Get to know another culture
There are lots of ways that you can help make Ireland a more welcoming place for asylum seekers and refugees. From something as simple as smiling at your neighbour to donating your spare time to volunteer in a local community group working with refugees and asylum seekers, it’s simple to make your neighbourhood a friendlier place.
Another great way to get to know refugees and asylum seekers better is to learn more about their culture. When we take a minute to learn about another person’s culture and background, it improves our understanding and helps make our neighbourhoods nicer places to settle in.
- Strike up a conversation
- Get involved in a local group
- Take part in a local event
- Help teach English
- Cook a recipe
- Listen to a song
- Say Hello in another language
Strike up a conversation, have a cup of tea with a refugee
Do you live in a neighbourhood that has refugees or asylum seekers next door? Why not stop for a chat or invite them in for a cup of tea?
Get involved in a local group
There are many groups throughout Ireland who work with asylum seekers and refugees and help to integrate new communities into their communities.
You can find your local group on this list from the Integration Centre– they would love to hear from you.
Take part in a local event
There are lots of events happening around the country over the next while which you could go to as your 1 thing. UNHCR Ireland is organizing a series of events in Dublin and we are trying to promote the events of partner organisations around the country too. See our events page for more information. If you have any events in your area please email us at venturin@unhcr.org and let us know!
Help refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to learn English and make friends in your community.
There are many community groups offering language support to refugees, migrants and asylum seekers and which help them to make friends in local communities. One such group that you could get involved with is Fáilte Isteach who have 42 centres around Ireland – all of which are listed on their website.
Fáilte Isteach is a community project with older volunteers welcoming new migrants through conversational English classes. Fáilte Isteach utilises the skills, talents and expertise of older volunteers and harnesses their desire to contribute positively to society. Fáilte Isteach works at breaking down the barriers that migrants and communities face by extending the hands of friendship and goodwill through the practical, welcoming and inclusive manner in which the programme is delivered.
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Cook a recipe from a country where refugees come from |
One very obvious benefits to Irish society thanks to the arrival of new cultures is the new cuisines and ingredients people in Ireland have been introduced to. Did you know that even Ireland’s national staple, the potato, originated in Peru?
We have some simple recipes below which are easy to make and taste great! Why not cook one tonight or share a recipe with a friend? Don’t forget to let us know how it turned out and send us a picture! Thank you to our lovely Facebook friends who recommended these recipes. If you would like to suggest other recipes please just email us at kennedy@unhcr.org and we'd love to share them with everyone on our website.
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Listen to a song written by a refugee |
You only have to look at the list of musicians below to realise the contribution that refugees and the children of refugees have made to music.
Why not find out more about the artists or listen to a song? Ask your friends and followers how many musicians who are refugees they can think of and tell us what your favourite song is. (Please note that these are all external links).
Rita Ora - Rita's family fled their home country of Kosovo when she was just a baby. Listen to her music
M.I.A. – Rapper Maya Arulpragasam is part of a Tamil Sri Lankan refugee family. Read an interview // Listen to her music
Regina Spektor – Her family fled the Soviet Union when she was 9 years old. Read an interview // Listen to her music
Refugee All-Stars – This band formed when refugees fleeing from Sierra Leone’s civil war met in a Guinean refugee camp. Read a review // Listen to their music
Mika – His family fled Beirut in Lebanon when he was only 1 year old. Read an interview // Listen to his music
Wyclef Jean – He is a Haitian refugee. Read more about him // Listen to his music
Bob Marley - Bob fled Jamaica to Miami after being shot during political violence. Read about his early life // Listen to his music
Gloria Estefan - Her father was a Cuban refugee. Read more about her // Listen to her music
Justine Frischmann (Elastica) - Her father was a Hungarian refugee. Read an interview // Listen to her music
Please note UNHCR does not take any responsibility for the content of external websites.
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Say hello in another language |
Saying hello to someone in your neighbourhood can be the easiest way to make someone else smile. How about learning to say hello in a few languages from countries where refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland have come from?
A big thank you to all our facebook friends who shared their hello's with us!
Starhymashy: pashto KPK Pakistan
Sour Sdei: Cambodia
Moloweni: isiXhosa
Salaam ji: Urdu, Persian Arabic language
Agandi: Runyankole from Western Uganda- East Africa
Haye: Somali
Marhaba: Arabic, Iraq
Tungjatjeta: Albania
Min Ga Lar Bar: Myanmar
Sat sri Akaal: Punjabi
Pranaam: Sanskrit
Namaste: India
Priyvit: Ukraine
Dobar dan: Croatia
Hoy: Filipino Tagalog