A Voice at Last for Survivor Groups, Irish Post, November 18, 2009

A Voice at Last for Survivor Groups

Irish Post
November 18, 2009

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/tabId/550/itemId/7094/A-voice-at-last-for-survivor-groups.aspx

That's the conclusion that has been drawn by those in Britain who travelled to Ireland to meet with Minister for Children Barry Andrews.

The group, including Sally Mulready and Phyllis Morgan from the Women's Survivor Network, Francis Murphy from Survivors South East and Councillor Mary Murphy from Manchester, met with Andrews and representatives of Batt O'Keefe in Dublin to discuss the recommendations of the Ryan Report.

Speaking about the meeting, Mulready said: "It was an absolute eye-opener for them to hear from us — it was a powerful message. We've finally had the voice of survivors in Britain heard, and our experiences as immigrant survivors and our hopes and aspirations were listened to. Now we have to make sure promises are followed through."

Along with meeting Government ministers, the delegation also met with people from Cardinal Brady's office, The Christian Brothers and The Congregations that ran the Laundries.

The delegates stressed the importance of progressing the professional Outreach Services based in Manchester, Coventry and London, while asking the Congregations to look at the best use for resources for survivors in Britain.

It was also requested that late applicants to the Redress Board should come before any dispersal of funds.

Mulready said: "However well meaning survivors representatives in Ireland were, they should support our call to represent ourselves. It's been very frustrating being locked out of discussions with ministers and the congregations straight after the Ryan Report was published."

But now, the delegates have said the meetings are the first steps towards truly acknowledging what took place in the institutions and the Laundries.

She asked the Christian Brothers to' look again' at what actions they could take that could atone for the scale of the suffering inflicted on survivors.

"We believe the meetings are very significant and the start of dialogue with the congregations, the State and other organizations that we hope provide opportunities for survivors in Britain to talk directly about our vision for the way forward," she added.