Sir, - It was with regret that I learned of the setting up of the Immigration Control Platform. I was disappointed that its founder is a teacher, as I am myself.
I have always believed that the antidote to racism and xenophobia is education and I have always been keenly aware of my responsibilities in this area. The school in which I teach has taken part in an international art and writing exchange for children called Paintbrush Diplomacy, an American programme aimed at fostering world-wide understanding by introducing children to each other through their own art and writing. This understanding is the basis of respect: respect for diversity and difference and for tolerance.
We pride ourselves in Ireland in not being racist, yet with the small but perceptible trickle of asylum-seekers and refugees into our country, racism has reared its ugly head. It is painful to admit, but true.
It is ironic also that we are a people who have always presumed that we had the right to live in whatever part of the world that we chose, regardless of our reasons for leaving. It is acknowledged that we have contributed immeasurably to the building of Britain and America both culturally and politically. What would have happened to the Irish people without the welcoming policies of these and other countries? - Yours, etc.,
Mylerstown, Carbury, Co Kildare.