We are heartbroken over the death of George Nkencho and we extend our condolences and sympathy to his family and friends at this desperately traumatic time. We are disturbed by the discourse surrounding George Nkencho’s murder and understand how traumatic it is to see for our Black brother, sisters and siblings. George Nkencho’s death should have never occurred and it is a direct result of systemic racism here in Ireland.
George Nkencho was trying to return home to his family when he was surrounded and murdered by the gardaí. The lack of regard for Black life is not a new concept in Ireland. We see white supremacy best materialise in institutions such as direct provision, which entraps migrants especially people of colour in its inhumane system. We often forget the names of the most marginalised folks in our conversations. A Black transgender woman died alone in a direct provision male centre by the name of Sylva Tukula. On the same day as George’s murder, Elaiki, a black woman, died in a direct provision facility after being trapped there for eight long years. Their/our lives do not matter to the Irish government.
Much of the discourse surrounding George Nkencho’s death has been about criminality. Specifically an article written by Darragh Berry calling George a “thug”. This is not surprising as criminality cannot exist without a racial other and anti Blackness, globally- and Ireland is no exception. Our justice system is racist and our ideas of justice default to punishment and death, and have absolutely nothing to do with preventing harm. As a result of racial capitalism, who we view as deserving of punishment and death are Black people. Even if he did have prior convictions, criminality as a white construct should not be a justification for his murder. George didn’t deserve to die, period.
Many responses to George Nkencho’s execution have been to adopt “colour blindness” and to not be “negative” or “divisive”. We all know the power of unity – however we are not going to prevent harm towards the Black community by not addressing the problems which exist. Until racial capitalism is dismantled and violence is not normalised against the Black community, harm will only continue. Ignoring race as a point of analysis or form of oppression in favour of “unity” or colourblindness is a neoliberal method to silence people of colour and the violence of the system that we face everyday. When you say “I don’t see colour”, you are saying that you do not see the violence we face. We do not want unity with people who would rather ignore racism, for the sake of unity with our oppressors.
We are extremely disillusioned by people or organisations who are directing any semblance of blame towards the Black community during these times. Many are saying that it is the job of Black people to show they are not the violent stereotype they are being painted out to be. These statements are very saddening to hear as stereotypes are not perpetuated by the people on the receiving end of them. They can only be destroyed if white people and the white capitalist system stop perpetuating them.
One major part of the discourse surrounding George Nkencho’s murder is ‘respectability politics’. It is the belief that if you act respectable and professional (white) that you can avoid racism and oppression. This belief is extremely harmful to direct towards the Black community and for Black people to adopt. This places extreme pressure on Black people to place unrealistic standards on themselves every single day in order to be seen as deserving of careers, benefits or even life. We can not combat racism with respectability politics and forcing Black people to market themselves as non violent every single day. We must combat racism by turning our attention to the people and systems who perpetuate it, not the victims- but the actual racists- this includes the gardaí. Black people are allowed to have emotions, grieve, and exist in ways that aren’t palatable to whiteness.
George Nkencho was a Black man living with mental illness. The gardaí who murdered George had no regard for the preservation of Black life, much less Black neuro-divergent life. They saw a Black man and saw a criminal. The gardaí cannot de-escalate, and in this case for a Black person it proved to be fatal. The prison system and mental institutions in Ireland are both carceral and oppressive towards the people who they claim to serve. They are not built for rehabilitation but for exploitation. We cannot reform something that is inherently oppressive, you can’t train the police to be non-violent to marginalised groups. They exist to protect private property and preserve racial capitalism, all of which is violence.
People speak a lot about “fixing the system”, but we can not fix a system that was designed to purge Black, disabled and neuro-divergent people. Justice will not be found in our so-called criminal legal system. The system is working exactly as intended, to subjugate marginalised people and profit from it. If we sincerely want to reduce racism in Ireland we must dismantle the systems which perpetuate them. Any other method of “respectability” thrown around, which is not centred towards tackling the machines of racism, proves to be redundant time and time again. We cannot keep falling into the same trap of believing in fixing the system from the inside. Having more people of colour police or lawmakers won’t change our outcomes. We have seen this in other countries and we know that having positions of power is not the same goal as dismantling power. We don’t want respectable, professional POC police or prosecutors.
We understand the fear, sadness and frustration that have impacted all of us, especially our Black community. We love you and stand in solidarity with you. We must depend on each other and look towards solutions. We can not run towards unity with ‘allies’ who will never experience what we do, but profit from our pain. We believe every conversation should be Black led and Black centred. We hope during this difficult time, unity can be founded amongst individuals and empowerment within that. MERJ Ireland always is a home for our Black members especially those who are from marginalised communities, to you we offer our space, political resources, and unwavering support.
Solidarity,
MERJ
