Ireland's chance to build a harmonious tower of Babel

Human castle-building is one of the oldest Catalan traditions. A group of about six volunteers locks itself together in a circular scrum to form a base. Their colleagues then climb up on their shoulders. Another group forms the next tier, and so on to dizzying heights.

The castle serves as a metaphor for all kinds of human activity - solidarity, ambition, co-operation. One gust of wind, or one small slip, and the whole edifice could come crumbling down.

Last week, at the Prize of Europe, a European-wide television extravaganza designed to promote anti-racism, the local castle-builders in Vilanova, the host town near Barcelona, put on their usual tour de force, but with a slight variation.

Layer by layer, their structure climbed five "storeys" high. Finally, it was topped off by two small children, too young to know real fear, who clambered over the backs and shoulders of their parents and neighbours to form the pinnacle. One child was black, the other white.

This was more than cute symbolism. The new Europe is composed of numerous strata, many of them very ancient, but the newest layer is significantly different from earlier ones. Black, brown, yellow faces; immigrants, refugees, migrants - they are all here to stay.

The point should not be lost on those who have created such a fuss over the arrival of several thousand asylum-seekers in Ireland this year. We can sort out whom we want to allow in the country and whom we choose to send back, but the fact remains that outsiders of various hues and origins are going to be a permanent feature of Irish life from now on. The real challenge is how to incorporate them into our existing culture.

As the entries presented by other states in the Prize of Europe showed, Ireland has much to learn from its neighbours in the treatment of refugees. Principally, there is the chance of avoiding the mistakes made by others. This is because everywhere else in Europe, refugee numbers peaked about five years ago, before the introduction of tougher immigration measures. The arrival of large numbers of asylum-seekers led to major problems with racism, even in the Scandinavian countries which enjoy a reputation for tolerance.

In Norway, Sweden and Finland, there were mini-riots, even in small towns, and racist attacks on the new arrivals. Far right parties have gained ground; some observers predict they will take one quarter of the vote in Norway's upcoming election.

The presentations from these countries in the contest last week focused on ways of undoing this damage. In Finland, a policeman is trying to reintegrate skinheads into society by sending them back to school. The Swedes are planning an anti-racist CD-ROM for schools and the Norwegians are organising exchanges between Kenya and one town which was the scene of pitched battles between locals and immigrants in 1991.

As the contest jury remarked, Ireland has a unique opportunity to avoid making the mistakes other countries made - but only if it works to integrate refugees into society and to allay the fears of the mainstream population.

The Irish entry, the Association of Refugees in Ireland, won second prize, largely because it was recognised as a grassroots effort by a minority to set up its own support structures. But there was also the consideration that the association gets no Government funding. Indeed, the State has yet to lift a finger to help recognised refugees adjust to their new home.

The problems are similar in Poland, which shares a Catholic, monocultural history with Ireland. Here, relief agencies have stepped in to fill the void left by Government inaction over the country's first influx of asylum-seekers. They have established a centre to provide legal and social services for refugees. It also finds accommodation, puts on language classes and professional courses, organises holidays and provides bed for homeless refugees.

"The time to remedy the situation is now, while the problem of refugees in Poland has not yet become critical," says Janina Ochojska of the Polish Humanitarian Organisation.

"Poland received help from all over the world during the times we could not help ourselves. We are now able to live in a democracy. It is time to repay our debts by receiving those who had to flee their homes," she adds.

The Germans and the Dutch lead the way in attempts to integrate immigrants. German schools in deprived areas run employment services and self-esteem classes for their pupils, many of them from immigrant families.

The Dutch entry noted that in one region not a single young person had visited the refugee centre or spoken more than three words to a refugee. Their solution proposed "integration by communication" by setting up media skills courses and Internet links.

As part of their commitment to multi-culturalism, many countries have tried to bring the minorities into mainstream broadcasting. Swedish radio organises nine-month training programmes for immigrants, and organises "Listen without Prejudice" weeks, during which the listeners are invited to call in with their views on race relations.

But anti-racist activists are pressing for more changes in the media, which they frequently blame for giving minorities such as refugees a bad press. Proposals have been made for changes in the way people are recruited, to break "the closed circle", for more media training and for more vernacular broadcasting.

In their entry for the Prize of Europe, which will be broadcast by RTE in the near future, the Catalans preferred to use music and food to promote multiculturalism. However, as one jury member pointed out, this kind of activity was often more about entertainment than consciousness-raising. "One North African woman told me she'd explode if she was asked to cook another couscous," he said.