IRELAND DUO SPEAK OUT OVER RACISM
RUGBY internationals Adam Byrne and Linda Djougang have detailed their experiences of racism in Ireland.
Both players have published firstperson accounts on the Leinster website, outlining their support of the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging Ireland to become a leader in the fight against racism.
Winger Byrne, who won a cap under Joe Schmidt against Argentina in 2017, was born in Ireland and grew up in Naas, while prop Djougang (right) was born in Cameroon and moved to Dublin at the age of nine and has played eight times for Ireland. She also works as a nurse in Tallaght Hospital.
She wrote about her first experience of racism in the school playground, of being warned not to play with her neighbours and of the turmoil of moving across the world to a very different country.
“It’s really sad because I felt like I really wanted to respond back but I can’t because I will get in trouble,” Djougang wrote.
“You can’t fight back because you already know that you’re different. You have to fight twice as hard to have your voice heard. You have to fight twice as hard to be somebody.
“I remember going home and really feeling down and it was the first time that I was like, ‘Yeah, this is what I’m being taught at home, this is what my mom and dad are talking about’. I am different.
“When you open your eyes, you see that there is not enough diversity in everything that we do.
“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because people will look at you, probably asking, ‘What is she doing here?’ And that’s hard. That is so hard. That’s why I tell people, ‘Try and live in my shoes just for one day and see what it feels like being black, being different’.
“I have sat down on buses and someone asked me, ‘Are you black? The colour of your skin is so dark!’, and I’m thinking, ‘Are you ignorant or what?’
“But you can’t talk. I just go on about my day. If some people have put in their head that they are not racist then you’re putting it in your head that you don’t need to change or you’re refusing to consider it. This is a bigger issue than ourselves.”
Although he says 99 per cent of his experiences in Ireland are positive, Byrne (above) wrote of his own experience of being black in Ireland and being asked. ‘Where are you really from?’
“It does hurt when people ask,” he wrote. “Or when people pass comments or make jokes that they feel are OK. But sometimes it does chip away at you. I was born in Ireland, raised by my mom and my adoptive father, with my half-brother and sister. I had a great upbringing in a loving family – I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“Having lived in Ireland my whole life, I’ve mainly only experienced Irish culture, but on the other hand, I also feel a sense of belonging to the black community and black culture. It’s something that’s very hard to articulate but I feel a connection with both.
“The big thing for me is, Ireland’s been great for me. My experiences have been 99 per cent positive. I see myself as a really positive person. It’s just there are some remarks and you do feel it. It chips away. It’s little things.
“From now on I hope that this is a point where we move forward – everyone’s treated equally. I believe in equality.”