In N.Ireland Africans, Black Minority Ethnic people do not have a voice within policy making bodies and institutions. The reason for this is Systemic Institutional Racism and Career Gatekeepers. Some of these Individuals & Organisations claim to represent Africans, Migrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers whilst on the other hand calling for 'BLM6JuneActivists" to be prosecuted.

Today ( Aug 27th 2020) another person has lost their life in Ireland's horrible Direct Provision system. It is time now for the 1.47 million Irish citizens outside of Ireland to push for change through whatever channels we can. Colm Brophy TD is Minister for the Diaspora and is the only voice we have and we must make our views clear to him - Céad Míle Fáilte is not conditional! Direct Provision was introduced as an emergency measure in 1999. Today there are 7,000 people living in direct provision. The current government coalition has committed to ending the Direct Provision System within their term however there has been limited communication about any action so far. Last week it was revealed The Department of Justice and Equality compiled daily reports of social media relating to Direct Provision, how much traction they had and how critical they were for the government. COVID-19 has again highlighted how unsafe this system is with multiple outbreaks in centres across the country. In recent times of crises, Irish governments have historically favoured austerity rather than investing in a social safety net. We have to pressure the government to deliver on their commitment by the end of their term AND ensure there are improved provisions to care for Asylum Seekers in the meantime. Irish people all over the world are given the opportunity to support our communities, to contribute to society, and to share our culture in our new homes so we want to remind you of this. Wherever you are, wherever you are from the Céad Míle Fáilte is not conditional. #DiasporaagainstDirectProvision Tag Minister for the Diaspora, Colm Brophy @brophytalks Tag Minister for Justice, Helene McEntee @HMcentee Tag Minister for Integration (DP disestablishment) Roderic O'Gorma @rodericogorman Tag Dept of Foreign Affairs @dfatirl Tage Dept of Justice @deptjusticIRL Tag MASI to show support @masi_asylum

The people who produce our food are often treated the worst in society. Now, they're being exposed to COVID-19 at work, and bosses are allowed to get away with it. It's time Minister for Health Stephen Donnolly took action to make meat factory bosses protect the people who work there.

The news is full of reports on illegal gatherings. However it’s clear that the only group being punished through the hastily approved enforcement powers under Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 are those standing up for racial justice. Eight race hate crimes are reported every day in Northern Ireland. Black Lives Matter protesters last month took a huge stand against racism, and now the PSNI is punishing them for it.

Facebook must do more to stop Donald Trump. His infamous Twitter posts are cross-posted to Facebook and not being moderated or reviewed. [2] Now, he's throwing money behind ads with Nazi symbols targeting our communities -> https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/tech/facebook-trump-ads-triangle-takedown/index.html Facebook employees organised a virtual walk out in protest over the lack of moderation on his hateful posts. [3] Calls for advertising boycotts are heating up. [4] It's time Facebook took action, and either kick Trump off Facebook, or moderate his posts and stop taking his money to spread hate. Sources [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/28/zuckerberg-facebook-police-online-speech-trump [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/facebook-oversight-board-wont-review-trumps-shooting-starts-posts.html [3] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/01/facebook-employees-stage-virtual-walkout-over-trump-post-moderation.html [4] https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/06/17/facebook-hate-speech-civil-rights-groups-call-advertising-boycott/3207915001/

This is the statement made by the family who are asking for our support "We have all been living through our own personal hell. We are relieved that justice has been done and that the crimes committed against us as children are no longer hidden or denied by anybody. No more needs to be said about the hell we have lived through and somehow survived. But more does need to be said about how it was allowed to happen. We are left with many questions, and we need answers. Where were the different parts of the state when we as vulnerable and defenceless children needed protection? How could schools, social workers, medical professionals and all the other people who had a so-called ‘duty of care’ turn their back and look the other way – time after time as the evidence was piling up and hitting them in the face? We were vulnerable Traveller children, forced to live on the edges of Irish society, already looked down, discriminated against and denied our basic human rights. Does this denial of our rights extend also to the right to protection and welfare as children? Would the same state neglect, the same agreement that nobody should say a word, the same ability to turn the blind eye have been evident if this had been a respected settled family in Ireland? God knows we know that what we had to suffer could have happened in any family in Ireland. But we also know that the response of the state would have been different and there is a good chance that much of the suffering could have been spared or avoided. We are asking you not to ask ‘how could this happen in a Traveller family’. Do ask ‘how could this happen in any family? But also ask ‘were we not protected because we were Travellers?" Tipperary Rural Travellers Project publicly state our support for the Reilly family in the wake of the court judgement that found their father guilty of rape and sexual assault of his sister and seven daughters. We cannot even begin to imagine the pain and trauma the family has endured, and we want also to commend the Reilly women in the courage, determination and humanity they have shown under such terrible circumstances. We sincerely hope that their courage can provide some inspiration and encouragement for others who suffer abuse and trauma from such circumstances. https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/sexual-abuse-victims-ask-were-they-less-protected-because-they-were-travellers-1005362.html

Children as young as six years old often show prejudiced attitudes towards people of other ethnic groups. This is especially true with White children who tend to display more racial bias than other groups. Racially-biased children may grow up to be prejudiced adults and this contributes to racism in our society. Children will "naturally" grow up to be non-racist adults only when they live in a non-racist society. Until then, adults must guide children's antiracist development. It is therefore incredibly important that education about race and racism is begun at the earliest stage possible, and continued throughout children’s time in the education system.

Black people around the world have been subject to colonial rule, the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade, and the effects of white supremacy culture. Capitalism and the immense wealth of the global north was built on stolen labor, ongoing colonisation and violent dispossession at the hand of white supremacy against people of African descent and Indigenous peoples. The condition of Black and Indigenous people and throughout the world today must be placed in its proper historical context. The recent grassroots uprisings across the globe are powerful and demonstrate how fed up Black communities are with systemic oppression and racism. These protests demand not just an end to Black suffering and death but a commitment to help Black people live and thrive, to shift from a world centered on white supremacy and violence to one grounded in equity and justice. This moment demands that each of us—especially those of us who are not Black or Indigenous—act with great urgency in defense of Black lives, to support the work of ending police brutality and white supremacy, and to bring forth a world in which Black people are truly free and liberated. While the Black experience and fight for justice around the world are as varied and diverse as Black people themselves, we stand in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives and call on elected leaders around the globe to end the war against Black people.

Black people around the world have been subject to colonial rule, the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade, and the effects of white supremacy culture. Capitalism and the immense wealth of the global north was built on stolen labor, ongoing colonisation and violent dispossession at the hand of white supremacy against people of African descent and Indigenous peoples. The condition of Black and Indigenous people and throughout the world today must be placed in its proper historical context. The recent grassroots uprisings across the globe are powerful and demonstrate how fed up Black communities are with systemic oppression and racism. These protests demand not just an end to Black suffering and death but a commitment to help Black people live and thrive, to shift from a world centered on white supremacy and violence to one grounded in equity and justice. This moment demands that each of us—especially those of us who are not Black or Indigenous—act with great urgency in defense of Black lives, to support the work of ending police brutality and white supremacy, and to bring forth a world in which Black people are truly free and liberated. While the Black experience and fight for justice around the world are as varied and diverse as Black people themselves, we stand in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives and call on elected leaders around the globe to end the war against Black people.

In light of the global Black Lives Matter movement, Galway City cannot, in all conscience, allow a memorial to a coloniser who stands for the millennia of systemic oppression, murder and enslavement of millions of non-white peoples to remain, as if his supposed brief visit to Galway was something to be proud of. It needs to be removed immediately, and better still, be replaced with a memorial to his victims.

We should not have a statute of a white supremacist proudly on show in Northern Ireland. It should be removed as a mark of solidarity and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Asylum seekers are restricted from working in Ireland until they have been in the country for over 9 months. Prior to 2018 Asylum Seeker in Ireland were banned from working indefinitely. This was overturned because a Supreme Court ruling in a case, NHV, decided Ireland's policies violated fundamental rights. These historical policies restricting asylum seekers from working fuelled a cycle where people become trapped in direct provision centres and are subjected to inadequate living standards. The restrictions still imposed since 2018 are still much longer than other EU Countries such as Sweden and Portugal which allow asylum seekers to work immediately. Ireland had a recent chance to improve the lives of asylum seekers considerably and choose less restrictive options available to them when allowing asylum seekers to work. They chose lengthier waiting options for the right to work. This is contrary to recent rhetoric offered by some Irish politicians. (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/direct-provision-system-not-comparable-with-a-man-killed-by-police-varadkar-1.4270979) Allowing asylum seekers a right to work is a step towards combating racism in Ireland, slightly ameliorating the detrimental impact of direct provision in Ireland, and recognising the human rights and dignity of asylum seekers in Ireland. MASI are an excellent grassroots organisation who are campaigning tirelessly on this issues. They can be followed and supported here: https://www.masi.ie/support-us/ *The views expressed above are my own and are I am not directly attributing them to any of the organisations mentioned