I went to this meeting yesterday for the no human is illegal campaign to stop the deportation of parents of irish born children . . . they have immplimented this new law to get non irish citizens out of the country. The majority of those effected are nigerian citizens living in ireland.

the language: these children are called irish born children, not just irish children, or irish citizens - the language is loaded with their visible minority status
the rhetoric: the governement is blaming migrant women for the over crowding of maternity hospitals, they are telling stories of migrent women on the verge of labour coming over on planes and boats to take advantage on the welfare system here.
the truth: the hospitals are over crowded - they don't have enought funding, yes many migrant women are having children and many irish born women are having childre. yes women are coming over while they are pregnant, because they don't want to have their children live in poverty in nigeria, they don't want there girls to have female genital mutilation.
the scapegoats: the citizens believe that these people are taking their resources, taking there jobs, as the economy ends its boom, and problems are arising they need someone to blame and the government is more than willing to provide them with a group of people to blame so their seats in government stay secure
the balancing act: the courts have ruled that the childrens right to have their parents and family here with them in Ireland is not as important as the states right to deport those who are not citizens. In the irish constitution the family unit is the most important part of society and to be protected (which they use against womens right to work, abortion, queer rights etc) but only some families seem to be protected and not these families from nigeria. Even though the children are citizens and are to stay in the country, the parents are encouraged to take them with them, supposidly this ethnic cleansing is in the best interest of the children.
the problem: families are given 15 days in order to make an appeal. But only irish citizens are entitaled to free legal aid. Plus a huge number of these letters went out in the summer when the courts were closed, adn you couldn't find a solisiter in the country. Families had to leave or disappear.
a solution: residence agaist racism is try to get free legal aid from the childrens right to it, they are saying by proxi the parents should be able to receive the aid.

one of the women who is being deported spoke at the meeting - it was so emotional that I was in tears, they read a letter from this younge girl who family was being deported who was pleadign with the government to stay so she would not have to have genital mutilation, not get an education and forced into marriage etc. There is a protest happening in a few weeks on behalf of a few of the families. I will go but getting other poeple to see this as an issue of human digitiy an dracism is harder then I tought. Even my roommate who is in development who seemed to be aware of these issues . . . sees this are very complex, says she sees both sides, and understands how the irish people feel these migrants are a threat. How they are not assylum seekers rather economic oppotunist. She thinks that the work that needs to be done is in th countries themselves and the irish people and government should not be strained due to another countried faults. Ahh it was a tense breakfast. I keep telling myself, getting into these discussions can only make my arguenments stonger because I get a clearer picuture of what we are up against and the direction we have to go. I know preaching to the converted doesn't make change, so living in this apartment will be a test or living with such a wide range of option NEVER a safe intellicual space, always being challanged. Faudi would love it!!!


I was talking to the GR kids about the radical cheerleaders and they want me to start it here . . . dude, I don't know if I can do that . . . I am deffinatly being challanged everywhere, GR is really making me think about my boundaries and seeing if I can push this shy girl away and have even more fun (hard to think its possible!!) I don't know about the radical cheerleader thing, I don't really have what it takes to be a head cheerleader, radical and queer or otherwise. But I am trying to get an anti-homopobia/transphobia/biphobia etc booth started at the irish social forum. I'm meeting up with this phd student next week to see what we can do. . .

Plus I hung out with that NY girl bug, yesterday, not only has she done drag before, she knows the band bitch and animal and is interested in doing a few of there numbers with me. I really wanted to do drag to a song about doing drag . . . she digs it. I have the spirit glue, and the desire, she has the experience and the boy look. Together we can take dublin by storm!! Tonight is the opening night of the girl club, bug already knows the dj who is this butch girl from australia . . .who is also interested in doing drag. that girl is friends with the one and only drag king around this hood. So now we have the connections aswell . . . ahhh I can't wait to meet these girls.

Oh how quickly I forget . . . I started work yesterday at the dry cleaners. It was great, the vibe is chill and friendly. its not hard work, but there is always something to do so you are never board . . . and we do the outfits for the tv station. Yesterday they brought in all this clothes, the stuff for th new, kids shows etc. Tehy even brought in this one peice white elvis outfit with rimstones. I have to write a discription one tag. "1 while elvis suit" hehehe it was great . . .

I said for the first time yesterday half seven to mean seven thirty. Its not even half past seven, just half seven. I said this while I texted bug at the same time. you don't text message someone it just text . . . I'm slowly learning . . .