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IN A EMOTIONAL appearance before an Oireachtas committee, mixed race survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland have called on the Government to recognise the suffering they endured.
The group, Mixed Race Irish, believe the alleged racist abuse they experienced in these institutions is being “airbrushed from Irish history”. They say that few, if any, records exist of mixed race Irish in any State institutions.
“Our research suggests this racism was endemic throughout all the institutions attended by our community,” co-founder Rosemary Adaser told the Justice Committee.
“The nuns showed us films of missionaries going to tame the ‘savages’, and we were told, ‘look at that, they are savages, that’s what you are’,” she said.
Co-founder Carole Brennan said that parish priests “would single out mixed race children and abuse them.”
“We believe we were treated differently, resulting in inequality, in these systems due to one simple fact – the colour of our skin,” she said
Other experiences revealed by the group included being doused in talcum powder so that they appeared white, and being forced to clean blocked toilets as their “skin was the same colour”.
Committee chair David Staunton said the full details of these events were “very, very disturbing”, and described the group as one of the most impressive he had seen
The deputy added that the evidence presented to the committee will be passed on to the Minister.
Many members of the Mixed Race Irish, which consists of over 70 individuals in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China, have experienced issues around mental health, integration, and substance abuse, as well as continued racist abuse later in life.
“Employers told me outright that they wouldn’t employ a n****r because it would scare them,” Carole Brennan said.
Some members have taken their own lives, and Adasar said that others may be experiencing post-traumatic slavery syndrome.
The group said that many members have worked their entire life to overcome the effects of being placed in State institutions as children.
“It has taken us many years to reveal the depth of our suffering and pain,” Carole Brennan said, saying that the abuse left ‘lasting wounds that may never heal’.
The group is now seeking some form of redress scheme to facilitate counselling services.
The group has carried out extensive research into the experiences of mixed race children in State institutions. A survey carried out of members of Mixed Race Irish revealed:
The group said that there have been issues in seeking support to the lack of awareness of what mixed race Irish people endured in the institutions.
“We are bringing this to your attention because we can no longer tolerate the racial suffering being airbrushed from Irish history,” co-founder Evon Brennan said.
“How do we overcome the inherited belief our fathers were savages from the jungle? And our fathers were of low intelligence?,” co-founder Evon Brennan said, “To later discover that our fathers were students in law and civil engineering, and contributed to Irish society?”
She added that for many members, the question “where are you from” can cause flashbacks.
Being here is the beginning of our recovery.
Labour TD Anne Ferris said mixed race children faced “an extra layer of discrimination” in State-run institutions, and said it was another aspect that should be included in all future investigations.
The beginning of the Committee’s meeting was also delayed by 40 minutes after three Technical Group TDs were expelled from the Dáil.
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It’s all well and good until Stevie starts humping the microwave during the night
@DarkHorse: That’s a silly comment . This is very serious but the article doesn’t tell us how to access , so its a useless article.
@rory conway: I mean not really, as they haven’t been on sale yet. They’re flying to the States later this month, where a care home will be trialing the beta version.
Can he make a good cup of tae though? Or boil an egg? Or put a few sods of turf on the fire?
As long as it’s used to complement human interaction and not replace it, it’s a good idea. Having spent summers at college working as a home help, i am aware that i was the only person many elderly people spoke to during the day. My being there for a chat was at times more important than my ability to light the fire
@Anne Marie Devlin:
Very good point.
May I be the first to welcome our new robot overlords.
Seriously though, cool bit of tech.
Japan, the US and other places are vastly more developed in the technologies required to implement practical autonomous robotic supports.
It’s a good idea but only if Trinity College collaborates with the best abroad.
As matters now stand, one small country does not have the embedded knowledge base, the centre of expertise, the resources and the funding required to make a massive project of this nature anything more than a prototype.
@Fiona deFreyne: Do you just put everything down? Ireland has produced leading technologies in the past beating those with more resources and been at it longer. They could easily develop key components for the future of all robot via software or hardware.
@Kal Ipers: it is a matter of scale, accumulated expertise, level of previous investment in R &D, historically, accumulated IPR, the legacy knowledge and expertise not to have to reinvent any wheels and the large numbers of highly quality researchers required to develop cutting edge technologies in areas off deep machine learning. The scale of investment required for success is truly huge.
We have talent here but it is fair to say that we have had a brain flow to the US and to Cambridge in the UK in relevant disciplines. There are many reasons for this.
Trinity can’t play a valuable role as an adjunct to leading research elsewhere.
Honda has already achieved much techological success in Japan with robots dedicated to health care for the elderly. I don’t know if there can be technology sharing and cooperation arrangements.
Knowing the scale of the problem is a first step. I would not select Ireland a a base for developing new generation rockets for outer space exploration or other areas of resource intensive projects. Robotics and autonomous intelligence devices is one of the mist resource intensive areas that could be selected.
@Fiona deFreyne: None of that has anything to do with your constant putting down everything. Again I reject your view and that is mostly because it is always negative.
@Fiona deFreyne: so you don’t know how to do it huh?
They should really get in touch with the Japanese on this subject. They have been pouring money on this subject for decades and a trip to them could shave years off the project.
Also, the arms are way too short and lack any function. Infact, the whole robot cannot do more than a smartphone. I feel like someone is laughing right now.
Ye it would be if the likes of rich politicians didn’t want to force the elderly out of their home
@WilhelminaMCallaghan: When was that ever suggested or done?
Sounds like a great idea. I thought they’d need to be a lot stronger though. And have a hoist, or arms, to help them in and out in the bathroom? But they’d never get bored listening to people, I suppose, there’s that.
All the wiley aul fellas will be figuring out how to bypass him so they can slip off to the pub and bookies
Can it make a good cup of tae though? Boil an egg or throw a few sods of turf on the fire?
I assume he meant Kryten from Red Dwarf not Croydon from Deep Space Nine lol
Fck that, sophia the robot destroys stevie
If you want to watch a creepy interview with a robot check this out.. http://uk.businessinsider.com/interview-with-sophia-ai-robot-hanson-said-it-would-destroy-humans-2017-11
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: True, it doesn’t have much to say for itself. It wouldn’t pass the Turing test; you can tell it’s a bot. But there’s always the ELIZA effect. Sure the robot carers are meant primarily for people with no one to listen to them all day. I think there’s a huge market for them considering that retired people are living so much longer.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: scary stuff! I’d say cults will purchase loads of these and put them out there in homes and such like to brainwash everyone!!
Daughter got a Furbie one year for Christmas thing turned seriously nasty and using bad language and had to be re-set… A Furbie!!! Yup dangerous road ahead…
@Lydia McLoughlin: Maybe they’ll persuade a few people that bus fares aren’t tuppence any more. Mind you, the bad language can’t have been that bad if you understood it.
Petril?
have your say