The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) celebrating its first decade of activity at a special event in Dublin last week.
The centre says its mission is to promote the empowerment and inclusion of migrant workers and their families who are at risk of poverty, social exclusion or discrimination.
“Our goal is to enable people to feel at home in Ireland,” said MRCI founder Bobby Gilmore at the celebration.
The MRCI positions itself as a bridge between the State and migrants, working on several issues including regularisation of undocumented people, employment permits reform, protection of domestic workers, combating forced labour and trafficking, and the struggle against racism or inequalities.
The centre also supports the integration of migrants’ children in Irish schools. In recent years the MRCI says it has organised demonstrations, given information to migrants and helped them stand up for their rights.
Praising the work of the centre, guest of honour President McAleese said: “We should not live beside one another but among one another. That is what I expect for our Ireland.”
Also speaking were 10 people involved in integration who explained their hopes for the future.
The ceremony highlighted all the work done by the MRCI over the past 10 years, they said, but also all that remains to be done for the migrant population in Ireland.
