Refugee group to represent Ireland

A new group representing refugees has been selected to represent Ireland in a Europe-wide anti-racism contest taking place in Spain later this week.

The Association of Refugees in Ireland is in the running for a £17,000 prize in the Prize of Europe contest to be held in Barcelona. The organisation was set up only two months ago to campaign against racism in Ireland.

The contest brings together 12 countries and their national broadcasters to mark the EU's Year against Racism this year. RTE has made a video profile of the association which will be broadcast in the final on Friday.

An international jury will decide which entry most effectively combats racism and xenophobia. The cash prizes for the first three awards go not to the film-makers but to the projects themselves.

Funded by the European Commission, the contest is being recorded by the Catalan television station TV3, and will be broadcast across Europe, including Ireland, later this month. As part of the Eurovision-style programme, renowned entertainers such as the Catalan tenor Jose Carreras will perform during the interval.

The Association of Refugees includes members from Iraq, Cuba, Somalia, Vietnam and Afghanistan, all of whom have been granted asylum in Ireland. It was set up in the wake of anti-refugee comment by the public and some politicians, particularly before the general election.

According to the group's founder, Mr Khalid Ibrahim, growing anti-immigrant sentiment is causing problems even for established refugees. Mr Ibrahim, a Kurd from Iraq's Marsh Arab area, escaped persecution by Saddam Hussein's government and came to Ireland via Syria and Russia. About 3,000 people have applied for asylum in Ireland so far this year, compared to 1,200 in the whole of last year. About 100 asylum-seekers register with the Department of Justice each week in spite of new immigration controls introduced at the end of June. These have resulted in more than 500 illegal immigrants, including 20 who applied for asylum, being sent back to the UK.