Culture
-"the
customs, civilisations and achievements of a particular
time or people." (The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Multi-cultural(ism)
-"of
or relating to or constituting several cultural or ethnic
groups within a society." (The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Inter-cultural(ism)
-"linking
the cultural or ethnic groups within a society."
(me!)
Minority
Ethnic Group (‘ethnic minority’)
-"an
identifiable group differentiated from the main population
of a community by racial origin or cultural background."
(The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Ethnic
-"having
a common national or cultural tradition" or "denoting
origin by birth or descent rather than nationality"
or" relating to race or culture." (The Concise
Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Customs
-"particular,
established ways of behaving." (The Concise Oxford
Dictionary/1990)
Traditions
-"customs,
opinions or beliefs handed down to posterity especially
orally or by practice." (The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Faith
-"a
system of religious belief" or "things believed."
(The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Religion
-"the
belief in a superhuman controlling power, especially in
a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship"
or "a particular system of faith and worship."
(The Concise Oxford Dictionary/1990)
Race
There
is only one human race! In sociology ‘race’
is no longer accepted as a scientific term ie it cannot
be used to describe biologically distinct groups of persons
with supposedly unchanging characteristics. Scientific
research into the biology of ‘race’ has shown
that genetic differences between individuals within a
so-called ‘racial’ group can be greater than
those between individuals from supposedly different ‘racial’
groups.
Racial
harassment
-"all
actions and behaviours that intentionally or otherwise
either discriminate against someone or makes them feel
unwelcome or marginalised because of their racial identity."
(Executive summary of ‘Opportunities for All’
report by Paul Connolly and Michaela Keenan at University
of Ulster).
Racial
identity
-"can
be defined in terms of a person’s ‘race’,
colour, nationally and ethnic and/or national origin"
(as above)
Racist
incident and Institutional racism
Definitions
suggested in the MacPherson report into Stephen Lawrence
murder.
Racism
The
UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination defines racism as "any distinction,
exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour,
descent, or national or ethnic origin."
Racism
Is
a set of beliefs, ideologies and social processes that
discriminate against others on the basis of their supposed
membership of a ‘racial’ or ethnic group. The
term is used to describe:
- doctrines
which justify notions of superiority and inferiority
on the basis of real or imaginary biological differences
(usually skin colour);
attitudes
and practices which produce discrimination.
BRIEF HISTORY OF EACH COMMUNITY
Despite
popularly held beliefs, at least two ethnic groups, the
Jewish and Traveller communities have been living in Northern
Ireland since before the Government of Ireland Act 1920.
Migration of the other communities mainly took place in
the 1950s and 1970s. As a result, there is a mixture of
well established communities, with second and third generation
ethnic minority citizens in Northern Ireland, and relatively
young ethnic communities.
Many
ethnic minority people came to Northern Ireland out of
economic and political necessity. The extent to which
this has affected their position in the labour market
and their position in Northern Irish society varies. The
type of work that has been available not only governs
levels of incomes, but also determines where people settle,
where their children go to school, the type of interaction
that takes place with the indigenous labour force and
population generally, access to services, their chances
of participation in civic life, and their overall status
in society (Anwar, 1991). If ethnic minorities are concentrated
in a limited range of occupations, then they will also
be concentrated in specific services and industries, which
in turn affects concentration in housing estates, towns
and cities and regions.
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Traveller Community
Travellers
are indigenous to Ireland and have a history which can be
traced back for centuries (Noonan, 1994). The first Travellers
were believed to be itinerant trades persons and specialists.
The Traveller communities in Northern Ireland form a distinct
and separate ethnic group. Furthermore, the term Traveller
refers to the membership of this group and not just to the
distinction between a nomadic and settled lifestyle. Up
until industrialisation in the wake of World War Two, the
Traveller community was an integral part of the rural economy,
through tin-smithing, horse dealing, carpentry, chimney
cleaning, selling domestic ware and seasonal agricultural
labour. In the 1950s this economic relationship and the
Travellers’ way of life was changed forever as a result
of urbanisation, mechanisation, the introduction of plastic,
rural depopulation and increased mobility for the rest of
the rural community. The impact was a much decreased demand
for the skills and services Travellers had provided before.
All of this resulted in a lack of income and directly impacted
on their standard of living. In the face of this dramatic
change some Travellers today deal in scrap, carpets, caravans
and tarmacing. The other enormous impact has been on accommodation,
where restrictions on camping places and serviced sites
has led to extremely poor living conditions in many areas.
Just over a third of the Traveller community live in Belfast,
whilst there are also high concentrations resident in Craigavon,
Derry, Newry and Mourne, Omagh, Strabane and Coalisland.
Chinese
Community
The
Chinese community is the largest ethnic minority group resident
in Northern Ireland. The majority have come from Hong Kong’s
rural area, the New Territories, whilst there are also a
few from Malaysia, Singapore and the People’s Republic
of China (Marger, 1989). Unlike the highly developed and
affluent city of Hong Kong, the New Territories have remained
under-privileged in economic, social and educational spheres.
These people left Hong Kong out of economic hardship and
many of these fishermen and village people migrated to the
United Kingdom in the 1950s. A high percentage of the Chinese
community work in the catering business. It is believed
that the first Chinese restaurant was set up in Belfast
in 1962. By 1970 the numbers had slowly increased, however,
the start of the ‘Troubles’ in the late 1960s
forced many Chinese families to close their businesses and
move back to England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
It was not until the late 1970s that families once again
began to return to Northern Ireland. The majority of the
Chinese community live in Belfast, whilst significant numbers
also live in Craigavon, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, North Down
and Ballymena. Most families are still engaged in restaurant
and take-away businesses. The main language spoken is Cantonese.
Vietnamese/Chinese
Community
The
Vietnamese/Chinese community arrived in Northern Ireland
in the late 1970s. The exodus from Vietnam was precipitated
by fear of persecution from Communist forces. Those lucky
enough to survive the horrific boat journey arrived at reception
centres across Hong Kong. The majority of families who arrived
in Northern Ireland settled in Craigavon. When these families
first arrived, local families paired and befriended the
newcomers to help with the complexities of day-to-day life
in a new country. Language barriers created difficulties
in finding employment for many of these families and after
initial attempts from some women to work in local factories,
many chose to work in Chinese carryouts and restaurants,
seeing it as the only viable option. Those who came to Northern
Ireland with a trade, such as jewellery making, have not
been able to exploit this skill, because of language barriers.
Since the 1980s the population has seen two main shifts,
firstly as a result of migration to the USA and secondly,
as a result of a series of racist attacks in the late 1980s,
when families left for England. The main language spoken
is Cantonese, whilst a few people also speak Vietnamese.
Indian
Community
The
first Indians to settle in Northern Ireland arrived in the
1930s. Their trade was door-to-door selling of clothes.
Initially this work took place on foot and then progressed
to the use of bikes and eventually cars. It was not until
the 1950s that Indians began to settle in larger numbers.
Initially husbands came over and took up a trade, and once
financially established returned to India to bring back
their wives and families. These families have settled all
over Northern Ireland in Belfast, Derry, Coleraine, Portadown,
Magherafelt, Cookstown, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Omagh.
Once families were established in their trade, they would
then go on to open clothing shops. Today, the Indian community
is involved in many different employment arenas, from owning
factories, grocery shops and restaurants to other self-employed
businesses and professional jobs. Although, most families
are second or third generation, there are some fourth generation
families also settled in Northern Ireland. The main languages
spoken are Hindi and Punjabi.
Pakistani
Community
There
has been an Asian community living in Craigavon since the
1970s. The majority of these families lived in England before
settling in Northern Ireland. Most families initially settled
in the Legahory area, but gradually families moved out into
other areas, such as Waringstown, Portadown, Bleary and
Lurgan. The decision to move to Northern Ireland was made
for personal, social and economic reasons and these families
see their futures in Northern Ireland. Some of the women
have been living in Northern Ireland for 25 to 30 years
and most of their children were either born here or have
lived a large part of their lives in this country. Many
of these families are market-traders, specialising in clothing
and bed linen. The main language spoken by the Pakistani
community is Urdu, but there are other dialects such as
Punjabi, Mirpuri and Sindi in use.
Community
Relations
It is
important to cite the development of community relations
in Northern Ireland. In 1987 the Central Community Relations
Unit (CCRU) was established to advise the Secretary of State
on all aspects of relationships between the different peoples
of Northern Ireland. The initiative was triggered by tensions
between Catholic and Protestant communities and the Equality
and Equity Branch was established at that time to reflect
this. Currently the CCRU provides a grant towards the salary
of a Race Relations Advisor in the Chinese Welfare Association
and is also providing grant aid to the Multi-Cultural Resource
Centre.
In 1990
an independent Northern Ireland Community Relations Council
(CRC) was established to provide support facilities and
recognition for local organisations concerned with the development
of community relations, awareness of cultural diversity
and conflict resolution. In relation to ethnic minority
groups, the CRC operates a grant scheme through the Inter
Community Grant Scheme and Local Cultural Traditions Grant
Scheme. These schemes, since their inception, recognise
the eligibility of projects dealing with the issues of ethnic
minorities
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