EDITOR – Tuesday, April 15th is the 113th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912.
The circumstances of its demise are why it is remembered in annual ceremonies.
In Ireland, the media have focused over the years on Irish, British and American passengers.
Many were from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Portugal, France, Bulgaria, Croatia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and what was known in 1912 as Palestine and Canada, etc.
Six of eight passengers (all men) of Chinese nationality survived.
Their story was told on the BBC World Service in April 2021. On arrival in New York they were told they had to leave the US in 24 hours. Immigrants from China were barred from the US under the Chinese Exclusion Act; repealed in 1943.
One of the six stayed in the US. Some went to Cuba and to the UK where, again, they were made to leave the UK by the British authorities in 1920. Surviving the Titanic didn’t engender much sympathy for them. There was strong prejudice against China at the time.
Lebanon had its first Titanic memorial in 2012, listing names of 125 Lebanese victims and 29 survivors. Bulgaria has a Titanic memorial to 33 Bulgarians who died. The plaque reads ‘Time has not washed away the memories of you’.
In Washington DC there is a Titanic Memorial, unveiled in 1931 to the men who gave up their lives for women and children to go first into the lifeboats. Money was raised for it by a committee of American women and by the US government.
In Australia, there is a Titanic Bandsmen Memorial from the citizens of Broken Hill, NSW. The largest number of Titanic memorials are in Southampton. Over 1,500 people died. 700 of them were crew.
Mary Sullivan,
Cork.
The Titanic museum in Belfast; our letter-writer recalls the backgrounds of victims and survivors.
Tidy Towns allows politicians to avoid duty
EDITOR – We are informed that the annual Tidy Towns competition is scheduled to begin shortly.
In my opinion, it is a competition introduced so that politicians and civil servants can avoid their duty and responsibilities to the local areas, and the nice people of Ireland fell hook, line and sinker.
Again in my opinion, it is exploitation, so that taxpayers’ money can be diverted elsewhere.
Michael Moriarty,
Rochestown.
Path-blocking bins are danger for pedestrians
EDITOR – I recently witnessed a situation in Skibbereen town where a woman wheeling a young child in a buggy was forced to pause her perambulation due to a large object on the pavement.
What was said object? Yes, a large domestic refuse bin left for collection had been abandoned in the middle of the pathway, with little or no regard for any pedestrian, let alone a wheelchair user, or in this case, someone with a small child.
The woman was forced to ‘park’ the buggy, go hands-on (probably getting them dirty in the process) with the bin and move it in order to create space to pass and so avoid the much riskier business of taking the buggy off the pavement and into traffic.
The fact that the bin seemed to be empty no doubt made her grapple with it somewhat easier than it might otherwise have been, but it would also indicate that it had not been left in its present location by the owner, but by whomever had emptied it.
That this woman was physically able to move the bin was something positive in this situation, even though she shouldn’t have to do it.
What, I ask, might a wheelchair user have done?
Or imagine a group of school-bound children – one of whom decides it’s easier to step off the path to go around the obstacle, not hearing the near-silent electric vehicle approaching from behind.
I shudder to think.
Neilus Mac Coitir
Skibbereen.
Time to tackle insurance rip offs
EDITOR – Insurance prices in Ireland have spiralled out of control. Premiums have taken a hike year after year with no end in sight.
Cars, sport clubs, community groups, and local businesses are the ones being hammered.
As many struggle to meet the rocketing premiums, insurance companies are raking in huge profits.
An eye opening new report from the National Claims Information Database shows a 13% profit margin for public liability insurance and commercial property insurance.
It is high time the Government finally tackled these insurance rip offs.
Noel Harrington,
Kinsale.
