No person shall be denied the right to education. 1
I am a member of one of Ireland's ethnic minorities. I am Irish-Chinese. Although I was born in Ireland, I feel I possess a strong bi-cultural identity. I refer to myself as Irish-Chinese or Coloured depending on the situation. I do not consider myself white.
Growing up in the seventies and eighties, I was very much aware that I was a member of a tiny minority. We were labelled as outsiders. Who we really were, what our culture was, was not considered. Ireland in the seventies had its own preconceived opinion and mis-understanding of non-white people. Today Ireland is a fast-growing multi-cultural society. It is extremely encouraging and supportive for me as a coloured woman to see more non-white people residing in the city where I live.
I am angry that minorities are expected to totally assimilate into mainstream society. We are expected to ignore or suppress our culture. Non-Eurocentric cultures, depending on trends, can be fashionable, although in general they are treated with suspicion. Non-European minorities are expected to suppress their identity, to become `more Irish than the Irish themselves' and become part of the homogenous Eurocentric experience. To counter this, I regularly find myself questioning and affirming my self-identity.
Despite the fact that there is a growing multi-culturalism in Ireland and that groups such as the Travelling community are more vocal and out-spoken than ever, the Irish education system fails to recognise us. Our history and our culture is not documented or included in any school curriculum in Ireland. In general, the study of minorities is seen as an area of special study and reinforces the idea that we are separate from everyday life. Multi-culturalism is seen as problematic. The Irish education system is avoiding taking steps to address crucial issues of inclusion. In America, it is possible to study African-American studies. There is no similar area of specific study in the Irish education system; the closest is probably Equality Studies.
I had doubts when I first tried to write this paper whether or not the difficulties I experienced at third level were valid. At the outset, I thought no, though I can recall many incidents of sexism and ageism. I feel that the most difficult aspect of writing this paper was that again I had to question my identity and my experience as a person of colour. A minority living in a society or country whose people see themselves as part of an ethnically homogeneous society is constantly expected to prove his or her culture. We must re-affirm our culture, our make-up, our identity, our colour, our race. We must constantly re-establish and emphasise our rights, particularly our right to participate in a society and education system which does not discriminate. The difficulties that minorities face are not created by the minorities. The difficulties and intolerance result from conditions created by the majority.
We enter third level to educate ourselves and develop ourselves, not to reconfront attitudes we deal with in everyday life. The hostility that works to render minorities invisible are also present in our education system.
One of the most blatant problems I encountered in accessing third level education was when I was a student at art college. I had completed my three year diploma and was hoping to study a further fourth year at degree level. For this I had to attend an interview. The interview was carried out by two white men. It appeared to go well until they questioned my reasons for exploring issues of sexism and exoticism of race in my artwork. One of my older sisters is also an artist with whose work they are both familiar. They questioned why she and I were interested in racial exoticism. They indicated that while we were sisters and from the same cultural background, we couldn't possibly understand such issues. I found their attitudes incredulous. They dismissed my experience because they could place no value on it. I find it particularly difficult to comprehend how in an artistic educational institution where one would expect an open discourse on culture, a student should be discouraged from investigating cultural attitudes.
The whole ethos of art and creativity relies on the wide diversity of cultures. The interviewers could not place any value or meaning to my cultural experiences. Many educational institutions appear to have strict criteria for areas of study. This contradicts the belief that a university or educational institution encourages multiplicity and contradiction to co-exist with established opinion and accepted doctrine.
When we enter third level education, we come armed with our parents' hopes and our own interests. We experience the thrill and possibilities spread before us. In many ways, the real work begins here. We start to question ourselves and explore further options. We demand more of our identities. It is often at this point that experiences do not match expectations. In addition to alienation in the classroom, students of ethnic minorities feel isolated from their surrounding peer groups. We are faced with the irony of existing in a white homogeneous environment but unable to be as they, the majority, hoped.
I am part of this first generation of people of mixed race in Ireland entering third level education. I feel obliged to walk through what feels like a mine-field, partly out of duty but most of all because it has to be done. The major difficulties encountered at third level are a result of a lack of support and also because this society requires its members to make binary choices, to choose sides between Irish and non-Irish. For me to choose Irish would mean ignoring racism and accepting intolerance. It is like a game 'you're right- I'm wrong'. To be Irish would mean denying my identity, denying a whole culture. Marginalisation in culture results in a kind of provinciality. Those who are marginalised are considered as alternative peoples and alternative cultures. It must be possible to strike a balance.
I state again that I believe many problems experienced by minorities are a result of the criteria of the majority. Many steps that I take in accessing society, in accessing education, lead to further alienation and fragmentation. Sometimes, I feels as if I am not achieving anything. Alienation defeats the purpose of new-found consciousness. Ethnic minorities, in fact any minority trying to access society, must struggle against invisibility and obsolescence. It is encouraging to see legislation such as the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 2 but it is only a beginning. To improve the visibility of minorities in our education system, to educate the majority population on different cultures and also to provide support for minority groups and networks would be a step further. Much work must be undertaken to improve the quality of life of minorities on a social and personal level. I want to live in Ireland and exist in a society that welcomes multi-culturalism. I do not wish to suppress my culture and lose my identity.
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Signed in Rome, 4. Nov. 1950.
Incitement to Hatred Act; Stationery Office; Dublin; 1989.
1 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Signed in Rome, 4. Nov. 1950. Article 2, Protocol 1.Return to Main Text
2 Incitement to Hatred Act; Stationery Office; Dublin; 1989.Return to Main Text