Syrian refugee student wins state scholarship

Donald Trump

RandomName2 wrote: »

Mature entry caries with it €16 K fees.

No. I think you misunderstand. I was referring to the way things used to be at least up to 10 years ago. Which probably covers most of the posters on here.

You could bypass the CAO by waiting until you were 23 and then gaining entry as a mature student. There was nothing stopping anyone from traveling or working for a few years and then applying. Under that scenario, your fees would be the same as an 18 year old coming in straight out of secondary.

You 16k fees might be if you are doing a second degree. You don't get unlimited fees for life. That's the same case as if you go into UCD at 17 to do a 3 year arts degree and then when you are 20 apply to do another course somewhere else.

RandomName2

Donald Trump wrote: »

No. I think you misunderstand. I was referring to the way things used to be at least up to 10 years ago. Which probably covers most of the posters on here.

You could bypass the CAO by waiting until you were 23 and then gaining entry as a mature student. There was nothing stopping anyone from traveling or working for a few years and then applying. Under that scenario, your fees would be the same as an 18 year old coming in straight out of secondary.

You 16k fees might be if you are doing a second degree. You don't get unlimited fees for life. That's the same case as if you go into UCD at 17 to do a 3 year arts degree and then when you are 20 apply to do another course somewhere else.

Yes, I was thinking of graduate entry, not mature entry. But would mature entry to medicine be a thing outside of straightforward HPAT+LC?

1641

RandomName2 wrote: »

She's a non-EU applicant, and I'm not certain it's even been ascertained that she applied by CAO. Therefore I'd assume that she was subject to the interview process. I'm not triggered, but even if I were, it shouldn't make what I say any more or less valid. Why are you attacking my criticism of an interview process as a means of entry to study?

We have been through this **** several times. The Bursary is only payable to people who go through the normal CAO process. You are not triggered but are determined to throw **** hoping some will stick.

Donald Trump

jmayo wrote: »

Maybe she will work in the HSE, then again it might bring back bad memories of her time in DP in Monaghan.

Well to be fair, we all have to admit that that must have been a harrowing experience for the poor girl to have to spend a year in Monaghan. You wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy (DP or not)

Donald Trump

RandomName2 wrote: »

Yes, I was thinking of graduate entry, not mature entry. But would mature entry to medicine be a thing outside of straightforward HPAT+LC?

I don't know how it is now. I'd imagine it is different for medicine now since the HPAT and graduate entry came in as all those people would be around 23 or older anyway.

jmreire

RandomName2 wrote: »

I wouldn't necessarily assume that.

Most of the country is under the control of the Syrian government. While a relatively stable and sane institution it is well known for human rights violations. If it deems anybody to have acted against the regime during the civil war, returning to areas directly administered by Damascus (which is most of the country) would be in danger.

Would genuine refugees have acted against the government? Perhaps. Their families may have initally supported the Free Syrian Army (reasonable) or perhaps organizations like Al Nusra or ISIL (a somewhat alarming prospect). Al Nusra supporters would probably find succor in Idlib (which is essentially run by an off shoot of Al Qaeda) but the Syrian government has made it clear they want to reconquer Idlib province.

Leaving aside whether somebody returning to Syria might be persecuted by the Syrian (or Turkish) governments, there certainly will be a lot of rebuilding to do in much of the country. It still isn't entirely stable, as witnessed by the brief Turkish invasion last month.

+100%, And you can include all of the men who either left to avoid conscription, or indeed deserted the armed forces. For either of these two types, they face heavy fines, prison and immediate induction into the army....not pleasant prospects. Unless there is a change in government, and amnesty declared, many people who left, will not return.

recedite

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

You have both misquoted me ( i never said that) and ignored the point of my post: How can you assume that it is safe for Syrian refugees to return and that they have something to return to? For example, if you weren't on the government side of the conflict, you have a genuine reason of safety in not being able to return to most of the country.

Eh? that was a direct quote. They have been in UAE for so long that I doubt they saw much of the conflict either way. But if they don't want to go back to Syria, there are plenty of places a skilled engineer could live and work in, for example UAE... we're going full circle now.

jmreire

recedite wrote: »

Life in Damascus 12 months ago.
Its probably improved since then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCiwVZ7RZVg

The old City in Damascus remain's pretty much the same as it has for century's. During the war, it escaped much of the bombing and remain's unscathed, compared to other sections of the city. Even during the height of the war, when bombing and shooting were an every day occurrence, the old markets were always full of people, partly because there was not much else happening, money was scarce and it cost nothing to walk around and meet people plus of course, it was cheaper to shop there, and maybe you could find some things not available else where. It was (and still is) a very popular place for Damascus citizens. But TBH, I would have been more impressed if he had showed some of the damaged areas..showing how everyday life is improving in these places, and by how much. I know that in most places, ( but still not all) that the security has improved, so that in itself is a good thing. And infrastructure is slowly improving, even if it still has ( and will have for the foreseeable future ) a long way to go to reach pre-war levels.Any movement back to normality has to be a good thing. They are a good people and deserve better.

recedite

jmreire wrote: »

And infrastructure is slowly improving, even if it still has ( and will have for the foreseeable future ) a long way to go to reach pre-war levels.Any movement back to normality has to be a good thing. They are a good people and deserve better.

Whats your opinion about the ongoing EU sanctions against them?
Now that the western inspired regime change has failed, should we stop punishing the Syrian people, and send them some foreign aid instead? Maybe a few Irish engineers to help them out.

Roversfan1

jmreire wrote: »

They are a good people and deserve better.

Are they any different from any other people?

This talk is very condescending. What are you doing about it?

If your heart really bleeds please email Rory at community@irishrefugeecouncil.ie to talk about how you can actually do something for these people "that deserve better"

I doubt you will though.....you and many others will instead fight the good fight online here and make yourself feel better about it.

1641

1641 wrote: »

Appreciate that but with a large increase in immigration and more domestic contact with foreigners, do you see that changing?
If not they are in for big trouble - how not to manage immigration!

Honestly, I don't see it changing much. Regarding immigration... The workers will be held on temporary visas until the problem is resolved. Status is very important to Asian people, and they won't give out a definite status to foreigners easily. Those temporary visas could last for decades without becoming full citizenship. :pac:

But mostly this is about whether Japanese and foreigners will marry and have children... and I doubt that they will. There will be children out of wedlock but the Japanese have very weird practices regarding bastard and mixed children.

Japan is not like the rest of Asia. They've retained their culture in the face of western influence. Korea is very americanised even though they make waves about their ancient culture, it's mostly a face saving exercise. Immigration is very real in Korea, and widespread, although it's mostly for skilled workers.

China is similar except the Cultural Revolution destroyed most of their links with past culture, so they've been adrift for decades. They're starting to promote the past but they're still very susceptible to foreign cultural trends. This is one of the governments main initiatives right now, to limit foreign culture, and to promote more traditional thoughts... Immigration is tiny because, while the government talks about opening up, foreigners have zero rights here.

However, both Koreans and Chinese love the idea of mixed babies (with a white person) considering them to be more intelligent and beautiful than purely native children. So population integration isn't such a huge issue, although culturally ABC's or foreign mixed children tend to be treated as some bizarre animal than a real citizen...

I don't see Japan changing because they have so much pride in their own cultural resistance... they've resisted American influence for so long, retaining their own identity.. and that identity is extremely important to them. Any Japanese interested in marrying foreigners are more likely to leave Japan, than stay and weather the disapproval from family and neighbors.

SchrodingersCat

recedite wrote: »

Eh? that was a direct quote. They have been in UAE for so long that I doubt they saw much of the conflict either way. But if they don't want to go back to Syria, there are plenty of places a skilled engineer could live and work in, for example UAE... we're going full circle now.

You are confused. Let me help: you quoted me (SchrodingersCat) as saying:

recedite wrote: »

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

Guess she will be in the top3 or so hands-on occupations, that would be so very desperatly needed by Syria, going forward?
As they rebuild (civil engineers) their homeland, and heal the many physical (medical specalists), and mental (psychs) scars.

... which I never said. I never mentioned that the Syrian girl is in the "top3" occupations needed so desperately by Syria or any of that misspelled nonsense sentence above. You misquoted me. It is not a direct quote.

You said that the Syrian refugees have an option to return to "most of the country". You cannot assume this.

jmreire

recedite wrote: »

Whats your opinion about the ongoing EU sanctions against them?
Now that the western inspired regime change has failed, should we stop punishing the Syrian people, and send them some foreign aid instead? Maybe a few Irish engineers to help them out.

Recedite, how do you think they survived during the war? The ordinary everyday Syrian People I mean ?? Foreign aid, that's how. Of course they need urgently now professional's of all skill's to help in the re-building of their Country. But first they have to create the right condition's for their return. As for Irish Engineer's ( or other Nationalities, no matter ) why not? If they are prepared to go there. And of course Cash,and lots of it, who would you say is going to provide that?

weldoninhio

Brian? wrote: »

Here’s how it works:

Poster A: I have no problem with genuine refugees, it’s illegal immigrants I object to.

Response: this woman and her family are genuine refugees from Syria

A: Well we should only take in refugees who will contribute to society

R: her parents are civil engineers and she’s training to be a doctor

A: in that case they’re not refugees they’re economic migrants. They cheated he system. Deport them.


R: huh?


For good measure you can add in accusations of being given a college place she didn’t deserve.

Not one person on this thread has ever mentioned deportation until your post :rolleyes:

recedite

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

You are confused. Let me help: you quoted me (SchrodingersCat) as saying:

... which I never said. I never mentioned that the Syrian girl is in the "top3" occupations needed so desperately by Syria or any of that misspelled nonsense sentence above. You misquoted me. It is not a direct quote.

OK, you are right, sorry about that. The "nonsense" was part of accumulator's post immediately before your post. Multiquotes can be such a minefield

jmreire

Roversfan1 wrote: »

Are they any different from any other people?

This talk is very condescending. What are you doing about it?

If your heart really bleeds please email Rory at community@irishrefugeecouncil.ie to talk about how you can actually do something for these people "that deserve better"

I doubt you will though.....you and many others will instead fight the good fight online here and make yourself feel better about it.

Really? perhaps you should enlighten us as to what you have done to help the Syrian people?? ( aside from being ( as you call them ) "Key Board Warrior's " Do you even know any Syrian's?

recedite

jmreire wrote: »

Recedite, how do you think they survived during the war? The ordinary everyday Syrian People I mean ?? Foreign aid, that's how. Of course they need urgently now professional's of all skill's to help in the re-building of their Country. But first they have to create the right condition's for their return. As for Irish Engineer's ( or other Nationalities, no matter ) why not? If they are prepared to go there. And of course Cash,and lots of it, who would you say is going to provide that?

You didn't answer my question about the EU sanctions. Before we start giving them aid, the first thing is to stop punishing them with economic sanctions.
The next thing is to give them back all their oil wells. This oil is in an Arab region of eastern Syria, the Kurds and the Americans are both trespassing there.

Its a country that is well capable of making its own way in the world in the long term, but IMO it should be given a fair chance, and also a once off boost now in EU foreign aid.

1800_Ladladlad

I find it to be funny how the usual bleeding hearts, desperately attempt to shoot down any person who questions the integrity of this spin piece. This girl is obviously very bright and intelligent. That's not the issue. Neither is her being a Syrian immigrant. We are not being provided with the entire details surrounding this emotionally driven spin piece. Questions should be asked about this and if you don't have concerns about the obvious intent of this article, you are either deluded or just naive.

I read the article and when it came to their years of experience in Direct provision center and how it was the hardest time of their life lead me to wonder, surely their years in the issues they faced in the UAE were the hardest moments as they are the main reason to flee to Ireland? Why wasn’t any of that mentioned? To publicly state that the hardest time of your life was during a period in time when claiming asylum in a country on the opposite side of the world, that has provided you with safety from that in which you were fleeing from; harbors a lack of respect and appreciation to the host country.


IMO- Both of the parents are engineers. Could the girls 'hardest' year not have been avoided by applying for work visas instead of applying for asylum. The father stayed in Dubai for three years to continue working, why was this? It's interesting to know more about how asylum cases like this interested me because genuine asylum seeks that have been denied could have been issued asylum when the parents are qualified engineers and applied for the correct visa. Im not saying the parents are not genuine but why take up that status when they have qualifications.

James Brown

The immigrant girl won a scholarship and all the chicken little conspiracy theorists drop a load in their khakis. Amusing and sad.

Ulysses Gaze

Matt Barrett wrote: »

The immigrant girl won a scholarship and all the chicken little conspiracy theorists drop a load in their khakis. Amusing and sad.

So people are not allowed question things, Matt?

Overheal

1800_Ladladlad wrote: »

I find it to be funny how the usual bleeding hearts, desperately attempt to shoot down any person who questions the integrity of this spin piece. This girl is obviously very bright and intelligent. That's not the issue. Neither is her being a Syrian immigrant. We are not being provided with the entire details surrounding this emotionally driven spin piece. Questions should be asked about this and if you don't have concerns about the obvious intent of this article, you are either deluded or just naive.

I read the article and when it came to their years of experience in Direct provision center and how it was the hardest time of their life lead me to wonder, surely their years in the issues they faced in the UAE were the hardest moments as they are the main reason to flee to Ireland? Why wasn’t any of that mentioned? To publicly state that the hardest time of your life was during a period in time when claiming asylum in a country on the opposite side of the world, that has provided you with safety from that in which you were fleeing from; harbors a lack of respect and appreciation to the host country.


IMO- Both of the parents are engineers. Could the girls 'hardest' year not have been avoided by applying for work visas instead of applying for asylum. The father stayed in Dubai for three years to continue working, why was this? It's interesting to know more about how asylum cases like this interested me because genuine asylum seeks that have been denied could have been issued asylum when the parents are qualified engineers and applied for the correct visa. Im not saying the parents are not genuine but why take up that status when they have qualifications.

Why don’t you go ask her for an interview I’m not sure anyone here could answer your adventurous questions.

James Brown

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

So people are not allowed question things, Matt?

Do you think she cheated? We're talking about a girl getting a scholarship remember.

Mantis Toboggan

How long was she in Dubai before coming here?

Why would her parents who are both engineers leave Dubai (which is 1 big building site) to come live in a direct provision centre possible in Achill Island?

recedite

Matt Barrett wrote: »

Do you think she cheated? We're talking about a girl getting a scholarship remember.

Cheating is a harsh word.
The family have certainly played the system here for all it was worth, and been incredibly successful at it.
The girl herself must have studied hard. Did we ever see her actual Leaving Cert grades? I mean before applying any bonus points for the HPAT and for being a disadvantaged asylum seeker and/or attending a Deis school, and disregarding the RCSI interview which obviously went very well. Of course this is also great publicity RCSI, who also make a lot of money in their Dubai operation.

Just the bare exam results. The newspaper article said she did very well in 2 subjects. Surely when so much public money is being awarded, the bare exam results should be made public?

jmreire

recedite wrote: »

You didn't answer my question about the EU sanctions. Before we start giving them aid, the first thing is to stop punishing them with economic sanctions.
The next thing is to give them back all their oil wells. This oil is in an Arab region of eastern Syria, the Kurds and the Americans are both trespassing there.

Its a country that is well capable of making its own way in the world in the long term, but IMO it should be given a fair chance, and also a once off boost now in EU foreign aid.

As for the sanctions, but which one's? I'm against them completely, where they affect people in terms of Health, Medicine, and Housing. But for weapons, and banking etc. I'm all for them. When you talk about foreign aid now, I presume that you mean for reconstruction? but not day to day living? or is it something else you mean? Giving them back their oil well's would definitely help them to return to normality, and would be the right thing to do. but realistically, can you see that happening any time soon? Perhaps when / if Idlib return's to Govt control, they will turn their undivided attention to the Oil region's? As you know, Assad has vowed to return ALL of Syria, every inch of it to Govt control ) As for an EU ( or other) cash injection to get them started, I'm pretty sure that it will happen, but not at the moment, and not under the present management. The atrocities committed by the Regime is still very much in the minds of many EU ( and other ) Country's. The whole situation is still pretty much of a state of flux at the moment.

1800_Ladladlad

Overheal wrote: »

Why don’t you go ask her for an interview I’m not sure anyone here could answer your adventurous questions.

Some people can't even comprehend some of the simplistic of questions either.

CosmicFool

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Some irish people are just fcuking weird, outraged over a foreign girl getting a scholarship, fcuking hell!

Those same outraged people probably didn't even go to college.

Ulysses Gaze

Matt Barrett wrote: »

Do you think she cheated? We're talking about a girl getting a scholarship remember.

Cheated? No.

Gamed the system to claim asylum despite arriving from a safe country where her father was working legally? Yes.

I have absolutely no problem with genuine asylum seekers coming here and winning scholarships like this one.

I don’t think she is one though.

recedite

jmreire wrote: »

As for the sanctions, but which one's?

Economic sanctions designed to cripple them, from 2011..

These latest EU sanctions are significant as the EU is Syria's biggest oil export market. Syria produces about 385,000 barrels of oil per day, and exports about 150,000 barrels per day, of which most goes to European countries, particularly the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain. Syria exported €3.1bn of crude oil and petroleum products to the EU last year (92% of its total exports to Europe), although this accounts for only 1.5% of total EU imports of crude oil.
The EU sanctions are likely to have a significant impact, given volumes of Syrian oil imported into the EU.

And that was before some of the oil wells were actually seized from them.

Roversfan1

jmreire wrote: »

Really? perhaps you should enlighten us as to what you have done to help the Syrian people?? ( aside from being ( as you call them ) "Key Board Warrior's " Do you even know any Syrian's?

I'm not claiming to single out Syrians as deserving better.

Yes, I have met Syrians before. Played indoor soccer with some of them.
What has this got to do with you or anyone like you sponsoring these people? Did you get on to Rory?