This article is from page 20 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
GORT’S samba revolution could soon be coming to end according to a new survey being completed at NUI, CFE Ls
According to preliminary results of the research, which is being car- ried out by Brian McGrath of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at the University, the Bra- Zilian community 1s coming under increasing pressure as a result of the downturn in the economy and the construction industry in particular.
Speaking at the 35th Annual Con- ference of the Sociological Associa- tion of Ireland, which took place in Galway last week, Mr McGrath ex- pressed his fear that many of Gort’s Brazilian inhabitants may be forced to leave the village.
The survey, which was undertaken directly with the Brazilian commu- nity, revealed that a large amount of the local Brazilian community were working without documentation in a labour black market. Much of this work was undertaken in the local construction industry.
The survey also revealed that this informal employment agreement be-
tween employers and the Brazilians has, in the past, lead to exploitation. According to the research many Bra- Zilians work in an ‘informal econo- my’ on the basis of trust.
A number of Brazilians _inter- viewed said that while family net- works make it easier to settle in the town, although a dominant majority from Goias in south Brazil ‘closed’ the area to other people.
It says that the Brazilian commu- nity fear for their long terms employ- ment prospects in the town and that they may be forced to move on if the situation worsens.
The full results of Mr McGrath’s research, which is being supported by the Child and Family Research Centre in NUI, Galway, should be released by the end of this year.
More than 40 per cent of the resi- dents of Gort are now believed to be non-Irish, with an estimated 83 per cent of these hailing from Brazilian.
The Brazilians originally came to work in the meat processing plants in Covey soKom selon ey NMKeUo Nevin mesleon| higher than in similar plants in Bra- Zil. Fears have been growing for the local Brazilian since the announced closure of the factory.