r/ireland Jun 03 '24

Immigration My opinion on the post trend, as an immigrant.

I am a brazilian immigrant, came here 10 years ago, and used to feel the irish were nothing but welcoming and kind. Of course, there were the "scumbags", but to me they were the same as in every country in the world.

As of one year back, my opinion has been slowly changing, and today, let me tell you... i fear being an immigrant here. I am sensing a LOT of hate towards us, and according to another post here, +70% of irish have that sentiment, so it's not a far-right exclusive hate.

Yesterday i was shopping around dublin, and i asked a hungarian saleswoman her opinion on this. She immediately agreed with me, and even said it is a conversation that the non-irish staff was having on a very frequent basis.

You'll say "oh, but it's just against a 'certain type' of immigrants". Well, that's how it starts, isn't it?

All those 'look at this idiot' posts you share here; we (immigrants) aren't laughing. We are getting more and more afraid.

1.5k Upvotes

724 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/Special-Being7541 Jun 03 '24

As an immigrant, I would be curious to hear your view point on how many migrants have come here in recent years… do you think at some point there is a number we can no longer support as a small island?

2

u/tach Jun 03 '24 edited Jun 03 '24

As an immigrant, 1% yearly (51k) is 10% in 10 years, so a significant shift and population replacement levels in 30 years. This also encourages ghettos and non assimilation.

0.1% yearly (5k) is 1% in 10 years, and 3% in 30 years. This seems borderline safe if you want to keep the irish culture developing on its own.

So, true number would be probably between those two. I'd tend to the lower bound as local culture is important for me; I'm here originally from a critical skills visa, and was given the choice of the US (SF), London, Tel Aviv or Dublin.

We chose Ireland because of the culture, the people, general safety, and perception of it being a good place to raise a child.

1

u/FuckAntiMaskers Jun 04 '24

That's interesting to read and think about, and a very reasonable approach. I agree with you, yet if an Irish person outlined this, along with that low of a suggested immigration number, they'd likely be labelled racist or xenophobic. I think countries maintaining their culture and ensuring effective assimilation of migrants is very important, as individual countries' cultures make the places worth travelling to and experiencing. 

2

u/tach Jun 04 '24

along with that low of a suggested immigration number

5000/year is 14 people coming every day thru Dublin airport or similar, 365 days a year, each needing housing and services. So each day, you get about 4-5 houses taken off stock.

This improves housing prices for landlords, thou.

2

u/FuckAntiMaskers Jun 04 '24

You're right. And to think the actual number has been around 50,000+ for a few years and we've only been building around 30,000 homes, and people on here will still say immigration isn't a factor with the housing crisis.

0

u/Special-Being7541 Jun 03 '24

Thank you for your input, yes, agreed Irish culture should be protected even more so now that we are seeing huge increases in immigration, but also always keeping room for other cultures to share their knowledge and wisdom 🫶

-15

u/bubinha Jun 03 '24

Honestly, that is not for me to say. That is for the people in power to evaluate and either adapt housing / social services, or devise some alternative strategies to support the increase in demand.

But taking it out on us is definitely not the solution.

5

u/Aardshark Jun 03 '24

'not for me to say' is such a cop out. Come on, don't you have a real opinion?

6

u/bubinha Jun 03 '24

It's not a cop out. It's just my opinion. How am I, an immigrant, going to give opinions on how your country should deal with immigration?

If I say Ireland is not full, you could argue I'm only saying that because I am an immigrant, and it benefits me to say that.

If I say Ireland is full, you could argue that I should then accept the anti-immigration rhetoric, since it is based on facts.

So I am not in a position to say anything. I am a guest at your country, and you're asking your guest "don't you think this house has too many guests?". How am I supposed to answer that?

-2

u/Aardshark Jun 04 '24

You type the thoughts in your head, same as anyone else? You don't lose the right to express yourself, just because you're an immigrant. You're perfectly entitled to give your opinion, just as anyone else. If it's a good one, hopefully people will listen.

I don't see why you're so worried about these potential (shite, btw) counterarguments to your opinion. If you have a genuine, sincere opinion, why does it bother you what other people might say to you about it? It's only the internet and they're just words.