IRELAND
Irish Central
Sinead O’Shea @irishcentral June 20,2014
At the root of the “Home Babies” scandal in County Galway was a dark reminder of how ruthless and cruel Ireland has been in its treatment of anyone who did not fit the national narrative, the nation’s idealization of itself.
That oppression has by no means ended, as filmmaker and journalist Sinead O’Shea makes clear in a fine article from today’s Guardian newspaper, which delves into shocking allegations that the Irish government arranged for abortions abroad for young women who got pregnant while staying in government homes.
In her hard-hitting piece, below, O’Shea echoes W.H. Auden in her sense of what blighted the nations development in the 20 century: “Those to whom evil is done/Do evil in return.”
By failing to grapple adequately with our own broken past, Ireland careened wildly from abused to abuser, a post-colonial horror show both infantalized and infantilizing, where special contempt was reserved for our weakest citizens.
To grow up, to move beyond each crisis that beset us, will require a new era of candid truth telling. That is why her article today is already striking such a chord internationally. – Cahir O’Doherty
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.