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By Mojisola
Oduola-Falola
I arrived in Ireland in February 1999, and it
was really very cold and
strange. I believe that every country has it's
own kind of uniqueness and I really couldn't
fathom where to place Ireland, but having lived in
Lagos, Nigeria, for the best part of my life,
Dublin was a welcome change.
Dublin is neither a big city nor a small town;
the shops are lovely, and the crowd in the
city-centre is just about right. In comparison to
Lagos, Dublin could be called quiet. I found that
the hustle and bustle that can be expected in a
capital city was somehow lacking, yet it was still
busy.
I find a great difference in the attitude of
the people and the weather. Even when the sun is
shining bright it is still very cold! It is always
cold. Yet, majority of the people are warm. I
often ask myself if I will ever get used to the
weather, but I know that even if I live here for a
million years I could never get used to the Irish
climate. I will be not just the oldest Nigerian in
history, but the coldest, too.
Dubliners are quite amazing. Sometimes I
encounter people who really make you me feel very
welcome and some people just want to make me run
back home. I remember meeting an elderly woman
shopping for her grandchildren who made me feel
really welcome, so that I jokingly asked her if
she would adopt me.
In contrast I also recall an old man in the bus
who made racist remarks to me, for about ten
minutes. I eventually had to come down from the
upstairs part of the bus, where we were sitting,
before my correct stop, simply to get away from
the abuse. Thankfully not all Irish people have
such attitudes. My neighbours are all very
helpful, and very friendly and this makes life
easy for me. Not everyone is so lucky; have
friends whose neighbours were racist to such an
extent, that they had to move out of the house for
their peace of mind. It makes hopping off the bus
a little earlier seem like nothing.
One thing that I do like about Ireland is that
people here are still family-oriented, unlike in
some other western countries. As a member of a
Pentecostal church – which prides itself on being
an international church - I am fortunate to have
had the opportunity to make friends with people of
different nationalities. Gatherings are like the
UN, but without the arguing! I have friends from
the Philippines; Zimbabwe; Sierra Leone; South
Africa; Ghana; Cameroon; Britain, India, and, of
course, Ireland.
Wherever I go in this country I meet
immigrants, yet some nationals refuse to accept
the fact that Ireland has opened up, and it is now
a multicultural society, in contrast to it’s
monocultural past. Such an old-fashioned social
system is of no benefit to anyone, and I have no
doubt that multiculturalism will benefit Ireland
in the long run.
I don’t see myself going back to live in
Nigeria in the foreseeable future. But I will
definitely go back to there to live; in my heart I
am still a Nigerian. Over recent months this small
island has become not just a place to live in, but
my home. It’s funny but I never really perceived
Ireland in such a light, until after my return
from a holiday to Nigeria last year. Touching down
at Dublin airport I found myself being ecstatic to
be here again “Welcome home!” I murmured to
myself.
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