Zero Tolerance for intimidation – Anthony McIntyre reports on a Labour Party Public Meeting in Drogheda – Unity in Action Against a Common Far-Right Racist Enemy
Differences exist on the left-wing spectrum in Ireland – some of them concern fundamental disagreements about political principles. One clear example is opposition to entering any coalition government with right wing ruling class parties in Ireland such as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Democratic Unionist party or the Alliance party.
Other issues place a duty on parties in the broadly left-wing spectrum to put aside tactical differences, and explore methods of practical co-operation. Building effective practical opposition to the dangerous growth of far-right racism in Ireland is on the agenda today. In this spirit we re-publish an Anthony McIntyre article which reports on a well-attended Irish Labour Party rally in Drogheda which tackled the issues of racism, immigration, and Russia’s fascist and genocidal invasion of Ukraine head-on.
Anthony pulls no punches discussing his political differences with the Labour Party!
John Meehan February 3 2023
link : https://www.thepensivequill.com/2023/02/zero-tolerance-for-intimidation.html
Zero Tolerance For Intimidation
Anthony McIntyre Wednesday, February 1, 2023
It has long struck me that the Irish Labour Party more than any other has abandoned the constituency that returns it in pursuit of office. It promises a left package then delivers the Rabbitte punch to the recipients of the promise so that it may become the prop sustaining governments which view left packages much as a dog does a lamppost.
Whatever the Labour leadership sought to project onto the screen, the filtering process left the electorate feeling that it had just viewed Pensions Before People. Last time out those who had voted the party in such numbers in the previous general election followed through on Eamon Gilmore’s promise, while still with the Workers Party, to destroy the Labour Party. Since then Labour has struggled to make any impact on the Irish political scene.
None of that stopped me from turning up at a Labour Party Town Hall meeting in Drogheda’s D Hotel on Monday evening. I actually left Dublin early to make the event which was attended by around one hundred people. I had never been at any of the party’s gatherings before although any time I have approached its elected representatives or party workers, the response has been nothing less than helpful. Their members also have been to the fore in defusing the moral panic that the far right has been trying to stoke and amplify over a range of issues, most notably refugees.
Stand Against Racism – Solidarity With Refugees – Dublin, GPO, Monday February 6, 1.30pm – Called by Le Chëile – Diversity Not Division
We call on all our comrades to come out in a show of peaceful and determined solidarity, to stand with our refugee and migrant communities with love and compassion on Monday 6th February at 1.30pm at the Spire to oppose the latest iteration of anti-refugee hate.
Demonstrations have been called claiming to represent communities in Ireland under various slogans such as “Ireland is full” or “Ireland says no”. We know that Ireland is not full. The population is millions less than pre-famine times. There are many thousands of housing units and buildings laying empty across the country. Successive neoliberal governments have failed the Irish people, and particularly its homeless population, for years. In doing so, they have also failed refugees and migrants who have come to our shores. The Direct Provision system is a crime and many migrants are homeless.
It is undeniable that many of those involved in these demonstrations are using the language of the far right, of virulent racism, of hateful xenophobia. Violence is threatened against refugees and migrants simply due to the colour of their skin and their countries of origin. A migrant camp was violently attacked. Direct provision centres are targeted. Social media is awash with hate and vitriol, all based on ignorance and prejudice. Misleading and fact-free slogans and tropes are circulated and accepted as fact when they are simply a tissue of lies. We cannot sit back and hope that this awful period in our history passes. Many of us are working in our communities trying to counteract this misinformed narrative but whilst that slow and painstaking work continues, our refugee and migrant communities are in danger now – and they do not see that work being done in communities. They see crowds gathered outside hotels and refugee centres screaming “get them out”. That is not expressing reasonable concern. That is blatant intimidation. Anger at the government should be directed at the door of the government, where it rightfully belongs, and not at the door of those who have had no part to play in the immiseration of communities across the country.
Read the rest of this entry »Irish Police Arrest a Dublin Fascist
Gardaí have arrested a fascist from Finglas, who has not so far been charged with any offences.
The Sunday World reports :
The 39-year-old from Finglas claimed protestors are going to “go through” Finglas Garda Station at an anti-immigrant protest tonight.
Further details :
Far right activist Graham Carey has been arrested this morning at his home by armed members of the Special Detective Unit (SDU).
He is currently being held at a south Dublin Garda station where he is being questioned under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
It is understood that his arrest follows a lengthy investigation by SDU officers.
The 39-year-old, from Finglas, claimed protestors are going to ‘go through’ Finglas Garda Station at an anti-immigrant protests tonight.
Read the rest of this entry »A Tribute to Francesca (1936-2023) by Dave Kellaway
This is a very affectionate tribute to an Italiam woman written by her son-in-law, Dave Kellaway. It comes from Dave’s facebook page.
The badante (live-in-home carer) system in Italy
Dave Kellaway’s description of the Italian state’s support system enabling unhealthy older people to finish their lives at home will interest readers in Ireland – where a similar system could easily be established.
A key reason why they have been able to stay together is the badante (live-in home carer) system that exists in Italy. Nearly entirely made up of legal or so called ‘illegal’ migrants from South Asia, Eastern Europe or the Phillipines the badantes live 24/7 with a day off a week looking after Italy’s infirm older people. Scandalously the present hard right Meloni government is always talking about an invasion of migrants and encourages racism towards them. However without this army of wonderful carers the old age welfare system would collapse. We have been very lucky with the most tender, skilled carers from Kerala, South India. Anton, Mariam and George have been essential for helping Ciro and Francesca to spent their final years together. Thank you for your service and love.
I don’t always write much about personal matters but my mother in law just died this week and I found myself wanting to write about her life – her struggles and success and how she was so welcoming to me. I have produced this memoir which is longer than the usual facebook post:
Part of the reason why I wanted to write this memory of my mother-in-law is that we need to respect and value the lives of those who are not lauded publicly, who are not elected, selected or the winner of prizes. Working class lives, particularly women, are particularly hidden from history. The priest came just now to bless the body and talked about gratitude. He was right, whether you are a believer or not, we need to show true gratitude to the lives of people who loved us, who gave up stuff to help us thrive.
Francesca grew up in some of the world’s more exclusive tourist spots on the Amalfi coast in Ravello and Albori. Her childhood was far from relaxing or contemplative. Childhood was different for people growing up as tenant farmers in poor rural areas. Nicola, her younger brother, went North to live and work with an uncle in Ivrea, near Turin when he was eleven. Her sister remembers when they used to gather wood in the hills of Albori to exchange for bread in Vietri on the coast.
After the end of fascism and the Second World War, she left school at 8 years old to help her parents work the land. Life was tough after the war as economic activity slowly recovered. She was born too early for the Italian state to ensure she stayed in school to become literate. Numbers, on the other hand, she learnt from an early age. Learning comes quickly if you need the money from selling lemons or milk. Everything depends on getting the prices right and counting the change properly. Francesca carried that skill throughout her life. She was the one who was in charge of the household accounts, the savings and much, much later, the prized house purchase.
Francesca’s own mother was not always supportive of her developing skills or interests than did not meet the needs of the household as she saw them. For example when she wanted to meet her future mother in law for the first time, she had secretly made her own dress without her mother’s permission. She even made another dress for her little sister, Maria, who was chaperoning her on this visit. Life was difficult in poor families and mothers were particularly harsh at times with their daughters who were expected to do lots of household chores. People who are familiar with the books (now a TV series) of Elena Ferrante – My Brilliant Friend – can see how tough, even cruel, parents could be at that time.
On 24 January, she passed away. I look at her skeletally thin body, grey pallor and sunken eyes as she lies out before her funeral. Then I remember just how fit, strong and healthy she always was until the shock of a life threatening operation for colon cancer three years ago. I remember once being called down to the front gate of her apartment block to give a hand to bring some packages in. I was amazed to see her coming up the stairs with a huge package on her head! She was well into her 60s at that stage.
How the strength has drained from her. At twenty years old she married Ciro and moved to Marini – a village in the hills above Cava dei Tirreni. There she used to milk the cows every morning and then carry the two ten litre cans three kilometres down the hill to sell in Molina near the coast. I know the area well, it’s really steep! The path in those days was a bit scary in places and you had to navigate a live railway line and bridge. Her eldest daughter, Carmela, remembers falling down one day with her mum. At least the cans were empty on the walk back up.
Report : Community Standout Against Racism — Monday January 30 6pm @Ashtown Station, Dublin 15
Up to 200 protesters attended an anti-racist protest in Ashtown (Dublin 15) on a freezing cold night – an impressive turnout to a demonstration called at short notice after news of a brutal racist attack was widely circulated two days beforehand. Journalists from various mainstream media organisations attended.
Significant Update from Ruth Coppinger, a former Dublin West TD :
At the end of the solidarity standout in Ashtown last night, we were approached by one of the men who lived in the homeless encampment that was attacked. My colleague Cllr John Burtchaell and others went with him to the campsite to retrieve some belongings and they gave him a lift to a place to try get a bed for the night in north county Dublin, and some other assistance. This man is Polish and worked in one of the largest companies in Ireland since 2006. He was even a union activist.
The lies and denial of some that this attack even happened is quite sickening. A whole number of men are probably on the streets tonight. They were living in squalor and not using resources from anyone. The attack on Saturday afternoon was preceded by a number of visits and videos which encouraged people to clear out the site because they weren’t Irish. All of this evidence should be pursued by the Gardai. Shame on all involved.
The Irish Times reported :
Between six and eight men – Polish, Croatian, Hungarian, Portuguese, Indian and Scottish – had been living at the camp since August, without incident they say, until the attack by a number of men and their dogs on Saturday, after which they abandoned the site.
Protesters in Ashtown on Monday evening chanted “Reject fear racist attacks end here” and “Homes for all not racism” while several people carried placards reading slogans such as “everyone is welcome here”.
One speaker at the protest, Myriam Point Marouki, said the “vile beating up of homeless migrants” was making everyone in the area “very fearful” and racism “cannot be left unchallenged,” she said.
“The lack of services in our society affecting everyone isn’t the fault of refugees or migrants who disproportionately find themselves in vulnerable situations and homelessness like the men who were attacked this weekend”. The full report is here : https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2023/01/30/anti-racism-protest-takes-place-in-ashtown-after-attack-on-migrant-camp/
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Join Community Standout Against Racism — Monday January 30 6pm @Ashtown Station, Dublin 15
A Homeless migrant camp in Ashtown was brutally attacked on January 28 2023 in Dublin. Ruth Coppinger, a former member of the Dáil (TD) for the Dublin West constituency circulated the report below. Directions at this link : https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/station/ashtown
Earlier today there was a brutal racist attack in Ashtown at a site where a group of migrant workers, made homeless by unaffordable rents, have been living in tents for months.
A gang of 5 or 6 men with dogs, armed with sticks and baseball bats descended on the camp and violently attacked and injured at least one person. They would have done more damage, only that witnesses disturbed them.
Read the rest of this entry »South Africa trades profitably in weapons with two major capitalist powers, Russia and Germany – “Our identity since Nelson Mandela has been as a moral power – that’s gone now”
Bob Myers examines the decision of South Africa’s African National Congress Congress (ANC) government to conduct joint naval exercises with Russia and China.
Article Source : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article65451
An extract from a Financial Times report (January 28) shows that Pretoria is using Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine to trade profitably with both Moscow and European Union powerhouse Germany.
The full Financial Times report is below, complete with a picture of smiling politicians, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and South Africa, Sergei Lavrov and Naledi Pandor.
Read the rest of this entry »‘REFUGEES WELCOME’ THE OTHER SIDE OF PROTESTS – When far-right protests against asylum seekers housed in the former ESB building started in Dublin’s East Wall, Molly Hennessy wanted to do something. So she went down on her own with a cardboard sign that said, “Refugees Welcome”.
This report was published in the January 28 2023 edition of the Irish Times. The author is Patrick Freyne
‘REFUGEES WELCOME’ THE OTHER SIDE OF PROTESTS
Community groups are stepping up their opposition to those demonstrating about asylum seekers being housed in their areas
When far-right protests against asylum seekers housed in the former ESB building started in Dublin’s East Wall, Molly Hennessy wanted to do something. So she went down on her own with a cardboard sign that said, “Refugees Welcome”.
She says some of the protesters there on November 21st, 2022, were chanting “Refugees out” and “Ireland is full”. A man started shouting at her, she says. “He said he was going to follow me and burn my house down. And I was like, ‘okay, that’s mad, seeing as you’re here saying, “protect our women and children”.’ He was up in my face. I’m not even going to say some of the things he was saying about the people …I was crying walking away.”
It turned out a lot of local people were as upset by the protests as Hennessy and were contacting with one another. Soon East Wall Here for All was born. It’s one of a number of groups springing up across the city – Ballymun for All, Clondalkin for All, Tallaght for All, Drimnagh for All – that seek to show solidarity with asylum seekers and refugees. The groundwork was partly laid in the local Starbucks, where I meet some volunteers. “This place is to us what Liberty Hall was to James Connolly,” laughs Roxanna Nic Liam. “My family all live here and I work in a cafe in here. I saw the protests and I was mortified. I texted people in the area I knew and a few of us met up here in these very seats.”
“I was really shocked,” says her neighbour Paddy O’Dea. “I thought, ‘is this where I live now?’ I’ve a two-year-old and seeing parents at the protests with kids, I was like, ‘are these the views that are going to be passed on to my little man’?”
Read the rest of this entry »Did Lenin Сreate Ukraine? On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Marxism
Why do Marxists defend the right of nations to self-determination? What does the struggle for national liberation have to do with the workers’ struggle? Social researcher Grusha Gilaeva analyzes the positions of Marx and Lenin on the national question and explains why the left movement must support the anti-colonial struggle of Ukraine
Grusha Gilaveva’s fascinating article comes from the Russian left-wing publication Posle. Gilaveva argues, in a very convincing manner, that Marx and Engels started out in the 1840’s opposing the rights of small nations to self-determination – inspired by a blanket opposition to all nationalism – but changed their policy after 1867. Marx and Engels were heavily influenced by Ireland’s struggle for liberation from the British Empire, and the Phoenix like rise and fall of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the Fenians. Policy divisions on the question of self-determination for small nations continued within the Marxist second and third internationals in the twentieth century. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin championed a policy favouring the rights of small nations and nationalities – and was opposed by revolutionary comrades such as Karl Radek and Rosa Luxemburg. Once again Ireland featured strongly in the debate among revolutionary Marxists. The Easter 1916 Rising in Dublin, although it was militarily crushed by British artillery, inspired socialists all over the globe who were fighting against the barbaric World War 1. The impact was brilliantly described by the famous North American feminist revolutionary Louise Bryant in “The Masses”, published in July 1916. “The Masses” can be accessed here : https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/masses/index.htm
An alliance between the descendants of the IRB (the Irish Volunteers led by Pádraig Pearse) and a brand-new working class actor fighting for Irish Freedom, James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army (ICA), inflicted devastating wounds on the most powerful empire the world had ever seen in those early years of the 20th century.
The 1917 Russian Bolshevik Revolution began to go badly wrong in the 1920’s. An early sign that all was not well was Great Russian chauvinist suppression of smaller nations such as Ukraine. We live with and suffer from terrible consequences today. We cannot change history, but we can learn from it.
John Meehan January 25 2023
Did Lenin Сreate Ukraine? On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Marxism
Why do Marxists defend the right of nations to self-determination? What does the struggle for national liberation have to do with the workers’ struggle? Social researcher Grusha Gilaeva analyzes the positions of Marx and Lenin on the national question and explains why the left movement must support the anti-colonial struggle of Ukraine
Read the rest of this entry »Ukrainian Action on Ireland; Free Russians Ireland; Woman Life Freedom (Iran) – Dublin City Protests January 22 2023 – Russian Troops out of Ukraine Now
Irish Left With Ukraine activists attended two well-supported Dublin city protests on January 22 2023 connected to the genocidal Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Free Russians Ireland event at Stephens Green/Grafton St. was supported by over 80 citizens, including Woman-Life-Freedom, an Iranian-led solidarity organization. Similar numbers supported the Ukrainian Action Ireland protest on the Halfpenny Bridge.
Free Russians Ireland, which regularly works with Woman-Life-Freedom, is a striking instance of woman led protests and solidarity.
Gregor Kerr photographed the Ukrainian Action Ireland Protest at the Halfpenny Bridge https://m.facebook.com/FreeRussiansIreland?eav=AfblU6Xlq_0_WZroeEfTwK93iOqoLz-1S7oKFbmqNucT4NYMrng6ZvHGuI90JO1sjgA&paipv=0
Irish Left With Ukraine supports calls for mass action against the Imperialist Genocidal Russian invasion of Ukraine on dates around the first anniversary of the invasion, February 24 2023.
Towards a global week of action for solidarity with Ukraine
Stop the Russian war of aggression! Peace for Ukraine!
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Tomás Ó Flatharta 