We should all support New Beginning

COMMENT

“When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.” – Bayard Rustin (1912 – 1987)

The decision by Bank of Ireland to write down the loans of a Dublin nurse to a more manageable sum is somewhat positive in the context of what others are facing but it still constitutes a personal tragedy for the woman involved. She has given up the property concerned and is, according to reports, without assets. The debts she is now faced with repaying have been reduced from €170,000 to €18,000.
She will spend the next few years of her life working to repay this money and finish the process with nothing more than a stained credit rating and a tale of woe. It has been claimed, in the aftermath of this case, that it could represent a dangerous precedent for the banking sector in the guise of a first nick in the perception that debt forgiveness is not an option. Certainly, until this point, most of the coverage of this type of situation has centered around the intransigence of financial institutions when it comes to cutting a deal with the financially ruined customer.
If the thousands of people who owe money to financial institutions in Ireland get wind of the fact that a bank can forgive debt rather than relentlessly pursue the debtor for every cent until they hit the grave, then perhaps the whole façade might come crashing down.
Except, as I’m sure the woman mentioned above will testify, this is not much of a break. Repaying €18,000 to a bank, with nothing at the end of it, can hardly be called a let-off.
This is especially true in the case of a nurse who will already be paying an ever-increasing portion of their wages in tax to fund the institution, which is now dragging them through the courts and ruining their lives, for all intents and purposes. In an added injustice, a good portion of these extra taxes will be used to bail out unsecured bondholders who took a risk and are now being rewarded even though they should hold nothing more valuable than the pyrite in which they sank their money.       
It would seem like the time continues to be right for people to band together and demand that the injustice of this situation be addressed. It has seemed that way for a long time, despite the best efforts of the Occupy movement to rouse public support for the cause. Certainly, the austerity suffered by the people of Ireland pales in comparison to that being endured by the people of Greece but why Irish people were mollified to the point of not unleashing their fury on the streets remains a mystery.  Physical protest has long been a dirty word in Ireland thanks to the sometimes ruthless put down of those attempting to stand up for their rights in the face of Shell and the Government in Mayo and their subsequent damning in large sections of the media. For those who feel they cannot face the ignominy and distress of being physically put upon by gardaí in the streets when they assert their rights, another option is available.
For over a year now a group has been organising and giving mortgage payers who may find themselves in trouble the opportunity to unite and find strength in solidarity. Since November 2010, the group has been gathering speed and support in order to provide a voice and some much-needed legal clout to those who find themselves in trouble. While it might not be the fashionable concept it once was, it is gratifying to see that solidarity remains alive as an ideal. To see if it can pack the punch, which it has historically, enough people must come together behind this group and, from there, exert their collective strength.
I’m sure many people reading this will be aware of New Beginning, the aforementioned group. Anyone who is not or knows somebody who is not, whether or not they are in trouble with their mortgage, should spread the word about the work of these people and what they are about. The New Beginning website contains a selection of the media coverage of the campaign since its inception and the sentiments, intentions and ideals expressed there will gladden the heart of most who read it.
One particular piece from the Irish Times, which is available on the New Beginning site, www.newbeginning.ie, contains, among others, one passage that has all the hallmarks of the kind of truth that can sometimes get lost in discussions of the brutal economic reality the country is facing. The piece is written by Vincent P Martin, a practicing barrister who founded the Public Access to Law (PAL) group of lawyers in 1997 and co-founded New Beginning with Ross Maguire SC and David Hall in November 2010. He states, “The sheer scale and tumult of these unprecedented economic times is putting at serious risk the cherished and inviolable position of the family dwelling. If a homeowner voluntarily leaves his/her home, it becomes an alienable asset, just like voluntarily selling one’s clothes – but it is a different proposition when one is forcibly evicted from one’s home. This is akin to stripping one naked (physically and mentally), which amounts to a profound attack on one’s dignity and social stability.”
For any institution to be allowed to carry out such an action in the country and with the full assent of the government, who in case we forget, represent the people, is a travesty. To have it done by a succession of institutions, which have been bailed out by the taxpayer, is bordering on laughable. The amount of money banks will spend dragging individuals before the courts to fleece them for everything they don’t have will represent many multiples of the figures they will recoup in repayments.
Collective bargaining represents a viable prospect for people in arrears and they should be supported by everyone else who involuntarily supported the institutions hounding them. If a mortgage strike is called then everyone should take part. Why should thousands of people acting in unison be afraid of a bank?
New Beginning represents a respectable, acceptable and viable opportunity for anyone to join the protest in a way which wont see them physically beaten, vilified in the media or harassed; it should be seized with both hands.