Pamela Uba, 26, hit back at trolls who accused her of not representing Irish people and not being ‘grateful’ for the opportunity to live in the country – saying it was ‘just a snippet’ of the abusive behaviour she had faced
Image: SM-IR Irish Pictures
The first black Miss Ireland has revealed she has been targeted with racist messages since she was crowned.
Pamela Uba, 26, a former asylum seeker, won the prestigious competition this year, becoming the first black winner in its 74-year history.
She told how she was delighted at the “significant” moment for Ireland and its minority communities.
However her joy was soon blighted as ugly messages of hate began flooding her social media.
Ms Uba, who moved to Ireland from South Africa aged seven, hit back against some of the nasty comments about her ethnicity.
She said the racist comments had begun when she was crowned Miss Galway and had got even worse since she was announced Miss Ireland.
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She told Sky News : “All I can say is that hurt people are the ones hurting people, and you shouldn’t let them break into your bubble and break you down.”
According to the broadcaster, among the worst comments was one from a Twitter user who described Pamela’s victory as “shameful” and said: “Should have been deported long ago. Disgusting.”
An Instagram user also wrote “a black woman doesn’t represent the prototype of Irish women”, while another said: “So we all supposed to applaud the globalisation otherwise you’ll be silenced?”
Ms Uba replied on Instagram: “Sad to say, I did expect this type of behaviour. This is just a snippet.”
She told Sky she her win was not only for herself but the children in Ireland looking up to her as a black role model.
Ms Uba’s family had fled South Africa in 2004 after experiencing severe financial troubles and a lack of state support.
They moved to Ireland because a family friend was living in Dublin, and eventually settled in County Mayo.
She told how the family struggled in Ireland’s controversial ‘Direct Provision’ system for asylum seekers, which houses them in private accommodation where they must follow strict rules and endure often poor living conditions.
New arrivals into the system are not allowed to work, and must live on a tiny allowance which was around €19 (£16) per week for an adult when the Uba family first arrived.
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The family lived in a caravan for the first year after arriving in Ireland and remained within the punishing system for 10 years, she said.
Ms Uba revealed she had suffered with depression and fear of deportation.
Eventually the family won the right to remain in the country, and Ms Uba became an Irish citizen earlier this year.
She firmly rejected accusations by trolls that she was not ‘grateful’ for Ireland taking her in after criticising the Direct Provision system.
She said: “This is my home. I take pride in the Irish people and their generosity towards bringing people into the country – it’s such a brilliant thing to do. It’s not the people I’m talking about when I say Direct Provision is awful – it’s the system I’m talking about. That system needs changing.”
Ms Uba said she plans to ignore the trolls and focus her energy on her next competition, as she represents an increasingly more diverse Ireland at the Miss World competition in Puerto Rico in December.