PH Honorary Consulate, Filipinos in Ireland Spark Talks on How Brexit Will Affect People

Philippine Honorary Consul to Ireland Raymond Garrett talks about the Filipino migrants in Ireland the Northern Ireland. (Jonathan Borromeo / Filipino Association of Cavan photo)

LONDON 15 June 2019 — The Philippine Honorary Consulate in Ireland, together with Outreach Ireland and the Filipino Association of Cavan, sparked important discussions on the impact of Brexit to everyone who regularly traverses the Ireland and Northern Ireland border at Lake Country Cavan on 01 June 2019.

This cross-border conference called “Mind the Brexit Gap: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion in the Border” gathered speakers representing the governments of the Philippines, Northern Ireland, and Ireland, as well as a multisectoral panel representing various stakeholders.

 “Brexit is not just about trade and the movement of goods and services. It is also about human beings, thus, no one should be left behind, including migrants and migrant workers in anything that has to do with Brexit,” said Labor Attaché Amuerfina R. Reyes.

Philippine Honorary Consul to Ireland Raymond Garrett opened the discussions by talking about the longstanding ties between the Philippines and Ireland and by shedding light on the profile of overseas Filipinos in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“The world speaks in many languages and one voice. The language is not Irish or English, German or Japanese. It speaks the language of hope and the language of trust,” said one of the event’s panelists, Daniel Downey McAtackney, Cavan Public Participation Network Resource Worker.  “No matter the blood, the skin, the tribe, the nation, we are one people and one world.”

With the Brexit deadline looming closer, Ambassador to the United Kingdom Antonio M. Lagdameo underscored the timeliness of the conversation that took place in Cavan.  “Brexit is a complicated process that affects everyone in this part of the world.  One of the ways we can help each other prepare for this is by having a candid and honest discussion on how this will possibly affect everyone, not just Filipinos.”

Other panelists during the forum included UN Expert on Women’s Engagement in Peace Processes and Good Friday Agreement previous participant Bronagh Hinds (Northern Ireland), Access Officer & Irish Wheelchair Society member Bridget Boyle (Ireland-Cavan), Cavan Public Participation Resource worker Daniel Downey (Ireland-Cavan), Transgender and Intersex Individuals advocate and Focus: The Identity Trust founder Frances Shiels (Northern Ireland), Chinese migrant and Dundalk Institute of Technology lecturer/researcher Ping Cao (Ireland-Louth), and Longford Africans Network and Social Inclusion advocate Uruemu Adejinmi (Ireland-Longford). 

The forum was moderated by Philippine Consulate General Director for Marketing and Communications Vanda Brady. END

Labor Attaché Amuerfina Reyes shares her thoughts on how Brexit could affect Filipino workers in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Photo by Jonathan Borromeo / Filipino Association of Cavan. (Jonathan Borromeo / Filipino Association of Cavan photo)

For more information, visit www.londonpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/pg/PHLinUK,   and https://twitter.com/philippinesinuk.