An Irish social media account has launched a campaign highlighting the struggles encountered by black people growing up in Dublin.
"Humans of Dublin", set up by Peter Varga, is publishing daily accounts of personal experiences of racism and discrimination in response to the Black Lives Matter protests occurring all over the world.
Inspired by the famous "Humans of New York" page, "Humans of Dublin" shines a light on Dublin residents from all walks of life.
Now, as anti-racism protests take place around the globe, the page is focusing on different struggles encountered by black people in a limited-time series.
The page published its first profile in the series on Monday, June 8, and has posted a total of four different accounts of racism in Ireland.
The accounts document a variety of racist incidents, from being the only black person in an Irish school to being egged in Dublin City because of a person's skin color.
The accounts range from subtle to overt, but perhaps the most telling account is that of a black man who told his school guidance counselor that he wanted to study law.
Read more: Reports of racist incidents in Ireland doubled in 2019, according to study
The profile, which was the first profile of the series, details how a school guidance counselor advises a young black student against pursuing a career in law because there are no black lawyers in Ireland.
The anonymous contributor said that the counselor did not intend to be racist with their comments, rather that they were giving him a dose of reality, which is an altogether more alarming problem than one incident of individual racism ever can be.
The encounter with his guidance counselor caused the anonymous young black student to move away from a career in law and instead pursue a pharmaceutical science degree.
The same contributor also chronicled how a white taxi driver refused to take him because of the color of his skin and pointed to a black driver who would take him instead.
You can read the full profile from the Humans of Dublin Facebook account below.
"My father is a big-time lawyer in Zimbabwe. All four of my siblings are lawyers too! They graduated from places like Cambridge and the Hague University in the Netherlands. There was no question, I knew I wanted to become a successful lawyer too. I was a great student and I had all the help from my family. Before leaving high school, my guidance counselor pulled me aside and advised me not to do law in Ireland. He said law in Ireland is family-owned and family-run. Also, you are black. There are no successful black lawyers in Ireland. I want to be honest with you, he said, if you go study law and you want to stay in Ireland, you will waste four years of your life. He said you might be waiting for an interview with four white men looking for the same position. I know it wasn't to hurt me and I know he was just making me face reality. That conversation changed my path and I decided to do pharmaceutical science instead. This is just one example. There are so many other subtle incidents.
"Not too long ago, as I was leaving work, I went to a taxi rank to head home. Before I could open the door of the first taxi, I heard it lock. I didn’t understand what just happened. It wasn’t at night. I wasn't coming out of a club. Confused, I asked the driver: Why did you lock the door? This white man, in his 70’s, signaled me to take the taxi behind him. I was like why? He said I will not take you! Take the next one! I said you are the first taxi in a taxi rank, you have to take me! He is like No! Take the next taxi behind. I look to the next taxi and see a black guy looking at me. He gets out of his car and starts shouting at the taxi driver, calling him racist and starts taking his plate number. Then the white man just drives off. I am like what just happened? I face these incidents all the time. I am glad that people are now listening and standing up for us. It feels amazing when someone stands up for you! I don’t want this to become "Us versus Them" again. I want it to be all of us against racism. I don’t want people to walk on eggshells around us. I want them to treat me the same, but better. Just stand up for us. Don't let racism pass by. That will mean everything to us."
Read more: Irish politician Eamon Ryan apologizes after using the n-word in the Dáil
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