieve full reproductive freedom, but we would not have 'repealed the 8th' if people had not been willing to sit down and have uncomfortable conversations with their nearest and dearest. Similarly, while we are far from achieving full equality and inclusion of our LGBT+ community, we would not be celebrating the 10th anniversary of marriage equality if allies had not listened to their LGBT+ friends, family and colleagues.
Working in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), it is technically my job to educate people about racism (and sexism and ableism and all the other 'isms and phobias), but that is a choice I have made. Not all members of a minority are willing or able to also be an advocate for their identity. Some people want and need (and deserve!) to just exist, as human beings, without having to also constantly fight for their right to do so in peace. So while in EDI we often say 'nothing for us without us', it's important we all remember that this means listening and learning from people with lived experience (and then taking action), rather than leaving it to a minority to solve a problem that is not of their making.
Racists have recently become more emboldened in society, fuelled by high-profile public figures and politicians playing identity politics to point the finger at more marginalised groups. Blaming immigrants for issues within a government's control turns all black and brown people (regardless of their citizenship) into vulnerable targets, scapegoated for problems caused by people in power.
While we have not quite descended to the depths of the racist immigration raids in the US, we cannot ignore the increasing encroachment of subtle but harmful racism into Irish politics
In 2024, then taoiseach Simon Harris made comments that were problematic, to say the least, erroneously linking asylum seekers to homelessness in Ireland. This not only conveniently shirked any responsibility for the government to solve the housing crisis, it further fuelled the disinformation peddled by people pushing racist 'Ireland for the Irish' rhetoric. (For anyone not aware, international protection applicants are not included in the homelessness figures — sadly we have plenty of unhoused Irish people before we even get to those vulnerable people fleeing their home countries seeking a safer place to live).
Angela Davis, the Black American academic, philosopher, and activist once said: 'In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.' If you do not support racism, it is not enough for you to stay silent while racists get louder and more brazen. If you do not want to see racist acts committed in your town, county or country, then you must take action to stop them from happening wherever you see it. Name it. Call it out. Condemn it. Hold people accountable for it. You may feel awkward at first, and you will make mistakes, but you will get better with practice. Surely a little discomfort is a small price to pay to make society safer for everyone?