President McAleese, Irish should have little to learn about the dangers of racism
President Mary McAleese has described instances of racist behaviour in Ireland as utterly offensive to the majority of the population. President McAleese said that the country had always had a much stronger instinct for good and for championing the underdog.
The President was speaking in Maynooth last night. She noted that Ireland had given a strong lead with its commitment to increasing development aid to 0.7% of GNP by 2007, but she said that it was sickening that over the last decade the overall volume of assistance from rich countries had fallen to an historic low.
Delivering the annual Trócaire lecture on the plight of 1.2 billion people living on less than $1 dollar a day, President McAleese referred to immigrants from poor countries seeking "the chance to lead a decent life" here.
The President said that it was a story Irish people knew well because, for generations, "we were the destitute arriving in the hope that we could find the space in a foreign land to put our talents to work".
President McAleese said that the Irish should have little to learn about the dangers of racism; of malicious stereotyping; of slammed doors; of being alone. Conceding that we are sadly not immune to those base human instincts, she said that we always had a much stronger instinct for good and a history of championing the underdog, which had earned us respect worldwide.
"That is precisely why instances of racist behaviour are so utterly offensive," said the President.
