My Apology

Due to other committments I have been away from the Blog.I will be back soon!

Words of Wisdom from a Departing Non-EU doctor

So you have read the article in Medicine Weekly and wants to know more .Fine read the previous posts to define certain things I wrote in my article.But you need to be proactive and and to ask the right questions:is it true that rasicm is common in Ireland among the medics?if common how common? what is the contribution of non-eu doctors to Medicine in ireland?do they deserve a protected and specialized training or they are OK with the EUROS they get and their countries don't need specialization any way as they are (and will be) third world countries? assume one morning all non-eu doctors took time off how is the Health system will run?? and more questions and answers are welcome.........

From Sudan with Love

Unplanned trip home.Arrived at 6 pm,temp 38C.I stayed in the capital khartoum first night.I walked into an old acquaitance of mine(He is originally from Darfur,went into Big business with good connections with China and things re so fine that his family moved to live in London when he is travelling looking after business.). I met him last night and he wanted his son to come to Ireland for training as his son just finished medical training in China.When I offered him an academic opinion about how to and the requirements he interrupted me to tell his son is going there for good " You know he is going to tell them that he is from Darfur and things will be fine as a friend told him"-This what he said to me.....................And I couldn't say more than OK that is fine!!!!! .I felt as if I had never belonged to Sudan.Another Holocaust story for sale.As if we never lived together as Sudanese ( Sudanese= Sudanese.There is no actual sub nations,Arabs,africans,..etc.There are tribes though and the worst are the political tribes and the business tribes.AKA some of the so called African Darfur tribes belonged to this current goverment and when things didn't work they remembered they are different and decided that they are Africans....I do admit alot of the poor and humble Darforians are victims of the goverment( and who isn't? You need some connections with some body on the far side of the World to adopt your cause for whatever reason:to bring civilization,GOD,business or to save the Dying Africans and hee you go.).Read This Link which gives some insight to the conflict.Further reference will follow
Khartoum is not the same city I knew from before,there is a hell of China City without the Chinese.Chinese products swamped the city (including the good,the bad and the harmfull stuff) and money is generated for some of the new Sudanese Rich (who are very very few as most of the people are poor and some money is being lodged in the real China banks.
One amazing commodity is MOBILES ,shops of all types of accessories and types of products and aren't we all talking.As least we don't have any excuse that we could miss any news in the world.In sudan we like "missed calls" it is the best method to save many i.e you get somebody to satify your need to chat and you get him/her to pay???(a definition of a miss call aka missed call is when you try to to answer the caller will hang up to get you to call back).

and the DSL is there so alot of people are on the web cam and the messenger and LOVE is on the air!!!!

25.06.2006 Khartoum

Sharing Some Snapshots of my Personal Journey(1)

]
(See letter to the editor in Medicine Weekly 12.7.2006)

I will share with you some snap shots of my personal journey.My failures should guide you to avoid my mistakes and hence perfom better .You are going also to find out that you may see the" Empire naked" but you can't say any thing and rather have to praise his nice dress (That will be your personal choice.I once decided to tell his highness that he was naked and I ended up be told that I was "naive and I should be "cute" and do it the "Irish way" AKA lie and praise His Highness,....... it is a long story will come to it).

1. Non Sleepers Force (NSF= National Service For all).It is the group of Non-Eu doctors running the doctor on call service in Ireland.I had experience with three of such locum agencies the majority of thier staff are Non-Eu who provide all the care needed for sean and Mary 24/7 .I suggest somebody to look at the service provided by such great doctors ,providing the quick care and continuous care for patients.NB Even if the patient lands on an A&E who wil see them first?another question to answer.
2. The Bell Curve and how it affects you:it is a book trying to explain the difference in performance between the The White Americans and Non white americans based on racial difference of intelligence .It says if you are black American your best is not good enough compared with a white mate? see review of the book here or you can read about Race and Intelligence here .Have aread and tell us what you think.
3. The microcephalin and the ASPM genes: Prof Lahn had written some work & other papers about those genes he relates to the development and the size of the brain.thwe bad news is THAT THE AFRICANS AND SOME OTHER ASIANS lack those genes??
4. The Jargon of belonging to the Irish (how to get naturalized=citizenized):See other posts in my blog.
5. Review the Books mentioned in the Article: will follow

How "Natural " can a foreigner get? (1)

When a foreigner lands in Ireland and decides to stay ,he or she is supposed to go through a” Naturalization" process. I will look at this from a personal perspective in my future posts.

• Naturalization: (From www.Answers.com)
The noun naturalization has 4 meanings:
1: the quality of being brought into conformity with nature
2: the proceeding whereby a foreigner is granted citizenship
3: the introduction of animals or plants to places where they flourish but are not indigenous
4: changing the pronunciation of a borrowed word to agree with the borrowers’ phonology

Whereas Wikipedia has more interesting information here

• Denaturalization:
Philosopher Giorgio Agamben, who wrote Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power or Bare Life (1998), underlined the various denaturalization laws passed after World War I by most European countries:"It is important to note that starting with the period of World War I, many European states began to introduce laws which permitted their own citizens to be denaturalized and denationalized. The first was France, in 1915, with regard to naturalized citizens of "enemy" origins; in 1922 the example was followed by Belgium, which revoked the naturalization of citizens who had committed "anti-national" acts during the war; in 1926 the Fascist regime in Italy passed a similar law concerning citizens who had shown themselves to be "unworthy of Italian citizenship"; in 1933 it was Austria's turn, and so forth, until in 1935 the Nuremberg Laws divided German citizens into full citizens and citizens without political rights. These laws - and the mass statelessness that resulted - mark a decisive turning point in the life of the modern nation-state and its definitive emancipation from the naive notions of "people" and "citizen."

• Citizenize : (I is an interesting verb it looks like it has been replaced by naturalize although it is more accurate.See coming post)

v.b;To make a citizen; to admit to the rights and privileges of a citizen.
citizenize was used and explained by Senator Young, of Illinois, in the Senate on February 1, 1841, and he gave Noah Webster as authority for it

• Decetizenize:
We have no law -- as the French have -- to decitizenize a citizen. --Edw. Bates

Found in 4 dictionaries
1. Dictionary.com
2. Online Plain Text English Dictionary
3. Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition
4. AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary

When Mary met B.Paddy (from My Diary)

I took the train from Belfast to Dublin.The journey was interesting, but was really amazing when B.Paddy ( a Black Paddy working as inspector in the train ) met Mary (an elderly REAL Irish sitting with her husband).As routine inspection of all travelers Mr B.Paddy asked the couple to show him their tickets and they had only one ticket.He asked for the second ticket but they said as the husband holds a free pass they got only one ticket .He informed them that they need another ticket and he gave them a form to fill in and would give them the second ticket.It looked OK to me .but as Mr B.Paddy left the couple ,the wife was so angry that a Black Paddy will ask them for the second ticket and that it never happened to them before.The husband looked wiser and wanted to fill in the form but Mary took it from him and after started writing ,she said " I wish I wrote it in Irish" .Then I got interested as it looked like there is a problem that a Black Paddy had asked for the ticket and started thinking about David Mc Williams' book "The Pope's Children" ,who as potential leaders of the Irish society will have difficulty to read Irish if Mary wrote her form in Irish .While I was thinking I came back to reality when she said to her husband " They come from where ever they come to take the jobs of our kids" -referring to the Black Paddy- and that "he is just being difficult ,and thank God he is not paying the cost of the ticket"-As an actual employee ,I believe Mr B.Paddy pays all his duties some of which goes to the social services which contribute to the care of REAL elderly Irish citizens - and she kept on and on and on about this B.Paddy ending by advising her husband to leave the form on the desk and not to hand it over to such a guy-the poor hard working B.Paddy who would have thought that he is NATURAL enough to be accepted as a member of the society ,but is he?.

I know it is difficult and wrong to generalize from Mary's behaviour and to say it is what every other REAL Mary or REAL Paddy would do.But we need to ask the question why did it happen? whose duty is it to inform Mary of this gentleman's contribution to the society?many other questions came to mind and many other anecdotes came to mind but thank God we arrived at Connolly station and I had to get the Luas to where I live.

The Gardi and Ireland's Diversity

The upcoming campaign by the gardai to recruit ethnic minorities into the force is to be commended. It is about time a major State employer such as the gardai recognised the importance of reflecting Ireland's increasing diversity within its structures.Metro eireann hopes that other State employers, such as the Defence Forces, will follow suit sooner rather than later.It is also vital for the Public Appointments Service to target migrants with information about public jobs which are available. This does not mean giving them preference over native Irish people. It simply means recognising that application details and entry requirements will be more alien to those who have not grown up in Ireland.The time is right for the gardai to step up its anti-racism training at the garda training college in Templemore, Co Tipperary. Metro eireann understands that current anti-racism education for trainee gardai is a tiny fraction of their overall preparation for life in the force.Now that native gardai will be working alongside ethnic gardai, it is crucial that gardai are as informed as possible about different cultures – and this certainly includes educating ethnic gardai about Irish mannerisms, customs and even 'slang', which they will actually need to know in order to carry out some of their duties. At press time, metro eireann had not been informed of any plans to tailor training for minorities in areas where they may be lacking, nor has there been any indication yet that anti-racism training will be increased.The gardai must also plan for a number of issues which will stem from the recruitment of minorities. These issues will include uniform requirements for minorities such as members of the Sikh religion, updating and expanding its equality policy, and having a system in place which helps ensure racism doesn't play a part in promotion and deployment of ethnic officers.The gardai have taken an important step, and we will watchdevelopments with interest over the coming months and years.
The artcile was taken from www.metroeireann.com/

LEADER BE YOUR BEST...AND BEYOND.(Book Review)

Leader
Authors: Catherine Doherty/John Thompson
ISBN No: 340856300
Publisher: Hodder
Website: http://www.qlearning.com/

(LEADERSHIP IS CREATING AWORLD FOR WHICH OTHER POEPLE WANT TO BELONG)

This book is an interesting read .It consists fo eleven chapters ,well written and streamlined.Chapter one is"Everyone can be aleader" while chapter two is introduction to Leadership styles;you can use different styles in different situations.Read this chapter twice ,it is fantastic.All leaders need to know what they want to achieve,plan it,unlock their thinking and communication abilities and have values and beliefs.Then a leader should interact as a leader with powerfull communication.A leader needs to balance life and work and be his best.

There is a progress chart at the end of each chapter which is usefull .Still you need to have the book on your desk as it is a quick refernce.

The Blog rating of the book:

When a Black woman said NO ( Diary Clip)

What would have happened if she said "It is OK" the way the blacks lived in America then?.What benefits did Blacks get from her movement?.How many did think they would do what she did but they did not?Was she"Anti-White" or "Pro-Black" or was she just a normal human being who believed in Equality!!!!

New Connections, Old Exclusions: Ethnic Minorities in Ireland’s Information Society (Media Monitor)

New Connections, Old Exclusions: Ethnic Minorities in Ireland’s Information Society

Ireland: From a country of emigrants to one of immigrantsIreland

until the very recent past, was a country of re-occurring and sometimes massive emigration. This, however, does not mean that there were no immigrants and minority ethnic groups (for example, Jews, Travellers, Chinese) in the country before the pronounced presence of the visible ‘other’ from the 1990s. In-migration and minority ethnic groups “have been a reality in Ireland long before the moral panics created by the arrival of a relatively small number of asylum seekers in the 1990s (Lentin, 2001).” Dr Ronit Lentin’s perception is shared by Fintan O’Toole (2000), Piarais MacEinri (2000), and Robbie McVeigh (2002). Prior to the mid-1990s when in-migration surpassed out-migration for the first time, immigration to Ireland was low, intermittent and mainly from the United Kingdom, the United States of America and continental Europe. The immigrant groups consisted mainly of retirees and high-skills immigration (mostly non-permanent) within the multinational sector (MacEinri, 2001).

To Read the Full Report

Black Africans ‘most likely to suffer racism in Ireland’(Media Monitor)

As reported in the Irish Times on March 13,2005 by prof Maureen Reddy (Professor of race relations from Northeastern University in Boston).Prof Reddy Concludes:

1. A hierarchy of attitudes exists to different ethnic groups
2. Racism is expressed largely in terms of a willingness to work, with those excluded from Irish society characterised as lazy
3. In a survey of Irish attitudes, 63% of those polled felt travellers were not like the rest of the Irish population, with 23% admitting to being “unfavourably disposed” to them. Black Africans were the only other community found to provoke similarly negative responses, with those questioned citing a culture of laziness and fraud.
4. The research found that negative attitudes to work were applied to both the Traveller and the black community. At the other end of the scale, Chinese immigrants were generally portrayed in a favourable way, having a stereotypical “hard-working” character
5. Although immigration is a new phenomenon in Ireland, a hierarchy of attitudes is already solidifying. According to Reddy: “The Irish are at the top and recent African immigrants at the bottom.” In between, in roughly descending order are white European immigrants, the established Asian community, travellers and Roma people
6. Refers to a 1997 episode of Father Ted to illustrate the differing degrees of acceptance immigrant groups have found in Ireland. “Satire can easily deal with comic representations of the Chinese-Irish community whereas there is no similar treatment of the African community. It would not be possible to portray such a comical representation of the black community without straying into conscious racism.”

Africans In Ireland: Developing Communities (Media Monitor)

Africans In Ireland: Developing Communities
By Fidele Mutwarasibo & Suzanne Smith
Published by African Cultural Project: December 2000.

This report attempts to answer the following questions:

1. Do Africans in Ireland experience a sense of community belonging and what does ‘community’ mean for Africans?
2. What barriers exist (if any) which prevent the development of, and participation in communities for African immigrants?
3. What kinds of resources do Africans identify as necessary to support their communities and develop a sense of social inclusion in Irish society.

Read The Full report in PDF

Visit The Africa Solidarity Center

The Late Fallen Heros of America and The Dog! (Media Monitor)

Those pictures made some intellectuals call for "whiter" Blacks and to "Acting White" but does it answer all the questions or solve all the trouble to attribute the difficulties of the Blacks to the "White" Whites? The answer is NO.but I hope to share those questions from "Acting White" (...Why are African-Americans on the bottom? How has 'right' behavior become White, and something for Blacks to avoid? What are the true roles of heredity, geography, evolution, culture and critical thinking? “Until there's a convincing answer why history really took the course that it did, people are going to fall back on the racist explanation.” Jared Diamond, PhD. ..)

The Golden Apples (Book Review)

Golden Apples is an interesting read fro Bill Cullen who shares ,through his personal life success, his SIX SUCCESS recipe.

I enjoyed reading the book.It is easy,direct and honest with fantastic fluency which makes your dreams ACHIEVABLE.


The books takes you From Market Stall to Millionaire: A Wealth of Wisdom You Can't Afford to Ignore

ISBN: 0340838981

the website for B Cullen is here

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Jude Collins wrote an interesting article "Old Story of Empire is Revisited in Loach Film" in the Daily Ireland on 08.06.2006 where he looked at other stories shown in previous films like .Some of the Interesting points are:

1. He hadn't seen the film by then.
2. "The british empire ,while it brought a number of benefits in its wake,was essentially greedy,cruel and arrogant"
3. He quoted other films he watched with intereting viewpoint.That the victims of the empire are shown as cruel ,uncivilized
4. he explained the meaning of Mau Mau(Mzungu Aende Ulaya-Mwafrica Apate Uhuru)

The web site for J Collins

Searching for Fortune: The Geographical Process of Nigerian Migration to Dublin, Ireland

Nigerian emigration to Ireland is still in an embryonic stage. This movement began after the Second World War, increasing modestly after Nigeria's independence from Britain in 1960. Unfortunately, it was impossible to be entirely accurate. Since there was no hard data of past Nigerian migration to Ireland since neither Nigeria nor Ireland registered past Nigerian migration departures and arrivals. For this study, information on past Nigerian movement to Ireland came from various individuals. However, this data in spite of its imperfections is the best to date, for assessing past Nigerian movement to Ireland. Most of the past Nigerian migration to Ireland was by businessmen, mostly in the fishing business. It is from Ireland that most of the mackerel fish (òkú èkó) that is consumed in Nigeria is exported. The most recognized Nigerian trading partner was Killybergs in Donegal, the northern part of Ireland (Kómoláfé, 1993.) Others who migrated in any noticeable number prior to 1981 were Nigerian medical students. They reportedly did not desire to establish establishing permanent residence in Ireland. Past Nigerian migration to Ireland did not have any significant effect on the recent trends in movement because most Nigerians presently in Dublin do not even realize that past Nigerian migration existed.
In more recent times, Nigerian migration became noticeable in 1981. At the time, the number of migrants was relatively small. By 1996 there were significant changes in the inflow of Nigerian migrants. The Nigerians who came to Ireland prior to 1981 tended to study, to undergo various kinds of training and to visit. For the purposes of this paper, 1981 is regarded as the first phase of contemporary Nigerian migration to Ireland.
In considering the historical panorama of Nigerian migration to Dublin, there is need for some chronology and categorization. The population includes those who migrate to Ireland to extend their visa, those who migrate to seek legal residence, "Celtic Tiger" migrants, who were attracted by the Irish economic boom, refuge-seeking migrants, employment -seeking migrants and providence-seeking migrants. According to the historian Nancy Green, (1997:59) "only through comparison can we understand what is specific and what is general in migration." Thus, categorization is done to facilitate the historical comparative analysis of the different categories of migrants.

This is an interesting scholarly work on the subject by Julius Kómoláfé .Read More

The Official Site for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany

This is the Official web site for the tournament.The link will be available on the side bar until the end of the world cup competition.

The Fomorians, Are They Irish Nationals or Naturalized Irish ?

The post below was quoted from the Web site African Source (where the Rasta post his thoughts) Read it and tell me what you think.

The Fomorians
There are many oblique references to the presence of Black people in ancient Ireland. Ancient Irish mythology refers to the original inhabitants of the island as being a giant, sea-faring people called the Fomorians (Fomors), which means “dark of the sea”. According to the ancient lore, they were a cushitic people from the African continent. Often depicted as demons, they defeated the first few incoming waves of invaders, but could not defeat the Firbolgs, who settled the land and lived side-by-side with the native Fomors.
Those myths may have a factual historical basis. It is proposed that the Formorians were a real people who were in all likelihood sailors from the African continent.
Two more invasions, the first led by the godly Tuatha de Danaan, and the second by the Celtic Milesians, took control of Ireland, mixing together with the Fomorians until they were no more.
There are credible sources for the African association with Ireland. The most likely of these is that they were Phoenicians and/or Egyptians. The Phoenicians were Canaanites, which came from the line of Ham. Ham is the mythological ancestor of the Black nation.
The Phoenicians were also well-known for their sailing skills, and are said to have traveled to the British Isles, which they called the “Tin Islands”. Perhaps, before Ireland was a Celtic domain, which it wasn’t until a few centuries BCE, the Phoenicians colonized it. It is noteworthy that the name Fomorians sounds a bit like Phoenicians.
There is also a legend that an Egyptian princess, Scota, left Egypt with some followers and journeyed to Ireland. Legend has it that Egyptians left many ancient tin mines all over Britain but especially Ireland which was their major source of the valuable metal.
Another idea is that they were Taureg Berbers. The Berber language is Hamitic, and the Berber people live in an area from which travel to Ireland would be easily accessible. The Berbers perhaps set sail from western Morocco, and settled on Ireland before the Celts, making it their new home.
Moorish Science Temple founder Drew Ali teaches that Ireland was once part of a Moorish empire, and that the Irish are a Moorish people. Perhaps there is a common root between the “moor” sound in Fomor and the word Moor?
Selkies and Half-Breeds
Another Irish legend tells of the Selkies, a sort-of “wereseal” that is a seal during day, but a human by nightfall. Sometimes, in an Irish family of fair-skinned, light-haired people, a child is born with dark hair eyes, and skin, and is called a Selkie.
The concept of the Selkies appears to make subliminal reference to the half-breed children that resulted from the extensive miscegenation that occurred between the Celts and the dark skinned original inhabitants that they had met upon their arrival in Ireland.
Many people of Irish descent have distant and recent African roots, and these features can still be seen in the people and in the culture. There are some Irish people with Afros (just like Andre the Giant a late continental European wrestler with afro-hair). In Southern Ireland, some people, referred to as “Black Irish”, are noted for their strikingly dark features, as opposed to the fair-skinned, light-haired north.
Although many Irish descendants are particularly pale, they do have pronounced Africoid facial features, as well as dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair that is sort-of kinky, especially in moist conditions. A sub race of the Irish called the Bronn are noticeably Mediterranean (read: African) in features especially their hair.
In addition to all of this, Celtic music is distinctly different from the rest of Europe, and easily comparable to African music.
Black, Viking and Irish
Unlike Scotland and England, Ireland was never colonized by the Romans. As a result, Ireland remained relatively isolated.
The Vikings established port cities like Dublin. The Viking texts left stories and descriptions of African soldiers captured in Ireland whom they called blaumen[blue-men].
Most Viking references to ‘’black'’ in Norse would have signified having black hair as opposed to skin color but blaumen meant black skinned. Most of these blaumen were captured soliders from Moorish Spain. It was observed that:
”A prominent Viking of the eleventh century was Thorhall, who was aboard the ship that carried the early Vikings to the shores of North America. Thorhall was “the huntsman in summer, and in winter the steward of Eric the Red. He was, it is said, a large man, and strong, black, and like a giant, silent, and foul-mouthed in his speech, and always egged on Eric to the worst; he was a bad Christian.”"
“Another Viking, more notable than Thorhall, was Earl Thorfinn, “the most distinguished of all the earls in the Islands.” Thorfinn ruled over nine earldoms in Scotland and Ireland, and died at the age of seventy-five. His widow married the king of Scotland. Thorfinn was described as “one of the largest men in point of stature, and ugly, sharp featured, and somewhat tawny, and the most martial looking man… It has been related that he was the foremost of all his men.”"
What about Scotland and Wales?
“Any comprehensive account of the African presence in early Europe should include England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Scandinavia. The history and legends of Scotland confirm the existence of “purely Black people.” We see one of them in the person of Kenneth the Niger. During the tenth century Kenneth the Niger ruled over three provinces in the Scottish Highlands.
The historical and literary traditions of Wales reflect similar beliefs. According to Gwyn Jones (perhaps the world’s leading authority on the subject), to the Welsh chroniclers, “The Danes coming in by way of England and the Norwegians by way of Ireland were pretty well all black: Black Gentiles, Black Norsemen, Black Host.”"
Ogu Eji Ofo Annu
Sources:Ancient And Modern Britons, by David Mac RitchieNature Knows No Color-Line, by J.A. Rogers

Some Irish Quotes

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. ( Sigmund Freud (about the Irish))

In Ireland the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs. ( Sir John Pentland Mahaffy)

I'm troubled, I'm dissatisfied. I'm Irish. (Marianne Moore "Spenser's Ireland")

It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid. G B Shaw



May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heavenhalf an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Read More of Irish Quotations,

Diary of Irish Racism

Diary of Irish Racism

'You would have to be blind not to see examples of racism on our streets every day.'Fionnuala Kilfeather (CEO,National Parents' Council) - June 30th, 2000, The Irish Examiner

'We need to get away from the idea that racism is caused by incoming populations. Incoming people do not cause racism. It exists already in the preconceived ideas of the majority community.'Ronit Lentin, (Co-ordinator of Ethnic and Racial Studies, Trinity College, Dublin). The Irish Times, December 15th, 1999.



This web link is an attempt to admit the sin of racism without generalizing it to every individual. It helps to work on a cure for it.The Site hasn't been updated for a while but it has good account of cases of racism in Ireland.

Modern Americans on Acceptance.A sample of public statements and interview responses.

Those are quotes from the website "Tangled Roots" with a difference of opinion?I will appreciate if you can read them and comment on what you think.

1. "When my uncle gave his name (Irish) during a job interview, the first thing out of the interviewer's mouth was, " Do you drink?" [Irish American religious, retired] (See DeLa Salle Christian Brothers Interview)
2. "My father looked as if he was anything but a "Negro". We stopped together at a restaurant to eat. They wanted to serve him, but not me." [African - Irish American writer ] (See James McGowan Interview)
3. "You worked with different kinds but returned to your own at night. Each culture had its own club. You were taught to stick to your own kind and I did and so did my husband." [Irish American, born in Ireland. Retired.] (See The Corcorans Interview)
4. "Freedom still embraces subtleties of attitude which make one suspect about attitudes of people." [African American School Superintendent, retired]
5. "The Irish always took care of their own through organizations like the Knights of Columbus and did not bother with other groups." [Irish American, born in Ireland. Retired]
6. "Irish Americans seldom invite African Americans into their personal lives. I attended the funeral of a prominent Connecticut Irish American politician and was the only black person there. [Jamaican American Minister] (See Hopeton Scott Interview)
   "If you needed anything and we had it, you got it. We kept our word; we looked for you to keep yours." [Harry Payne, African American construction worker, retired] (See Harry Payne Interview)
7. "Sensitivity to color is a socially imposed filter because I can not be certain of acceptance. One example is institutionalized racism in language. [ African American College Administrator] (See Larri Mazon Interview)
8. "Irish Americans who write stories about the Irish being dirty or ignorant aren't telling the truth. I don't believe that Irish immigrants ever fought against African Americans. Not my Irish." [Irish American Teacher]
9. "There is a tendency on the part of some African Americans to feel proprietary about their history and experience. Sometimes, we (African Americans) are just not ready to hear about anybody else's pain." [African American Magazine Editor]
10. It's evident that Irish and Blacks shared discrimination. They were both trying to raise themselves up. Irish and Blacks took similar steps. Starting at bottom. Proving their worth. They were side by side. Both were discriminated against There are low and high Irish and low and high of every group. Who you know depends on what group you are in—low or high. [African-Irish American author, retired] (See Warren Harper Interview)
11. "The use of hyphenated identity perpetuates the myth of other than American and lessens our chances for a shared community. No book has been written about "How the Blacks became White. " [African American Minister and Professor] (See Frederick J. Streets Interview)
12. "When I came here was I was lonesome. But I knew if I wanted to go back my father would say, 'you wanted to go...'. But the leaving home was worst thing. And the water. That was the worst of it. I was glad to land here." ( See Conversation with Mary Walsh)

Irish Ferries or International Ferries ,does it Matter?

I had followed up the arguements about staffing the Irish ferries with the pros and cons of "Irish staff" versus "International staff AKA East European staff-EUS" and I don't want to express my views about it.I wanted to share an interesting experience I had during one of my trips by The Irish Ferry.It was a windy day and the ferry was "dancing" to the waves, anice lady from the travelling community in Ireland landed on my seat as she had stuff in her hand and couldn't walk so she needed help.She called a nice girl from the staff (NB EUS) and asked her to help her to carry her stuff.This nice girl kept looking at the poor lady without helping her ,so I figured out that she didn't understand the call for help and so volunteered to explain that this poor lady needs help to carry her stuff and she did.

Will The Irish Become Black Again?

An interesting Title is a book by Noel Ignatiev “How the Irish Became White” (Routledge 1996). ( The characteristics that distinguished the Irish from other “white” Americans include their language, religion, manner of dress, and their lowly economic status. Most Irish did not speak English, instead they spoke Irish. They were also mostly Catholic, which later in this discussion will prove to be extremely important. Further, it was noted in the time that Irish had a distinctive manner of dress that allowed for easy identification. Finally, they were poor, as most recent immigrants are, and were therefore looked down upon by the mainstream “whites.” “White” Americans in the early 1800s equated the Irish to black slaves, and in some instances held them in lower regard, since they were not as valuable as slaves.
The Irish that first immigrated to the U.S. were empathetic to the plight of African slaves. The Irish had a long history of anti-slavery sentiment in Ireland. They are proud of their opposition to slavery. When they came to the U.S., they initially continued their moral opposition to slavery. Many were active abolitionists, ardent in their anti-slavery convictions. They initially joined the Republican Party, traditionally against slavery, and held to their convictions. They were active in the press as well. The periodical, the Liberator, was an Irish publication that took a strong stand against slavery.
Ignatiev fills his book with biographical accounts of Irish immigrants. The personal accounts are interesting, but make the book seem choppy. Individuals’ stories have to be compressed and inserted into chapters where they best fit. They do not follow the chronological flow of the overall text. They are used, though, to provide more emphasis on particular aspects of the author’s generalizations in each phase of Irish assimilation. They give interesting historical accounts of the Irish’s determination to move into the mainstream of American society.
The chronological orientation the book takes the reader from the days of Irish anguish under the control of Great Britain to their acceptance as “white” in America. Their plight in Ireland gave them the motivation to seek a better life in America. Originally, in Ireland, as mentioned earlier, the Irish had been under a system that prohibited slavery. This was one belief that would cost them dearly in their move to the U.S.
The Irish’s closeness to black Americans was another factor that contributed to their being equated to blacks by “white” America. Their economic status forced them to live in the poorest locations in the cities, and they had to take any jobs they could to survive. This close proximity inevitably led to intermarriage and in turn to family ties between blacks and Irish. In the beginning, “white” Americans saw this as an indication that the Irish should occupy the same social status as blacks, which was very low. “Whites” commonly called the Irish white Negroes, and the blacks, smoked Irish.
Their low economic status led to another phenomenon. As most know the rate of incarceration among the lower economic strata is higher than the rate among the wealthy. The consequence was that prisons became one of the first truly racially integrated institutions in the U.S. The Irish in prisons further acknowledged their equity with blacks by not segregating themselves socially. The author places particular emphasis on this integration because prior to becoming “white”, the Irish themselves did not see substantive differences between themselves and black Americans. Their commonalties such as social status and economic stature were more important than the difference in skin pigmentation) .

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