Thread by @INARIreland

THREAD: Fair play 2 the Ryans 4their courage &dignity. Shocking that a loving couple like this can be the focus of such racist poison just for wanting to bring up a family. Shocking that R media &institutions let this happen #LateLate #LoveNotHate #IrelandThisisUs #IamIrish 1/12

2/12 Unfortunately they're NOT unique, not by a long stretch. @INARireland’s iReport.ie data going back to 2013 documents over 2000 racist incidents &hate crimes, impacts &outcomes. Online & IRL attacks on minority men women &children including babies R sadly common

3/12: Eg this snapshot from the first 6 months of 2017 which we know captures *only a tiny fraction* of all incidents:
enarireland.org/ireports/

3/12: Eg this snapshot from the first 6 months of 2017 which we know captures *only a tiny fraction* of all incidents:
enarireland.org/ireports/

4/12 Fiona Ryan, a white Irish woman, in choosing a minority partner & having a child with him is exposed to the reality that minorities in Ireland exist in: “Reading [the racist comments] really affected me,” she says “I was never aware people who could look at us negatively.”

5/12 it’s a reality of racism in the form of hate speech, discrimination, harassment & hate crimes which all minorities know they could face any time, every day; a reality the white Irish majority don’t see & so isn’t reflected in our institutional responses, media coverage …

6/12 & so we have a society that allows the majority to exist oblivious to the fact that discriminatory practices & the poison of race hatred are being allowed to make families & individuals the length and breadth of the country, feel like they are “less than” and “don’t belong”

7/12 eg Fiona says “when I made a complaint to Gardai I was shocked to find that their hands were tied” Ireland has no Hate Crime Legislation that is effective and the police responses that flow from that are virtually nonexistent. So trust in Gardai is rock bottom

8/12 so we have 2 realities in Ireland when it comes to racism; the reality 4 people, mums, dads, children, families who face it &feel unprotected, &the reality 4 the majority who don’t face it but who see their reality reflected in media discussions, the institutions &practices

9/12 Two realities divided by racism. One reality where the impacts of racism make people like the Ryans decide to stop going out or where some quit work, never go outside alone, only go to safe places, drop out of school, fall ill or become depressed

10/12 because of this racist bullies and far-right ideologues are able to have free reign to make a family feel that they don’t belong here with us. How can we let this happen? Because the media and institutions don’t see this reality “their hands are tied” This has to stop now.

11/12 Ireland is being examined this yr @ the UN for its record on racism. It has a poor score card to make up for on hate crime, on its treatment of minorities including Travellers &Roma, people of african descent, Muslims & Direct Provision system enarireland.org/cerd19/

12. We need leadership in govt &media 2make sure this never happens again 2any family in Ireland &we need that kind of leadership in R laws &criminal justice system. Having hate crime laws would help make sure Garda hands aren’t tied enarireland.org/hatecrime/
#LoveNotHate #LateLate