Action demanded on racism
Dublin People 27 Nov 2011
A NIGERIAN native living on the Northside has spoken
out of the constant racial abuse he still suffers even after 14 years of living
in Ireland.
Clonsilla resident, Chinedu Oneyejelem, also revealed
how many of his Nigerian friends are reluctant to report incidents of racial
abuse to the authorities because they believe their complaints won’t be treated
seriously.
Mr Oneyejelem, who is the editor of multicultural
newspaper Metro Eireann, spoke out about his experience of living in Ireland in
a week when the Mayor of Naas, Darren Scully, was forced to step down after he
controversially said he would refuse to represent constituents of African
origin.
However, Mr Oneyejelem said Afrians in Ireland have to
face abuse on a regular basis.
“I’ve been verbally and racially abused by people of
all ages,
? he told Northside People.
“In the last three weeks alone I’ve been told to go
back to my country and someone else approached me derogatively saying
‘you
foreigner’.
“This attitude cannot be allowed to continue. I
believe there is a lack of leadership from the Government on tackling racism.
“It is in this context that we are demanding that the
Irish Government live up to its responsibility to protect all residents of this
country by implementing strong measures to end racism.
?
Mr Oneyejelem (42) was one of a number of immigrant
leaders and representatives who recently met to discuss the
“siege
? that has
been felt by non-Irish natives. This is as a result of what they described as
“unprecedented levels of racist attitudes, attacks and a lack of leadership
? on
the issue.
“We want to know why the Government hasn’t spoken out
as much as it should on the issue of racism,
? he said.
“Where are the anti-racism policies and programmes?
Our politicians need to adopt and highlight the standard that every human being
counts on regardless of their skin colour.
?
The Clonsilla native believes that his young children
will suffer even more vicious racism as they get older if the Government
doesn’t realise that
“actions speak louder than words
? in relation to the
matter.
“Personally I am very happy living here in Ireland but
I know many people who are not happy and have moved away as a result,
? he
explained.
“People are fed up. They are reluctant to report
instances of racism because they don’t think there’s any point and that their
reports won’t be taken seriously.
?
Last week, Darren Scully sparked shock and anger with
his outrageous comments and generalisation of the African community.
In a radio interview he said he refused to represent
“black Africans
? based on what he described as the
“aggressive attitude
? he has
experienced when representations were made to him by some members of the
community.
My Scully’s remarks were the worst example of
political ignorance, according to Mr Oneyejelem.
“I really don’t know what planet that man lives on,
?
he said.
“I believe it was the worst example of racism and
widely sweeping generalisation made by any political representative. How could
he tar a whole nation of people based on his experiences?
“I’ve been racially abused by Irish people but I would
never say that all Irish people are racists.
?
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