Ambassador ‘surprised’ to learn of negative media coverage

LITHUANIA’S Ambassador has claimed she is unaware of the overwhelmingly negative media coverage of her compatriots in Ireland.

Ambassador Izolda Bričk-ovskienÄ— – Lithuania’s top diplomat in Ireland since June 2005 – told Metro Éireann: “I never read about it, it’s a surprise to me.”
When informed that Irish media coverage on Lithuani-ans tends to centre only on knife attacks and drinking, without any positive counterpoint, she responded: “A couple of criminals does not mean the nation.”
She added: “You know, I can’t say for the newspapers what they should write about. If they want to show this side of life, they are free to show this, but I think that Lithuanians in Ireland, they have much more to show for their people.”
The predominantly negative media coverage of Lithuanians has not gone unnoticed in some journalistic circles, however. Journalist Dr Simon Bourke warned of its long-term effects at a conference at Dublin City University last September.
“Each individual story of a fight following a Traveller funeral or the knifing of one Lithuanian by another might be scrupulously accurate and fair, but if these are the only stories we read about Travellers or Lithuanians, the long-term effect is bound to be negative,” he remarked.
Archive searches of respected media outlets such as the broadsheet Irish Times and RTE.ie, the online version of Ireland’s national broadcaster, reveal that the citing of Lithuanians in a positive context is almost non-existent.
Asked if the Embassy of Lithuania in Ireland could have a proactive role in promoting a more balanced insight into Lithuanians, Ambassador BričkovskienÄ— remarked: “We do all the time.”
The ambassador referred to the Lithuanian Days initiative in 2007, and continuing cultural events staged by the embassy, which she said Irish people are invited to.
She dismissed the notion that many embassy-sponsored events are directed solely towards Lithuanians.
“No, never. It’s always open for all the people. I don’t know sometimes why Irish people are not so interested.” She speculated that if more invites are issued, this would gradually yield a better return. 
Ambassador BričkovskienÄ— added that year-on-year, Irish and Lithuanian people are becoming more knowledgeable about each other’s countries.
The ambassador was speaking at a Dublin gathering of female ambassadors and spouses of ambassadors in Ireland, organised by the Lithuanian Embassy.
Lithuanians are believed to be Ireland’s second biggest immigrant population, Poles being the largest. Around 100,000 Lithuanians live in Ireland, according to some estimates, but there is no reliable statistic.
– Catherine Reilly