Anti-immigration rhetoric never ends with 'just a protest'

We need to teach our children that fear cannot be the loudest voice in the room 

An anti-immigration protest on Merrion St Upper, Dublin. ‘The next time you see footage of an anti-immigration protest, I ask you to look harder.’ Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

You don’t have to be a mother to feel it, the instinct to protect children. For some it begins with carrying life inside them, for others it comes through nurturing, teaching, mentoring, or simply having the opportunity to observe their pure innocence. However it arrives, once you’ve felt a connection, it rarely limits itself to “your own”. It expands outward to the children of the world.

That’s why I can’t stand quietly when I see the rise of anti-immigration protests across Ireland. I am raising three girls, and I want them to grow up in a country that greets others with open arms.