Questions on integration
"We asked for workers and we got people instead," said the late
Swiss writer Max Frisch of the German guest worker programmes of
the 1960s. For all the lessons learned since then, the aphorism -
capturing the absurdity of viewing immigrants purely as economic
agents who will one day return home - has present-day resonance.
Like the Turks and Yugoslavs who came to turn the wheels of
Germany's postwar economic resurgence, Ireland's immigrants have
been vital to our prosperity. They fill gaps in local knowledge and
take the jobs that many Irish people shun. Just as importantly,
their presence introduces wealth of another kind, by bringing new
cultures, languages, religions and experiences. Login or subscribe for more.
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