HE DEFIED South Africa’s apartheid regime – but that doesn’t mean Patrick Maphoso expects Dublin politics to be a walk in the park.
“I know it’s a dirty game,” says the local election candidate, who’s contesting in Dublin’s north inner city ward this summer.
Maphoso was born in Kimberly, South Africa in 1968 and has been living in Ireland for eight years.
He is staying non-party (“I don’t want my voice to be drowned in the political system”) and unlike most other immigrant candidates, says he wants to be a “voice” specifically for migrants.
Data from the Central Statistics Office indicates that significant parts of Dublin’s inner city are now half-populated by immigrants, and Maphoso makes no qualms about targeting them.
“At the moment, immigrants don’t have a voice, even though they are paying taxes,” he comments.
Despite underlining that he’d also be a rep for native locals, Maphoso’s main issues of concern are all migrant-related. Racism, exploitation in the workplace, and the “appalling conditions” in which asylum seekers live are some key problems he identifies.
The South African knows all about racism, having grown up in the Bophuthatswana ‘homeland’ – one of the areas set aside for black South Africans during apartheid. He says he was “arrested several times” for purposely ignoring apartheid laws, such as wilfully forgetting his travel pass when visiting his mother in Johannesburg, and was involved in ANC activism.
In Ireland, he believes that racism is on the rise.
“Last week I was abused by a group of five Irish boys of 15 or 16 years old, telling me to go back to Africa. It happens everyday, not just to me. Racism is on the increase; we are blamed for the recession, for robbing jobs,” he comments.
Maphoso lives in Sandyford, south Dublin, but points out that he works in the inner city in the security industry – and says he’s prepared for the challenges he’ll get on the doorsteps, including potential abuse.
“I’m more than ready for that, I know change is pain. I’m expecting a lot of abuse and I’ve got the courage for it,” he says. “Of course there are good sincere people in Ireland, and at the same time there are bad ones as well.”
The candidate, who officially launches his campaign this week, says he’s already been involved in numerous equality initiatives, such as serving on Siptu’s advisory committee on migrants, and involvement in Residents Against Racism. If elected, his plan of action would centre on raising awareness of racism.
“Education can play a major role,” he says. “I’ve learned over the years that if you confront racism head on, it vanishes. If you expose it, it goes away.”
