The New "Other"

Today we met with U.S consulate for Northern Ireland, Dean Pittman, today. It was an honor to meet him and he was very good at answering our questions. One topic that was brought up today and that has been brought up before, but not really focused on, was the issue of immigration to Northern Ireland from Poland, other eastern European countries, Portugal, and China. Because of this, there seems to be a new wave to discrimination against these new minorities. We have been hearing the term "double minority" here to describe the situation between the Protestants and Catholics (because the Catholics are the minority in NI but the majority in Ireland and visa versa for Protestants). However, now these new minorities are categorized as the "other" and they are increasing. It will be interesting to see how the groups accept or reject certain groups as they become more integrated into their society.
What I found to be most disappointing is that there does not seem to be an openness to these groups, from what I have gathered thus far. There is no program or school to teach them English or to help them integrate into the culture, as we have in America. However, those programs seem to be disappearing as well in the U.S. I think that this is a result of fear from losing our identity and our jobs, to be quite frank.
These fears can be understood but can also be conquered. I'm a mutt of ethnicity, as most Americans are, combined of German, Irish, and Polish heritage. I can remember my relatives telling me about the signs that said "No Dogs. No Irish" and about the anti-German sentiments after WWII. And now here we have seen "Poles out" painted on a wall in a Loyalist community. It pains me to see such exclusion present at any time in history and in any part of the world. I know that fear is a natural emotion and reaction. However, I don't think that dealing with it in this manner of exclusion can be justified by human nature. Hopefully, the problem may be caught early enough here to stop it before it consumes their social structure. Northern Ireland has gone through so much and made so much progress. I would hate to see it tangled in another ethnic conflict.