Letter: Uncontrolled immigration has become a real threat in Northern Ireland and people have a duty to protest
A letter from Clive Maxwell:
With one or two honourable exceptions, our unionist politicians are inept and they cover this by broadly playing to the media.
This provides them with a loincloth to cover their shame and the poverty of their ideas.
Is it possible there is something new stirring in the politics of this island that will sweep away the prejudice of the past and disturb all our pre-conceptions?
Emigration has introduced a new dynamic and can no longer be ignored. Reservations about this have been building for years and wiser heads who advised caution were shouted down and cancelled.
Multiculturalism, promoted by sections of the media, now self-righteously wringing their hands, hasn’t worked.
We in Ulster have our own problems that remain unsolved, and we’re now factoring in another challenge.
Uncontrolled immigration has led us to where we are and has become a very real threat to all of us. When the voices of those who reason and point out the dangers are ignored, or become the target of abuse, then people not only have the right to protest, they have a duty.
The right to protest comes with a health warning. It has the potential to be seized on by sinister elements who will turn it to their advantage and it could spin out of control.
We need new leaders, from both communities, to spring from the grassroots and give a voice to those who have been marginalised and silenced. They need to harness emotions that are raw, and build a movement that is disciplined and demands to be heard.
People are exploiting immigration, either for votes, or monetary gain. I refer here to unscrupulous landlords who are destroying the whole culture of an area, and leaving those who have lived there for generations to swim against a rising tide.
These people no longer have a voice and when they object they are dubbed “far right” and become targets of abuse.
The fact that people, in both communities, are concerned enough to set aside tribal differences and find common cause, is encouraging, but it’s not without risk.
It could be seized on by elements who will see a political opportunity they can turn to their advantage.
We could counter that, and seize the moment to create an Ireland free from the sterile politics of the past.
Clive Maxwell, Bleary