A chara, - As an 11-year-old boy I left Westland Row CBS school in Dublin in 1958 to travel to the Philippines where my father joined the World Health Organisation to set up a training school for health inspectors. Thus started my interest in what is now called the Third World.
Later I continued the family tradition when I worked as an administrator with Concern in Ethiopia and Bangladesh from 1976 to 1979.
The recent overcrowding and trouble at the Refugee Application Centre in Lower Mount Street are a cause of sadness and anger. Refugee numbers have been rising for several years but it appears that the authorities are running to catch up. I sympathise with the staff in the centre trying to cope.
We must as a society accept that because Africa is falling behind economically and is beset with war, refugee members are unlikely to fall. Also, the situation in Eastern Europe will lead to further refugees. We are a stable Western democracy with a vibrant economy and facing labour shortages. Political and church leaders will have to educate and illuminate these trends to the people and encourage proper treatment of refugees. - Is mise,
Ciaran Murphy, Hollybrook Court, Clontarf, Dublin 3.