This film looks at the background and lives of a cross section of people who have done this and explores some of the challenges which they have faced and continue to face.

Historically Ireland has been a country from which people emigrated to escape economic hardship, famine and religious and political persecution. In this film we learn that all emigrants are also immigrants and that, for the first time in recent history, Irish people are having to learn how to make room for immigrants at home.

This documentary presents human stories from members of minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland. First, second and third generation immigrants talk about why they became emigrants and what it is like being an immigrant in Northern Ireland.

I was born and bred in Nigeria, got all my basic education in Nigeria and now moved over to Europe here. I live and work in Northern Ireland and I am married with a child of my own.

I live and work in Belfast Northern Ireland I am a refugee and I have lived here for 11 years. I am an ethnic Albanian and I was persecuted because basically I belonged to the Albanian community. I feel safe here. The Nurse - I came from the Philippines I was born in Manila I became a nurse in summer 1989. Now there are many Philippinos because of your shortage of nurses.

The first language for me would be English, ‘cause we’ve been brought up here it’s natural that it comes first, the first generation that came along they weren’t integrated through school or anything so their first language is always gonna be Cantonese.

People see racism as this new thing that’s never been here before. But racism has always been here we’re seen as different. We’re seen as these strange people living in caravans. People are afraid of that because they don’t know anything about us.

People stereotype because it is easy, avoiding the difficult and the challenging and going for the easy and the lazy and so stereotyping is the result of people being afraid but it’s also about intellectual laziness.