I waited for a while before comitting my claws to the keyboard on my return from attending a community planning day. I was there because my organisations provides services to each of the communities/neighbourhoods involved the the activity. In the interests of respect for those attending I don't wont to give much concrete detail except to say that I attended because I have a lot of respect for KO and his colleagues and wanted to offer my support.
It wasn't an easy meeting as those attending and the communities and organisations they represent are at different places and colloborative working whilst on the service is alive and well, there is understandably ethno-centrism and apprehension over pooling resources for a common goal and the possible resulting loss of resources for area based activities. However, there is a willingness to try and there has been a lot of effort from community activists to get things to the point they have got to. Some have different ideas on the focus of the joint activity and unfortunately, this took a lot of time to bat about with the emphasis on another model which has it merits but needs to be adjusted to reflect some fundamental differences - not least location. Anyway, getting to the focal point the group used a facilitator who specialised in business improvement (which also as an aside happens to be my MSc)
He didn't really help; no in fact, he hindered and was at best naive about how community deve lopment operates and at worst (we'll get to that in a moment) downright patronising and offensive. I felt sorry for KO and his colleague who had worked so hard to drive the project and found it back to first base. I think that can be fixed but they need the right project champion someone who knows how to negotiate and consensus build.
Anyway, Mr Facile who I will incidently not be attending any further meetings with, during one of his gambits spoke of how a particular community needed to be wary of the encroaching [insert minority ethnic community here] and followed up with a post qualifying statement that he wasn't being racist it was a reality. Oh dear; I very quickly told him that I found his comments offensive and I found it unconscionable that he should choose to single out any minority ethnic community as taking over an area;
This is Northern Ireland we have a bit of level on the prods and micks stuff but hey there we have one heck of a leap to make in terms of how we create a sense of belonging, equal opportunity and not least a safe place and space for minority ethnic communities and migrant workers;
Racism and xenophobia which manifests itself in the same intolerant, violent and murderous behaviour as witnessed here over the last near as damn 40 years, is alive and well in a town near you and me. We may have skimmed some plaster over the sectarian stuff at least enough to stop most of the murders and bombings but those same mindsets are alive and well and waiting to be applied to the next threats - this time to our economic freedom i.e. "They are over here and taking our jobs/over loading our health care and schools and taking our houses and benefits"
That a consultant should choose to jump on this bandwagon sickened me to the stomach. I think he thought he was ok among the white faces but It wasn't just me who was shocked and sickened and I hope he learned that you don't need to be in a green room to end up with a red face.
It wasn't an easy meeting as those attending and the communities and organisations they represent are at different places and colloborative working whilst on the service is alive and well, there is understandably ethno-centrism and apprehension over pooling resources for a common goal and the possible resulting loss of resources for area based activities. However, there is a willingness to try and there has been a lot of effort from community activists to get things to the point they have got to. Some have different ideas on the focus of the joint activity and unfortunately, this took a lot of time to bat about with the emphasis on another model which has it merits but needs to be adjusted to reflect some fundamental differences - not least location. Anyway, getting to the focal point the group used a facilitator who specialised in business improvement (which also as an aside happens to be my MSc)
He didn't really help; no in fact, he hindered and was at best naive about how community deve lopment operates and at worst (we'll get to that in a moment) downright patronising and offensive. I felt sorry for KO and his colleague who had worked so hard to drive the project and found it back to first base. I think that can be fixed but they need the right project champion someone who knows how to negotiate and consensus build.
Anyway, Mr Facile who I will incidently not be attending any further meetings with, during one of his gambits spoke of how a particular community needed to be wary of the encroaching [insert minority ethnic community here] and followed up with a post qualifying statement that he wasn't being racist it was a reality. Oh dear; I very quickly told him that I found his comments offensive and I found it unconscionable that he should choose to single out any minority ethnic community as taking over an area;
This is Northern Ireland we have a bit of level on the prods and micks stuff but hey there we have one heck of a leap to make in terms of how we create a sense of belonging, equal opportunity and not least a safe place and space for minority ethnic communities and migrant workers;
Racism and xenophobia which manifests itself in the same intolerant, violent and murderous behaviour as witnessed here over the last near as damn 40 years, is alive and well in a town near you and me. We may have skimmed some plaster over the sectarian stuff at least enough to stop most of the murders and bombings but those same mindsets are alive and well and waiting to be applied to the next threats - this time to our economic freedom i.e. "They are over here and taking our jobs/over loading our health care and schools and taking our houses and benefits"
That a consultant should choose to jump on this bandwagon sickened me to the stomach. I think he thought he was ok among the white faces but It wasn't just me who was shocked and sickened and I hope he learned that you don't need to be in a green room to end up with a red face.
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