Anti-racists Needed

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday April 30, 2002 15:18 by AFA - Anti-Fascist Action afa at ireland dot com PO Box 3355, DUblin 7

Dublin South Central Campaign

Anti-Fascist Action and Residents Against Racism have launched an anti-racism campaign in Dublin South Central for the duration of the election campaign. People may be aware that Aine Ni Chonaill is running in the election in the constituency. While she has no hope of getting elected she has been getting masive media exposure. A series of leafletings will be taking place in the Crumlin/Drimnagh/Walkinstown/South Inner City areas in the coming weeks. Help from all anti-racists is needed - you do not have to be in either of the organising groups. Next leafleting: Thursday 2nd May Meet at Crumlin Shopping Centre, Crumliin Road. at 7pm. Buses from town: 50 56A 77 77A 77B 150

Here is the text of the joint leaflet:

Are you being conned?

The racist Immigration Control Platform (ICP) have decided to run a candidate in the forthcoming General Election in Dublin South Central. The chosen candidate is the eccentric Aine Ni Chonaill. Ni Chonaill lives in Cork and when she ran in the last General Election she received less than 1% in her local area. Why a middle class schoolteacher feels its necessary to travel 150 miles to lecture us in Dublin is questionable. The ICP are intent on increasing racial tension in our area. There are enough problems in Dublin South Central without Ni Chonaill and her racist cronies adding to them.

The ICP are trying to convince us that we had no housing shortage, no hospital queues, no social welfare problems, etc. before the refugees arrived. The truth is that these people never gave a damn about the poor and homeless before, but now use them as a stick to beat the ‘refugees’. Ni Chonaill and the other racists were nowhere to be seen when the communities of Dublin South Central fought together against the scourge of drugs and a general lack of funding for our areas.

Everybody within a community has a role to play, regardless of the colour of their skin. Consequently, everybody within a community also has a responsibility to that community and anti-social activities from anybody, black or white, is not acceptable.

Just whose agenda are they pushing?
By trying to blame refugees the ICP are letting those really responsible for the housing shortage and health service crisis off the hook. The present and previous Governments are directly responsible for the current problems, yet the ICP don't mention that.

Who benefits from conflict between working class people and refugees?
The corrupt politicians and their cronies do, of course. Blaming refugees takes the pressure off the tax dodging TDs and businessmen who are to blame for the lack of investment in social services. Such racists want to see refugees and Irish people fighting for their `equal shares' of poverty.

Racists must not be allowed to graft their policies onto the legitimate concerns of working class communities. Lack of respect for local communities adds to the tension in these areas. There must be full consultation with the host community, the state must not just dump another section of society into an already under resourced area.

Race Hate Attacks
Race hate leaflets such as those from the ICP lead directly to increased physical attacks on black people in Ireland. Some ignorant people will believe this lying propaganda and use it as an excuse to beat people up because of their skin colour.

There has been a serious escalation in race attacks over the past year, including the
beating to death of a young Chinese man in North Dublin by a group of teenagers. Pregnant Black women are a particular target for cowardly attacks.

Many Irish people are hostile to refugees because of rumours and myths about their income. What is not publicised is that asylum seekers have to live on 19 Euro a week because they are not allowed to work and they are not entitled to social welfare. Not all immigrants are asylum seekers, many work and contribute to the country. Ordinary people have more in common with asylum seekers than with the wealthy politicians and their
millionaire paymasters in big business. It suits this ‘Golden Circle’ that Irish people kick down on those who are worse off, rather than targeting the well off.

Fascists and racists are NOT the allies of working class people, they are our enemies. They use culture and skin colour to divide the people who have the lowest income and share the same economic interests. The function of fascism is to split and destroy the working class. In Italy and Germany, before World War Two, the first victims of fascism were trade unionists and community leaders.

Racists are trying to deflect voters away from addressing the true sources of the problems in our communities by picking on handy scapegoats.

We are asking to the voters of Dublin South Central to reject any candidates encouraging racial hate.

[In Box]
Does this sound familiar?
"At the last count well over 4,000,000 Irish parasites have set up home in the United Kingdom. The majority arrive on our doorstep with begging bowl in hand. The State is being bled dry by Irish buffoons. It is high time that the Irish aliens were booted back to their own bankrupt country. The money saved should be spent on our friends, the brave Ulster Loyalists."
From British National Front Newspaper
[Close Box]

Anti Fascist Action
PO Box 3355, Dublin 7
e-mail [email protected]
web: www.geocities.com/irishafa

Residents Against Racism
c/o 10 Upper Camden Street, Dublin 2.
e-mail [email protected]