Don't get me wrong. I am proud to be Malaysian and have no allusions to being otherwise. However, that does not discount the immense affection I have for this adopted country of mine.
Is it ever easy to explain why you like something or someone? It is the same with me and Erin (Ireland's many pseudonyms). It is a country of contrasts, in the inhabitants as well as the geography. From the lilting Cork accent to the Belfast drawl. From the fields of Athenry to the craggy coast of County Antrim. Eireann go Brach!
The keen observer will find that the Irish and the Malaysian are nearly equal in character. I have often met, including members of the Catholic clergy, Irishmen and women who have graced our warm tropical shores as an educator or administrator. In fact, one of them taught in my old alma mater (St John's) many, many moons ago. This fact alone enforces the long and illustrious relationship shared between the two nations.
So what do I make of it? What makes them tick? There is an Irish saying that goes, “Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter. Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes... That's the Irish for you!”. Although admittedly, a very romantic view of a race very much in danger of being swallowed up by the encroaching beast of capitalism.
As a people, they remind me of our situation in Malaysia, of a strong sense of tradition and patriotism, of old ways and customs. For better or for worse, religion has become a peripheral influence in the lives of the people. As Gaeilge, their language, the everyday use is clearly confined to the western seaboard, an ghaeltacht. For most, admittedly they do struggle to string a few sentences together.
Whensoever I do leave this land, it will hopefully be accompanied with this blessing:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
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