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Dear Friends,
Now that the St. Patrick’s Day festivities are over, I want to focus on some of the Irish experiences of the last two centuries, how they relate to the world today, and how Rian’s Irish roots make it a strong supporter of immigrants from across the world.
The Rian Immigrant Center was founded in 1989 as the Emerald Isle Immigration Center by Irish immigrants and Irish Americans to help other Irish immigrants in the Boston area.
While Rian still provides significant legal and resource and support services to Irish immigrants, it also helps immigrants from more than 125 countries.
Knowing Irish history of the last two centuries, and relating to that history, helps to make Rian’s directors, staff and volunteers more empathetic to all immigrants. Over the last 200 years the people of Ireland have endured the kinds of problems that are causing havoc in other parts of the world today - a devastating famine, prejudice that was so prevalent for so long that it has a name, “Hibernophobia,” poverty and lack of economic opportunity, rebellion and sectarian violence. Throughout all of this, millions of Irish have emigrated, with about 5 million emigrating to the United States. Many emigrated to, and settled in, the Boston area.
Many of the immigrants who are now coming to the Boston area from other countries are fleeing one or more of the same problems. Rian uses the knowledge, skills and resources it has developed over the last 35+ years to support all immigrants to the Boston area while it continues to serve the local Irish immigrant community.
There is a saying that we are all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. We are all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants every day. Let us never forget our roots and our moral obligation to pay it forward.
Sincerely,
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