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Ireland goes to the polls North and South almost
as this newssheet is produced; EU elections in both parts
of the island, and local elections and a referendum on citizenship
in the Republic. As John Hume and Ian Paisley bow out of the
EU/European Parliament, it will certainly be a new era in
the North, and the contests in all the southern constituencies
indicate nail-biting conclusions for both some sitting and
new candidates.
Membership of the EU has transformed the Irish
economy and from being one of the very poorest in the EU,
the Republic is now one of the wealthiest - though it is the
country with probably the largest repatriation of profits
to multinationals to take into account when analysing economic
figures. Much of the economic change has been good; young
people no longer have to emigrate to get work. But the fact
that control of much of the economy rests elsewhere, especially
the USA, makes Ireland susceptible both economically and politically
(cf Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fail's refusal to even say 'boo'
to US policies on Iraq). Ecologically it has been somewhat
disastrous as greenhouse emissions have rocketed and the government
has been slow to move to alternatives despite Ireland being
ideal for wind and wave power.
The enlargement of the EU to 25 has made it
a much more 'European' institution than heretofore. But it
is still deplorably lax and false to label the EU-area as
'Europe' or to talk about 'Europe' as only the EU. Almost
all those who live in Europe are Europeans, by birth or by
adoption. And the term 'Europe' should not be reduced to a
economic and political institution, even with 25 nation state
members or even if the whole of Europe belonged; as Europeans
we have an existence aside from the EU but the sequestration
of the term by the EU makes other claims to it seem petty.
The EU is not 'Europe' and never will be. Europe is both greater
and smaller than that. But EU policies do matter and citizens
have the opportunity to record a vote for peace and progress
in these elections.
The referendum change proposed by the Irish
government removing the automatic right of citizenship to
all children born on the island of Ireland is a profound change.
It is ironic that this is being introduced at a time when
the numbers of asylum seekers coming to the Republic is currently
at just under half the level of a year or two ago. And it
is doubly ironic that this is being introduced when those
of Irish descent (if you've got an Irish granny or granddad
then you're in) can continue to get Irish citizenship even
if they have never been near the island of Ireland and don't
intend to start coming here now.
There are anomalies in the current citizenship
system. But the numbers of 'maternity tourists' are actually
low and the proposed changes have been inadequately explained
by the government, and lost in the EU and local elections.
It looks like a rushed job, and one which would seem to play
into the hand of racists. Perhaps Irish citizenship laws do
need overhauling but it should have been done in a more thought
out and comprehensive way. If the Irish government does not
like the result it will come back again, as it did with the
Nice Treaty, but maybe with some more thought next time. Polls
predict a 'yes' vote in the referendum but the appropriate
humanitarian response is 'no'. And is the Irish electorate
not sufficiently politically literate to be trusted with a
preferendum where various options are put to the people? We
have had enough 'Yes'/'No' politics (i.e. where there are
only two options and not of our choosing), thank you very
much, North and South.
Voting and the legislative cum governance systems
in place at local, national and international levels are an
important part of the political framework which we ignore
at our peril. However political change takes place in many
ways, not least through public pressure on such legislatures
and politicians to get their act together on particular issues.
Democracy is about much, much more than voting and politicians,
and if we ignore those other parts of a vibrant democracy
then we are bound for trouble. Unfortunately Northern Ireland,
which has a vibrant and on occasions very successful civil
society, has not yet successfully made the leap to internal
self government; that needs work at both party political and
civil society levels to reach an eventual conclusion of some
kind.
We mentioned the death of Niall O'Brien in the
last issue. Here is an obituary written by Pat Raleigh ssc:
Columban Missionary
Called to Eternal Rest - 27th April 2004
With the death of Fr. Niall O'Brien the Society
of St. Columban has lost one of its most talented missionaries.
He was a native of Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Ordained on December
22nd 1963 at St. Columban's, Dalgan Park, Navan, he was assigned
to the island of Negros in the Philippines and has worked
there for the last forty years. His death occurred in Pisa,
Italy where he was receiving treatment for a bone marrow deficiency.
Though remembered for his defence of human rights
and the promotion of social justice, Fr. Niall was never just
a one-issue man. Prior to getting involved in education for
justice, he had already established a very successful in-service
training for Christian community leaders. He also set up a
model community based on the Kibbutz system development. He
was an innovator, someone with great imagination and flair
for new approaches to pastoral issues. He excelled in the
local language of Negros and was at the forefront of providing
translations of the church liturgy in the vernacular. Moreover
his work for justice emphasized active non-violence. He was
one of the founder members of Pax Christi in the Philippines
and received a peace award for Peace through advocacy and
conflict resolution.
Niall is probably best remembered for the "Negros
nine" murder trial. He was accused along with Fr. Brian
Gore, an Australian Columban and seven Filipinos of the murder
of Pablo Sola, Mayor of Kabankalan. The trial took place over
a period of 17 months from February 1983 to July 1984. After
50 court appearances the charges were finally dismissed when
the chief witness for the prosecution admitted to fabricating
the evidence. The trumped up charges were an attempt to silence
the prophetic voice of Niall and his companions who were engaged
in a campaign of social justice for sugar workers. International
pressure soon grew on the Martial Law government of President
Marcos who ordered their release.
After his release in 1984 Niall wrote two books
about his missionary experience. These were Seeds of Injustice,
an account of the social volcano erupting and Revolution from
the Heart, his philosophy of active non-violence as the most
effective means of social reform. On his return to the Philippines
in 1987, once again to the island of Negros, he put to good
use his considerable writing and communication skills to establish
a mission magazine similar to the Far East magazine we have
in Ireland. He wished to provide a platform for the 2000 Filipino
missionaries, priests, sisters and lay people to tell their
story to a local audience. He served as editor of Misyon for
the next thirteen years bringing the magazine to a circulation
of over 40,000. About three years ago he was diagnosed as
having a serious deficiency of the bone marrow, which necessitated
his return to Ireland for treatment. Undaunted he continued
to edit the magazine for a further eighteen months until a
new editor was appointed.
Despite his illness Niall insisted on
returning to the Philippines and threw himself into a new
publishing venture. This time it was to be a review for diocesan
priests, something like the original concept of The Furrow.
He had completed the first issue of this new project when
his health began to deteriorate. For the last few months he
had been receiving treatment at the medical faculty of the
University of Pisa, in Italy where a new procedure for the
illness offered hope for recovery. Regrettably, this was not
to be. For others, however, Niall has left a legacy of inspiration,
integrity and courage. The Columban Society and the church
in the Philippines are greatly indebted to him. He will be
sadly missed.
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