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Inma Garcia is an English teacher from southern Spain. She recently spent nine months teaching Spanish at a secondary school in Newry, Northern Ireland. Her friend and colleague Michelle Morgan was brought up in Newry and is a librarian at the same school. Inma’s brother Rafael Garcia is working as a vet in Utrera, Spain. Read their stories ......
Rafael Garcia
For many years, what I saw of Northern Ireland was bombs, crime…hatred in general. I don’t know if this was the reality, but this is the only thing I know. Furthermore, when we have a similar problem in Spain, it’s common to see news articles on Ireland and its situation; its problems of coexistence between Protestants and Catholics, and so on.
If I told you the truth, these things seem a little ridiculous to me; it seemed funny that they would get angry because people marched with orange flags in a designated area, I thought – why don’t they just walk through another area and everything will be alright? And fiction, cinema, etc. help compound the situation. They only show us dreadful terrorists, corrupt police and a lot of hatred.
But little by little everything has become clear. Thanks to the peace process having begun, ideas arriving in Spain are far clearer. In addition, when my sister spent a year there, I decided to find out more about the country. Now I no longer consider it a country so violent that you can’t travel there because you may find yourself in the middle of a fire¬fight. I see it as a peaceful country, full of relaxed and amiable people where you can make friends with whom to talk. It’s not as different a place as it seemed, or they made it seem ten years ago.
Inma Garcia
My name is Inma and I come from the south of Spain. In my country, I have been teaching English to Spanish teenagers for 10 years now, so last year I thought it was time for me to take a break from my job and think about what I had done so far and what was ahead, it was also a means of recharging batteries. Being a teacher can be a tough job, especially if your students lack interest in the subject you are trying to teach. As I have always been fond of travelling and enjoying other lifestyles, becoming a foreign language assistant gave me the chance of doing this and at the same time I could brush up on my English and teaching techniques. I wanted to know how other teachers cope with the problem of students being unwilling to learn; maybe they could show me different approaches to language teaching.
After my school days, I decided to specialize in English not only because it could help me to earn my living in Spain or anywhere else in the world, but also because it could be a way to get to know different cultures. It was a dream I have always had, to spend at least a year in an English speaking environment so that I could pick up all those little things that you can’t learn at school or through books and films.
I applied for a position abroad several times before but it was in 2006 when I was eventually successful. The day I read the email from the Head of the Spanish Department of St Paul’s High School, I felt that my dream had, at last, come true. I was part of the group of Spanish language assistants that travel every year to Ireland and the UK as part of an inter-governmental programme coordinated through the Spanish educational authorities and the British Council. I did not actually choose the location, I was sent to Northern Ireland, and that was something that worried my family a bit because of the political situation over the years. However, I just thought it would provide me with the opportunity to visit many places I had never been to.
Unlike other people who go and work abroad, I was not risking very much, I got a temporary leave from my job in Spain and once I arrived in Northern Ireland, there would be both the British Council and the Spanish authorities to lend me a hand if problems came up. They were my safety net. Anyway, I could not help feeling a bit anxious about the gap year abroad.
My mentor teacher told me where I was to go, which school I was going to work for and what my job entailed, they sorted out temporary accommodation for me and they even went to the airport to pick me up. However, it was quite a challenge to spend a whole year abroad in a new environment. During my university years, I spent some months in England and because of my job, I have been away from my family and friends many times before, but I visited them every two weeks. Now, I cannot say I feel homesick, just somehow frustrated that I am not fluent in English because I cannot express my feelings as I do when using my mother tongue.
During my first weeks at St Paul’s, I felt rather stressed because I could not fully participate in all those things I usually do myself at the beginning of the school year back in Spain. I had to readjust and fit into school life in St Paul’s. Eventually it was not difficult because people like Michelle were very helpful and understanding. Now I am much more relaxed and not being Head of Department or Form teacher is quite a relief! Everything was sorted out for me and, as I am not familiar with this educational system, I could not do much to help the other teachers in my department.
Now, I am working part ¬time, from Tuesday to Friday. At school, my daily routine starts at 9 am and usually finishes at 1 pm This is so different from my full ¬time job in Spain. There I work from Monday to Friday, and do a 30 hour week, teach six groups of students, and have parent ¬teacher meetings quite often. In Spain none of my students are absolute beginners and some of them are even taking their exams to start at university. In St Paul’s, I meet my students for some fixed periods, they are mostly A¬ level students, I am here so that they can improve their speaking and listening skills and help them with their coursework. We talk about current issues according to the list of topics their teacher has given me. Sometimes we talk about Irish culture and this helps me a lot as the students tell me about traditions I have never heard about before. Just as in my home, people here seem to be quite family oriented.
In June, everything will be back to 'normal', that is, I will go back to Spain and to my job in Castillo de Cote High School. I will probably feel sad because I am really enjoying my time here but at the same time I feel that I have learnt many things about Ireland and its people. I would like to come back again as a tourist or maybe as a full ¬time teacher, who knows!
Being part of this project has helped me to think about migration from a different point of view. I come from Spain, a country where many people go to work every year, mostly from Northern Africa and Latin America. At the moment Spain is supposed to be the second country in the EU that receives the highest number of immigrants. It means that after terrorism migration has become one of the most important issues. Just like Northern Ireland, Spain has evolved from its traditional role as a sending country to a receiving country. During the 60s and 70s many Spanish people travelled within Spain and to many different parts of the world to find a job. Many immigrants now come every year to Spain but it was only when I went to Northern Ireland and became an immigrant myself that I actually realised how migration has changed through the years.
These days anyone can be an immigrant and economic reasons are just part of what lies behind migration. Nowadays people move out of their countries for many different reasons; sometimes it is to have a career break, others look for a fresh start and look forward to a more challenging job. My situation was the first one.
Before arriving in Northern Ireland, I was part of a host community where migration is usually linked to illegality: people going through very harsh moments while trying to get into Spain, closer to a slave trade than to migration itself, or being sent back to their countries because they do not have a work permit or passport. I was not familiar with the life of non¬-nationals who are trying to fit into the host community’s way of life.
Now I have experienced what many immigrants have every day in Spain. How difficult life can be until you finally manage the language. It’s not just about personal frustrations but also getting social approval as not every nationality is equally socially well¬ accepted. Besides, it is not easy to come to terms with the need of not keeping closer to your origins and also trying to be friendly within the new environment.
I have been a short-term immigrant as my stay has only lasted nine months and I think that this type of migration is the most relevant aspect of migration in the 21st century. As we are part of the EU, workers and scholars travel more easily all over Europe, spending periods of time in different countries. Now life can be so hectic that you do not really know if you are going to finally settle down in the country you moved to first.
Some participants in this project think Northern Ireland can be the perfect place until something better arises somewhere else in the world, others think about going back to their countries sooner or later, and others have changed their minds about moving back because they have already made Northern Ireland their home. I will go back to Spain and take up my former job but I will always remember my stay in Newry as very rewarding, a moment in a lifetime.
Michelle Morgan
My name is Michelle Morgan and I live in Newry, Co. Down. I am married with one daughter aged four and I live close to my mother. I have one sister who has three
children aged 23, 19 and 13. My family has lived for generations in this area and I have returned to live here after 12 years working in London. I enjoy living in Newry and I have seen many changes for the better now that the peace process is entering its final phase. The town has grown into a city and there are now lots of opportunities for our young people to be educated and find jobs without leaving home. This is in stark contrast to the Newry I left in the late 1980s when “The Troubles” made it impossible for businesses to grow and expand and students had to look elsewhere for employment.
Now we are in the position to offer migrant workers a place to work and live in a booming economic environment. Walking down the main street in Newry has become very strange as I no longer recognise all the faces passing by. What I do recognise are the expressions on the faces of young people I see who have come to begin their lives in Ireland. They are full of hope. Many have come from difficult situations just as I did and many just want to work hard and make a good living, get on with their neighbours and send money back home. Having done it myself, I can empathise with them.
I am the school librarian in St. Paul’s High School in Bessbrook, Co. Armagh and I have been working there since 1999. I studied English and Information Studies at Queen’s University in Belfast from1984 ¬to 1987 and then moved to London to work as an Information Researcher at LWT. I then moved to work in Information and Archives at the BBC in Shepherd’s Bush. I decided to come back to Newry in 1998 partly because my father had died and I wanted to support my mother and partly because I felt the time was right to return home to raise a family. I was transferred to the BBC in Belfast and left after a year due to family commitments. It was by chance that a job came up in St. Paul’s and I applied and got the job in November 1999. The library was then a small room with a few computers and it is now a state¬ of¬ the¬ art, purpose built library with wonderful facilities. I love my job and get great satisfaction from seeing the pupils grow into young adults and fly the nest! My role in St. Paul’s is to open up the world of literature to the pupils and encourage them to read and explore books.
I met my European friend, Inma Garcia on her induction visit to the school library. Inma came to St. Paul’s as a Spanish language assistant and she teaches our GCSE and A Level pupils Spanish conversation. Anybody working in St. Paul’s seems to find their way to the library eventually! Last year’s Spanish assistant Juan Flores was from Peru and he was a great library visitor and enjoyed the peace and quiet to do research and type emails home. I know Inma comes from the Seville area of Andalucía and having been there on holiday, I know a little bit about the culture and the landscape. The climate in Northern Ireland is so different to the Spanish climate and I am sure Inma has never experienced so many rainy days! In Ireland we get all the seasons.
I know Inma is an English teacher in Spain so we both work in a school and have a love of English and English Literature. She also had a longing to take time out to work abroad for a short space of time but like myself I think her heart is still in her home country. We both have very close families and would miss our friends too much if we stayed away too long!
I have worked in Spain, USA and England and this has given me an insight into other
cultures. I have travelled extensively to many parts of the world and enjoy meeting people and learning different languages. I would not rule out going to live and work in another country but at the moment my roots are firmly grounded in Newry. I think Australia or New Zealand appeal to me the most. My daughter starts school in September 2007 and this means a commitment to give her the most stable education possible. As I work in a school, the holidays are great and I get the summer off so I can go abroad for long holidays. At the minute that suits me!
To be honest although I had noticed an increase in the number of immigrants to Northern Ireland I hadn’t really given it much thought until I became involved with the British Council project. Inma asked me to get involved and we met as a group back in April. I then began to notice the number of foreign nationals now employed in my school and in other places such as supermarkets, shops, and hospitals. They mostly seemed to be motivated young people who are trying to make a new life here in Newry. It is hard to leave your native country but I had to do the same thing back in the 1980s as I could not find a job after leaving University. I moved to London and made it my home for many years and sometimes found the experience of being a stranger in another country a very lonely experience. People are in general very suspicious of things and people they don’t understand or haven’t taken the time to get to know. It was only through meeting up with members of the migrant community that I now feel aware of their plight and the problems they face on a day to day basis.
The main thing that struck me while walking around the city over the last few years was the number of people I did not recognise. In the past you could walk from one end of Hill Street to the other and recognise at least 70% of the people that past by. These days there are people arriving from many countries including Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Newry has always had a great sense of community and it is refreshing to see the different cultures coming to work and start new lives here.
I can remember there were a few Chinese families who came to Newry back in the 1960s to set up restaurant businesses and have stayed and become a vibrant part of our city. Apart from that I don’t remember any other people from different cultures brave enough to move their families to what was essentially a war zone by 1969. One of the main reasons that people did not want to live in Northern Ireland was the ongoing political situation which led to poor investment in the country and high unemployment. I for one welcome the increase in immigrants to this area and the generally positive contribution they are making to our economy and our society.
A recent report in the news states that a record number of people came to live in Northern Ireland last year and the population of 1.7 million increased by over 15,000 which was double the average for the last 10 years. Migration is definitely responsible for fuelling the growth in population. Migrant workers in my area come from all walks of life and range from labourers to highly skilled medical workers. They are being employed in areas where there is a shortage of staff. For example many trained and motivated doctors from Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are making a significant contribution in Health Trusts all over Northern Ireland. There are still shortages of qualified doctors, anaesthetists, radiologists and paediatricians in our area. My sister is a Paediatric Staff Nurse in Newry and has also welcomed the increase in migrant workers in her department. Nurses from the Philippines work alongside her in the Children’s Ward and they are hard working, motivated and valued members of staff.
Most immigrants are trying to provide a better life for their families back in their home countries and also trying to bring their families over here at some point.
Having a migrant population has had positive economic impacts. These include the delivery of essential services, the arrival of skilled and unskilled labour, the retention of local factories and services that otherwise may have been outsourced and the additional money being spent in local shops. On the other hand there have also been some negative economic impacts such as underpayment and exploitation.
I notice that in our local newspapers there are now weekly columns in Polish and Russian and in our local parish bulletin you can see the names of babies born to the migrant community. The local branch of the St. Vincent De Paul runs free English classes twice a week for those who want to learn the language. Also this year members of the migrant community led the annual St Patrick’s Day parade wearing traditional costume. In school we are seeing a number of new pupils from Russia and Latvia and with the right encouragement we can help these young people improve their English and become good citizens of our community. The people of Newry as a whole have welcomed the influx of migrant workers and the Newry and Mourne District Council is doing it’s best to integrate the newcomers with various initiatives.
There are many challenges and opportunities ahead of all of us as Newry and Northern Ireland move towards an inclusive multi¬cultural society. We were once the immigrants in other societies as the Irish population throughout history were always on the move. It is now our turn to open our country to those people who are striving for a better standard of living and in return get a diverse and socially inclusive society. The Irish have always had the reputation of being friendly and outgoing but a small section of our society is still inward looking and wants to stem the flow of migrants to Northern Ireland. This has caused increased tensions among some inner city communities and led to the police being called to sort out disputes. On the whole I think that the people of Newry have coped well with the migrant community and have taken a 'live and let live' attitude.
I remember when the 10 countries joined the European Union back in 2004, Bertie Ahern said to the newcomers who came to live in Ireland, “We welcome them with pride. We welcome them with hope”. I think we can all take something from those sentiments for the island as a whole. We have such a beautiful country with great scenery and great people. Also on that occasion Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize-¬winning poet, read out a poem he composed for the occasion. It was called “Beacons at Bealtaine” (Bealtaine in Irish means May Day and is traditionally known as the Celtic Feast for the first day of summer). It is also said to be the day when the first magical inhabitants of Ireland arrived on the island! The poem includes the lines: “So on a day when newcomers appear…let it be a homecoming.”
I would hope that all migrants who find themselves in our country, whether by chance or design, will be welcomed and treated as equals.
I am so glad I got involved with this project as it has given me the opportunity to discuss at first hand the impact migration has had on our society. I have met face to face with a group of people who have decided, for now, to make Northern Ireland their home. I wish them all well in whatever they decide to do and know that in time they will
always keep a piece of Northern Ireland in their heart. I would like to thank all those who have made this project a success and hope that in some small way I have extended the hand of friendship and Céad Míle Fáilte to our newcomers.
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