What with June’s local elections fast approaching, the number of “new Irish” candidates running for a place in the country’s councils and local authorities is at an all time high. So far, 22 new Irish hopefuls, from Pakistan to Poland and from Moldova to Nigeria, have been picked to run in
the elections by mainstream parties.
Fianna
Fáil has selected eight candidates, Fine Gael and the Green Party have recruited six each and Labour has two.
Issah Huseini is national coordinator of the New Communities Partnership,
which aims to empower minority ethnic groups to participate in public life in Ireland. He thinks Barack Obama’s election as US president played a role in encouraging new Irish politicians over
here: “It proves that ethnic minorities can do it. It has given great confidence.”
But why would someone without ties to Ireland’s complicated Civil War politics join one of our larger parties? For
Shaheen Ahmed, who comes from Lahore in Pakistan, family relationships were a motivation but not the only reason for his decision to run for Fianna
Fáil in
Lucan. “My wife’s family had a strong political influence on me and it was under their influence that I became a Fianna
Fáil supporter.” he says. “But one of the key factors that attracted me to Fianna
Fáil is the pragmatism and common sense that they show towards governing in this country.”
Bartlomiej Bruzewicz, a Polish candidate for Fine Gael in Dublin’s north inner city says: “There were many reasons why I decided to join the party. Fine Gael is the most pro-EU and pro-immigration party.” His party colleague in
Letterkenny, Michael
Aboila Philips from
Nigeria agrees: “Fine Gael is a party of integrity. In
Letterkenny it has supported the new communities and embraced multi-
culturalism.”
Tendai Madondo from Zimbabwe, a candidate for the Green Party in
Tallaght, was approached by several parties before she made her final decision. “The Greens have a globally
centred policy that supports communities in bringing about social change,” she says. “They
provide me with a structure of support and were very welcoming. They operate on a local
level, support my initiatives and let me be me.”
Some, however, prefer to keep their independence in representing the public.Ignatius Okafor from Nigeria is one of three new Irish candidates standing in Dublin 15. “I prefer to be independent as I don’t want to be handicapped by a party with limited policies,” he says. “I am independently minded and want to talk and deal with issues that affect people directly.”Whether party political or independently minded, most candidates decided to stand because they want to help their communities integrate into Irish society. “I faced many challenges when I first arrived because I
didn’t know how things worked here,” says
Tendai. “Now I am
more integrated I know many people who are going through similar things. I can have a positive impact on their lives.”
Anna
Banko, who is from Poland and is standing for Fianna
Fáil in Limerick, says: “As I have quite good English I have been helping other Polish immigrants to fill in forms in the
bank, go to the doctor and write
CVs. It’s easier to help when a lot of people know your face.”
At the same time, however, the candidates don’t want to be seen as solely concerned with immigration issues. Moldovan Elena
Secas, who is standing in Limerick for the Labour Party, wants to represent all the people. “The issues people are talking to me about are better road conditions, better public services, more amenities for young and old and anti-social behaviour,” she says.
Nigerian Frances
Soney-
Ituen is an independent candidate running in
Kildare on behalf of the Women’s Integration Network. “The women involved are from all backgrounds and political affiliations,” she says. “And the challenges we face transcend all nationalities, the settled,
travellers and immigrant communities.”
For many of the candidates, the politics bug took hold before they came to Ireland.
Shaheen was heavily involved in politics as a student and was a member of the Pakistani People’s Party, the party of
Benazir Bhutto. Michael studied political science and education before becoming protocol
officer for a state governor in Nigeria. Others, like Anna
Banko, were influenced by family histories: “My father was involved with the Solidarity movement in 1980 and both my grandfathers fought against the Nazis in the Second World War. I remember my grandfather telling me that all people are good and the right thing to do is to help people.”
But despite the enthusiasm shown by many new Irish for political activism, some communities, notably the Chinese, are not represented among the candidates. If our political leadership wants to include these communities, cautions Isaac, they will have to take a more active role in recruiting them. “Political parties need to get right down to the grassroots to encourage communities,” he says. “It is very important that ethnic minorities also have a voice in the political system.”
Polling Day is June 5.
