Report from the SY Resistance Festival 2007

By Conor Payne, Dublin Socialist Youth

On the 21 and 28 July, Socialist Youth hosted “Resistance”, a series of forums for young people around the South to discuss and debate socialist ideas.

The events were held in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. These were very successful with around 150 mostly young people attending overall. All the forums began with a debate. In Dublin and Cork, Socialist Youth members debated the Greens on the subject of how the environmental crisis can be solved. Challenged on their decision to enter government with Fianna Fail and the PDs, the Greens argued that there was no other way to ensure action was taken on urgent environmental issues, such as global warming.

Socialist Youth pointed out the link between global warming and the profit system that puts the interests of the fossil fuel industries and big business in general above the interests of people and the environment. To really fight against environmental crisis, we need to challenge this system and that can‘t be done in government with pro-big business parties.

The Greens claimed to agree with us on other issues such as privatisation, the use of Shannon Airport by the US military and Rossport! Yet they have sold out on all of this issues in government.
In Limerick and Galway, we debated the Young PDs, who argued that the free market was the solution to and not the cause of problems such as poverty, war and environmental crisis and argued the case for “socially responsible capitalism”.

Socialist Youth argued that from Irish Ferries’ attacks on workers’ wages and conditions to war for oil being fought in Iraq, capitalism is never socially responsible and always puts the lust for profit above all other concerns.

All four events included a discussion on the life of Che Guevara and the struggle for socialism in Latin America. Resistance was a great success with many young people indicating they wanted to join Socialist Youth.

Quotes

Michelle Dempsey – Student Nurse

“The event was great as it talked about things that matter like workers’ rights, anti-sectarianism and cuts in the NHS.”

James Higgins – Student

“I thought the event was really interesting. It was good to see someone addressing the topic of climate change. With a lot of people at attending it made for some important discussion.”

Gemma Foster, 19, young worker from Dublin

“The discussion on young workers’ rights was of big interest to me. This is because I’ve been in a situation of not getting my rights at work and getting ripped off and it was great to see that someone was fighting for young workers. I was also interested in the issue of the environmental crisis.

“I liked that in the young workers’ rights discussion if you asked a question you got really good answers on how you can fight to get your rights in the workplace.

“I was working for a big supermarket chain that’s obviously really profitable. The pay was ridiculous – €3.75 an hour for under 18’s. You had to work overtime and it was unpaid overtime. The manager used bullying tactics to intimidate us, threatening to give us a bad reference for example.”

Marta, 19, Bolivia

“I find it incredibly interesting to come across a socialist movement in Ireland and Europe in general. This movement is a reflection that we live in a world with problems. Society is still developing. Socialism is the best way to direct it.

“In Bolivia our government is supposed to be socialist. They have good intentions but our biggest problem is still with the multinationals and it’s a big struggle that’s still happening.

“It’s amazing that Socialist Youth is concerned with the problems all around the world and knows about Bolivia and Latin America as well as fighting on the issues here in this country.”

What do you think of the Socialist Youth “Resistance” event in Dublin?

“The Resistance event to me was a very proactive, educating event to raise awareness concerning Important and undeniable aspects of the effects that the capitalist system has on the world such as the environment, workers rights, Latin America. In my opinion, it was a great event, it allowed the youth to be involved in the greater discussion concerning their country and beyond.”

Mira, 21, Palestine

How did you become active in Palestine?

“Living in a country torn by occupation like Palestine, it’s inevitable that you become an activist and fight against the oppression faced by your people in any way you can. I have been an activist for about five years now – becoming a social-political activist has been one of the most enlightening experiences in my life, it has taught me a lot and has motivated me to continue the struggle towards freedom alongside the oppressed of the world.”

Can you describe the conditions facing Palestinians living in the occupied territories?

“The Palestinian population living in the occupied territories suffer day to day human rights abuses, especially in terms of the lack of freedom of movement (there are about 420 military checkpoints in the West Bank). The people of Palestine are terrorised on a daily basis by the Israeli occupation, we suffer from lack of freedom of speech, education, resistance and most of all a free, safe life.

“But on the other hand, the Palestinian people are, on a daily basis, fighting against occupation despite all of the obstacles that we face, that are nowadays increasing. We are fighting for our freedom, because at the end of the day, the Palestinian people are not terrorists and they are not victims -, they are survivors.”

Suicide: A hidden crisis

By Elisa O’Donovan, Limerick Socialist Youth

“Society made me feel like I was scum, that led me to isolation, depression and despair. I nearly lost my life.”

These are the words of Ian Howley, a 20 year old male from Athlone. Ian is not alone in how he feels. In the last three years, two thousand people took their lives. Depression is a major problem amongst young males in this country with Ireland having the third highest suicide rate in Europe.

Day in day out the media tells us that we have never had it so good, gone are the days of poverty and a bleak future, now we are a wealthy country. Yet, evidently many young people are not so optimistic about their futures and face more social problems and pressures than ever before.

We are growing up in an image obsessed society riddled with stress and debt, a society where facilities for young people are virtually non-existent, a society which values golf courses above playgrounds.  Many young people feel they have no control over their lives and futures. People feel their future is not in their hands, but in the hands of examiners, bosses and ‘the jobs market’. Also, despite all the communications technology, many young people feel more isolated than ever as a result of an individualistic culture.

You’d think suicide prevention would be a top priority for the government. You would be wrong. Funding into mental health services is amongst the lowest in the world. Only €1.8 million was allocated to suicide prevention – less than half what was requested. This compares to €20.6 million in Scotland.

With the continued stealth privatisation of the health service one can’t help but feel the situation will only worsen. Again and again this crisis is swept under the rug, but at this year’s SY Summer Festival you can get a chance to discuss how can the crisis be ended.

I will be there. As a student doctor who has lost two friends to suicide, I will always remember how Mary Harney, the HSE and successive governments have done little to tackle this crisis.

North: Working class students need not apply for Uni

By Daniel Waldron, QUB Socialist Society

Northern Ireland is becoming a cold house for working class young people wishing to enter higher education.

The new financial arrangement New Labour introduced last year, which brought in top-up fees of up to £3,000 per year, has hit the North harder than any other area, with an 11% drop in applications over all.

This is largely because wages are lower in Northern Ireland than in Britain on average and there is a high level of poverty. Students from working class backgrounds are wary about taking on the huge amount of debt studying for a degree now entails. According to the University of Ulster, applications from those in the ‘two lowest social groups’ fell 5.2% and 10.3% respectively.

For those already in university, struggling to pay the bills is getting more difficult as well. The boom in house prices in the recent period, driven by profit-hungry speculators, means that students are being forced to pay extortionate levels of rent.

The cost of basic necessities is also considerably higher than the UK average. Belfast ranked 19th out of 27 university towns in a survey of cost-effectiveness. Thus, more students, particularly those from less well off families, are being forced to work part-time jobs where they are exploited as cheap labour.

These trends reflect the over-all assault on public, accessible education by New Labour, backed by their neo-liberal cronies in university management. If unchallenged, their agenda will mean higher education becoming again a luxury for the well-off, under the control of big business, run for profit, not for students.

Queen’s University has recently been admitted to the elite Russell Group, which includes Oxford and Cambridge. Plans have been announced to increase the average UCAS points required to gain entry to a course in Queen’s to 400. This is the equivalent of 2 A grades, a B and a D at A-Level. Peter Gregson, the university vice-chancellor says this is an attempt to attract ‘high quality students’. In reality it will be a system that greatly favours the well-off, who can afford extra tuition and can spend more time on their studies.

Gregson has also echoed calls by others in the Russell Group for universities to charge even greater tuition fees and for higher education to become more ‘business friendly’, in other words run to meet the needs of bosses who wish to exploit our skills.

Socialists believe education is a right not a privilege. We call for free, properly funded, public education with a living grant for students, not the burden of loans and tuition fees. As part of this struggle, Socialist Societies across the North this year will continue to build the Campaign to Defeat Fees along with our sister organisations in Britain. Get active on your campus!

North: No cut in the Minimum Wage

From The Socialist

Gordon Brown has announced he wishes to cut the minimum wage in Northern Ireland from £5.35 to £4.80 an hour. This is another attempt to lower wages, particularly those of young workers.

New Labour has announced a cut in the minimum wage, which they claim will allow them to increase it in London to meet higher living costs. However their real aim is to scrap the minimum wage. Recently Brown brought ‘Lord’ Digby Jones into the government. Previously he was head of the Confederation of British Industry (bosses organisation) and constantly opposed any increase in the minimum wage. We know whose views Gordon would rather listen to!

This shameless pandering to the demands of big business over the rights of workers comes at a time when companies are making record profits. Tesco made £2.54 billion in profits alone last year yet this has meant no pay increase for the workers who produced this vast fortune. The reality of living on the minimum wage for young workers is in contrast to the bosses’ obscene profits. “It is hard enough as it is,” a young cleaner told the Socialist, “A drop in the minimum wage is going in the wrong direction. You need more than one job just to pay for the increasing rent.”

This cut is also a threat to workers earning slightly more than the minimum wage. A young worker in the Co-op supermarket explained – “any reduction in the minimum wage affects us too because it gives our company an excuse to try and lower wages”.

The Northern Irish Assembly has done nothing to stop attacks on young workers. Instead they have gone on the offensive against classroom assistants’ pay and conditions.

Young workers need to get organised now to fight this and other attacks. A mass movement of low paid workers in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales is the only way that Brown and his business cronies will back down. The trade union movement needs to launch a campaign, including the use of industrial action, against these attacks. If this attack is introduced, Socialist Youth will be looking for information on employers who implement it in order to organise action to stop any cuts in workers’ pay.

However we need to get active now to stop any cut. If you are a young worker interested in getting active, then get in contact with the Fight Back! Campaign on 02890232962.

Socialist Youth’s Fight Back! Campaign demands:

– No cut in the Minimum Wage.

 

- £8 an hour Minimum Wage immediately.

- Scrap the Youth Exemptions

Report from the Belfast ‘Resist’ event

By Emily Frazer, Belfast Socialist Youth

Socialist Youth’s ‘Resist’ event in Belfast attracted over 35 people throughout the day to hear debate and discussion on socialist ideas.

A debate entitled “How can we stop environmental destruction?” with the Green Party was an important discussion on the best way to solve the ongoing crisis over our environment.

A discussion on the 40th Anniversary of Che Guevara’s death and why you should be a socialist today had the biggest audience. There were speakers on young workers’ rights, women’s rights, the struggle internationally and who are Socialist Youth. There was a lively discussion on many issues from the 11+ exam to attacks on the future of our health system.

In the evening the film showing of Chavez: Inside the Coup brought up the important example of Latin America in struggle and the threats it now faces.

Heartless and barbaric: The deportation of Great Agbonlohar

By Paul Murphy

Great Agbonlohar and his family’s deportation underlines the barbaric nature of this government’s immigration policy.

Great is a six year old autistic Nigerian child, who has lived with his mother Olivia and twin sister Melissa in Clonakilty, Co. Cork since March 2003. He and Melissa were born in Italy and have never been to Nigeria.

Autism is a condition which requires ongoing specialised care and Great will not receive this care in Nigeria and may be victimised and brutalised by some in society. Being sent back to Nigeria has been described as equivalent to a death sentence for him by his mother.

Yet despite this, and despite the appeals of the local community in their support, including 3,000 signatures on a petition, they have been deported. They were flown back to Nigeria on 14 August, where they stayed in a hostel for one night and then were left to their own devices.

The family had launched a series of failed legal challenges against the decision of the previous Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, when Great was diagnosed with autism, trying to get their case reviewed.

Many felt that with Brian Lenihan, former Minister of State for Children, becoming Minister for Justice, that he would be more open to the appeals of the family and the community. However, he clearly wanted to show that he was just as “tough” on immigration as his predecessor. As we have come to expect the Green Party despite its posturing on human rights did nothing to stop this deportation.