Leftline, March 2006 Organisation: Irish Socialist Network Date: 2006
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LEFTLINE Radical analysis from the Irish Socialist Network www.irishsocialist.net hoping his listeners will take responsible, or we turn in on fright at the prospect of them ourselves and find someone LOOKING AFTER all descending upon us like else to blame. From the OUR OWN avian-flu-ridden turkeys. bosses’ point of view, racism The truth is a lot less is extremely handy as a ready-made scapegoat. When people stop believing dramatic, of course. Ireland in socialism, it often turns is finally catching up with What Rabbitte has achieved out that they don’t just the rest of the world, with is to tip the scales a bit believe in nothing: they’ll about 10% of our population further against a class believe in anything. Whether now coming from abroad. response and in favour Pat Rabbitte ever believed in Far from robbing the poor of a racist response. He socialism in any real sense old Irish of the fruits of has turned attention away is a question we can leave to the Celtic Tiger, the vast from the conflict of interest the boys down at forensics, majority of immigrant between classes, and towards but he’s certainly prepared workers are taking up jobs an imagined conflict of to pin his tail to any donkey that Irish people now find races. He has brought these days. too unpleasant or badly-paid. into respectable discourse And the few who have beaten the notion that a group of Having sold what was left Irish people to a job against workers are the problem that of the Labour Party’s soul the odds deserve it, and are needs controlling, rather to Enda Kenny — cheaply, doing no more than millions than the capitalist class and because damaged goods of Irish people have done in its behaviour. If that notion fetch little in any market — other countries. takes hold, it will choke his latest brainwave is to call When workers are confronted off any prospect of decent for restrictions on immigrant working-class politics, never workers. with social or economic problems, we can respond mind socialism. Raising his eyebrows basically in one of two It has to be said that many conspiratorially, he informs ways. Either we point the working-class people are us that there are forty million finger at the businessmen prepared to go along with Poles out there, you know, and politicians who are truly Rabbitte here. An opinion poll suggests that 80% of Polish building worker are meaningless unless backed people agree with restrictions all ‘our own’. But instead up by action from our on immigrant workers, we have a labour movement movement. As a matter about the same amount that that says there are too many of principle, Ireland’s voted for McDowell’s racist of them, while it proceeds borders should be open to referendum in 2004. This is to treat our enemies as anyone who wants to come one of those occasions when ‘partners’. Is it any wonder here: anything less goes at socialists need the courage to that the unions are failing to least part of the way with stand up against the tide of organise these workers? Rabbitte, and reduces us to a popular opinion. A workers’ movement that sick discussion on how many Not so long ago, it was really welcomed immigrant people should be turned commonplace for trade workers would be a very away because of their ethnic unions to oppose the entry of different movement indeed. or national origins. women into the workforce, Just as the women once The medieval system of or to allow it only on unequal excluded from unions work permits should not terms, on the basis that often turned out to be the be modified or improved, they would undermine the best trade unionists, Irish but scrapped entirely. position of male workers. workers could do with a Asylum seekers, currently It was eventually brought shot in the arm from those condemned to compulsory home to them that it was Rabbitte wants to keep out. unemployment, should be precisely that sexist prejudice The most militant part of the allowed to work, and the that undermined the position Irish working class last year threat of deportation lifted of all workers. Workers have was the Turkish part, the from them. to organise together on an workers who fought Gama’s A nation that oppresses equal basis to get anywhere, exploitation and SIPTU’s another, wrote Marx, forges and that includes fighting the indifference. chains for itself. Unless specific discrimination that Indeed, we should ask the workers’ movement in women workers face. ourselves if our movement Ireland welcomes and fights The same principle should is worthy of immigrant for immigrant workers, apply with immigrant workers. A May Day it’s going nowhere fast. workers. Some basic demonstration in Dublin We cannot rebuild a real principles of solidarity must be a pathetic sight to workers’ movement without and internationalism need someone from Nigeria, where 100% opposition to the restating. A worker, whatever one-day general strikes racism faced by a growing country he or she comes against the government are part of our class. from, is our brother or sister; a regular occurrence. Poles a capitalist, even if he only whose parents built a union movement in the teeth of Aindrias Ó Cathasaigh, comes from down the road, is writing here in a personal our enemy. repression from Stalinist generals must be singularly capacity, is a member It’s often said that ‘we should unimpressed by a movement of Residents Against look after our own’. Well, that can’t even close down a Racism (see www. immigrant workers are ‘our company that sacks you for residentsagainstracism.org own’: the Filipina nurse, wearing your union badge. for more details). the Nigerian bus driver, the Abstract welcomes are THE DUBLIN were innocent victims, the black man was better RIOTS seeking to remind us of their paid, they had better jobs, pain. better everything. He was treated better than anywhere Some of the initial frenzy Journalist Susan McKay has else in the world.” provoked by the Dublin been a lone voice reminding riots has passed, and we can people that its chief organiser As Jeffrey Donaldson start to judge the long-term Willie Frazer is an apologist of the DUP demanded impact. for terrorism who is sympathy from the people manipulating the suffering of the Republic, nobody The usual suspects in the of northern Protestants to was churlish enough to media made a determined further his anti-democratic remind him that Ian Paisley effort to blame Sinn Fein for agenda. Frazer’s comments and the Orange Order had the trouble, which was only about loyalist paramilitaries joined forces with loyalist to be expected. The fact that (“they should never have paramilitaries to orchestrate Sinn Fein had told people been locked up in the first several days of rioting in to ignore the loyalist demo, place”) haven’t been given Belfast last summer. Such and condemned the rioting, much of an airing in the uncomfortable facts interfere made this task quite difficult. southern media. with the agenda of those who The anti-Provo brigade seem want to blame republicans to have retreated from this People were right to be angry for every problem that arises fantasy for now, but don’t be when Robert McCartney in the north. surprised if we see it rear its was murdered by the head in the future. IRA. But the hypocrisy of It remains to be seen what many commentators who consequences the rioting After all, the same people shed crocodile tears for will have north of the have casually re-written McCartney and his family border. Some of the “Love history, now referring to the should be clear. They can’t Ulster” marchers went on “riots” of May Day 2002. muster any indignation when the rampage in Portadown The most clear-cut case of Frazer defends the loyalist on the night after their failed Garda brutality in recent death squads who murdered demonstration. There’s a years, captured live on video, hundreds of Catholic real danger that loyalists can be magically transformed civilians (some of them also will be looking for revenge into a riot by the power of from the Short Strand). when marching season wishful thinking. The hand of comes around this summer. the IRA Army Council may Nor did we hear about the The Drumcree protest has yet be found in this year’s views of his ally Jim Dixon, been running out of steam in disturbances. who told reporters: “It’s recent years, so the last thing wrong that blacks are coming we need is a revival. We were also reminded that to Northern Ireland … I large sections of the political couldn’t care less if people On balance, it would have class and the commentariat call me a racist. I couldn’t been better if the march had are determined to ignore care less what they think. been able to go ahead. Willie loyalist bigotry. Again and Apartheid meant the black Frazer came south looking again, we have been told man was better treated and for trouble, and he got what that the “Love Ulster” crowd respected. Under apartheid, he wanted. Allowing a loyalist march to go ahead foothold in Dublin. THE BIN TAX - THE in Dublin isn’t the same as BATTLE GOES ON allowing the Orange Order One good thing came out to march down the Garvaghy of the trouble, though: If one were to rely on the Road: loyalism will always indymedia.ie has gone a long mainstream media, one be an alien presence in the way towards establishing would think that the bin tax south, and its followers will itself as a credible source controversy is long dead.