"I offend therefore I am"
I'm just back from Stormont where Sammy Wilson emerged from a meeting with local bankers to defend his latest controversial comments about the local "racism industry". He has clashed with Patrick Yu of the NI Council on Ethnic Minorities who complained that remarks made by Sammy on the BBC's Politics Show back in January could enable the incitement of racial hatred (the then Envoronment Minister had told my colleague Kevin Sharkey that local workers should be given preference in filling job vacancies).
Sammy hit back in typically trenchant form anti-racism campaigners of having a "vested interest" in sustaining the impression that racism is rife here in order to bolster their demand for government grants.
As was the case when he spoke out about climate change, Sammy's critics have once again risen to his latest challenge. Alliance's Anna Lo accuses him of using inaccurate and irresponsible language, whilst the Greens' Steven Agnew says the DUP have shown a lack of concern about how ethnic minorities can be better included in society. He claims the DUP "are part of the cause of racism, not the solution" and concludes that "Mr. Wilson uses controversy to justify his own existence. Mr. Wilson's philosophy appears to be 'I offend therefore I am'".
No doubt Sammy would strenuously disagree - indeed when we were talking at Stormont he pointed out various people from other ethnic backgrounds whose causes he has personally championed. But his tone on these matters is strikingly different from others - whilst the Belfast Mayor Naomi Long for example has been hailingthe return of Roma families to Belfast as a good news story for the city, the Finance Minister has been expressing his concern, suggesting that they are only coming back to be exploited by "gangmasters".
UPDATE: I have now interviewed Patrick Yu at the Council for Ethnic Minorities, who points out that 75% of the groups in this sector get no government funding. He is scornful about the description of such groups as an "industry".
Patrick was keen to point out the way in which the continuing hold up in the Executive agreeing a Cohesion, Sharing and Integration policy is delaying an overall anti-racist strategy. The obstacles over CSI Belfast (as Channel 5 might call it) are more concerned with our home grown division and differences between unionists and nationalists over issues such as the "shared future" policy and equality, but its delay is having a knock on impact.
If the Executive had agreed such an anti-racist strategy would it have had any practical impact in tackling or averting the kind of problems we have seen in and around the Village area of Belfast? Or would it have just contributed to the mountain of paper work at Stormont?
I'm 
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So after the green lobby and before that the Irish Language lobby, (remember Sammy's remarks that Irish was just a "Leprechaun language?!"), the "racism industry" are the latest to be the subject of the DUP's resident court jester. Sammy has made a career out of being a wind up artist who loves to goad special interest groups with outrageous remarks to provoke a reaction and therefore get free publicity. Maybe he has a serious point but his past outbursts won't do much for his credibility. The best thing people can do with Sammy is to ignore him, he will then get bored and go look for someone else to annoy.
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Nice Descartes riff there by Steven Agnew, I'm glad I gave him my second preference vote during the European elections just for that :) The past few years has really impressed upon me what a joke of a politician Sammy Wilson is. Ridiculous quotes and ridiculous policies. Rubbish. We deserve much better from our elected representatives.
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Seriously folks, is sammy wilson a politician? i mean, the guy hasnt a clue, only just to stir up a storm and annoy people. which really is not going to be good for him politically. The guy has made me so angry in the last 2 years, no words can describe, he looks like a idiot and is 1. financial minister hey? im scared off what he plans to do in the next budget, whatever he does it will make him more unpopular. SAMMY WILSON! YOU ARE A TERRIBLE EXCUSE FOR A POLITICIAN, LIER AND A WASTE OF TIME
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I noticed that Sammy Wilson said that those in the anti-racism industry tended to play the race card precluding debate on the matter of immigration itself.
Sammy and the DUP know fine well that the place for debating immigration policy/law is at Westminster itself as and when the issue arises.
To poke about at the anti-racism groups in Northern Ireland is pretty awful and to call it an industry is way off the mark.
If Sammy has a problem about immigration law, he can either debate it at Westminster or abide by the law thereafter. As the moral compass of the DUP, so we have been told in the past, is tacked to sticking to the law.
But still we see clearly certain conflictions, as we have in the past too.
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sammy talks of groups making a business out of racism, I have been unfortunate to have listened to DUP politicans and their leaders rant on over the last 40 years about the Catholic religon,the rants at the Pope in the EU parliament etc etc etc.Iwould suggest to sammy if you cannot talk about real politics then believe me the electoral are fed up with yourcheap attempts for publicity.sammy as a minister!!! tell us is your statement reflecting the DUP policy on this subject?
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We may not always agree with what he says but don't we need someone to say these things if only to start the debate?
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Mark/Martina
SAMMY'S POLEMICS BLUR THE REAL ISSUES ABOUT IMMIGRATION
Sammy has done it again; introducing controversy while neglecting to tackle the real problems that are increasing exponentially on the immigration front. Those problems can only be dealt with through level-headed leadership from our politicians (at this point I should add: God Help Us) but there's no chance of Sammy providing it.
As I see it, a number of questions need to be aired in dealing with the problems that have arisen around the Romanian immigrant group and may very well apply to other immigrant populations:
* What is being done to ensure the welfare, protection and education of immigrant children?
* Who is checking that immigrants have adequate accommodation?
* Who is ensuring that immigrants have access to appropriate health care?
* Who is certifying that immigrants are receiving [at least] the minimum wage?
* Who is monitoring immigrants' health and safety at work? (The Belfast Telegraph is well placed to run an article on that issue).
* What steps have been taken to prevent immigrants being exploited by gangmasters?
* Who is making sure that immigrants are not being exploited by local employers?
* Is people trafficking an issue?
* Are immigrants being helped to learn the English language?
* What is being done to address public begging?
Quite frankly, from where I'm standing, the answer to most of the above is 'sod all'.
Let me confidently make a forecast: Immigrant problems will be another exemplar of the failure of the Executive and attendant Assembly to deal successfully with difficult problems.
Right, I have to finish; weather's glorious so I’m off for a bit of nude sunbathing; must keep an eye out for Sammy who is always on the lookout for a bit of controversy.
Susie
Carryduff
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Sammy says the things that other politicians dare not, I may not always agree with everything he says, but I defend his right to speak out.
He is a down to earth politician that I admire, not many politicans I can say that about.
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