{"id":1984,"date":"2020-09-01T12:31:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T11:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.ucd.ie\/magazine\/?p=1984"},"modified":"2021-03-26T17:10:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T17:10:07","slug":"in-her-own-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.ucd.ie\/magazine\/2020\/in-her-own-words\/","title":{"rendered":"In her own words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIT\u2019S BEEN INTERESTING,\u201d says Lord Mayor Hazel Chu, who sits opposite me across a broad and shining mahogany table in a large room in the Mansion House, when I ask how the months since her appointment have been. Chu, a UCD alumna and a Green Party county councillor since 2019, was elected Lord Mayor on June 29 by the members of Dublin City Council. \u201cSurreal,\u201d she adds with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu is the ninth female Lord Mayor, and the first Lord Mayor of colour. She and her partner, UCD alumnus Patrick Costello, a Green Party TD for Dublin South Central, moved into the Mansion House with their daughter Alex, nearly three, just weeks ago. Costello, in line with existing protocols where the office holder is the Lord Mayor and his or her partner the Lady Mayoress, is formally the Lady Mayoress, \u201cwhich highlights the anachronistic nature of some of the legislation\u201d, Chu says, while Alex is, informally, \u201cMini Mayor\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did she ever envisage a career in politics, or being elected Lord Mayor of Dublin? \u201cNo, is the short answer! But cheesy as it sounds, I went into politics to represent people, to do some good. John Hume said: \u2018I thought very simply in terms of helping people.\u2019  I\u2019m not saying I am any John Hume, but that should be the motivation, and for me it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu\u2019s parents came separately from Hong Kong in the 1970s, with almost no English. \u201cAs with many migrants, when they move to a new country, they tend to integrate with other migrants,\u201d  Chu says.  \u201cThat\u2019s how my parents met.\u201d Her parents worked in restaurants and lived with \u201cmy aunt and uncle, their three kids, and my other uncle, all of us in the house\u201d until Chu was six, when she, her parents and her younger brother moved to Celbridge in Co Kildare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she talks more about her upbringing, it becomes very clear where the instinct to advocate comes from. \u201cDetractors will say to me \u2018you went to private school, you\u2019re very middle class now\u2019,\u201d she says, \u201cbut private school was an accident. My parents didn\u2019t read English at all,\u201d she continues, \u201cany letter that came from my school, I translated for them. This one letter, I don\u2019t know how I missed it, was informing parents that they needed to apply for the local secondary school by such a date. When it was time for me to go, the school was full. My parents then thought, \u2018ok well, everyone tells us about these private schools, so let\u2019s find one of those\u2019. But Mum and Dad didn\u2019t know where to look, so I ended up looking at all these schools and talking to teachers, at the age of eleven. It was a very bizarre process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, from an early age Chu was interpreting the world for her parents, advocating for them, and for herself. It seems like a natural progression into politics? \u201cYes. In any political  role, you are advocating for someone, working for someone. This is what got me interested. To me, it was a natural career path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu went to school at  Mount  Sackville in Chapelizod (with a brief period in Rathdown in Glenageary), then on to study Politics and History at UCD. Later, she did a Barrister-at-Law degree at King\u2019s  Inns and worked in a variety of roles, including fundraising manager for St Michael\u2019s House (providing services for those with an intellectual disability), a marketing consultant in New York for Bord Bia, an adviser to the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser, and head of communications for Diageo Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUCD was one of the first places where I felt safe,\u201d she says. \u201cI was bullied in school and through my teenage years. In UCD, I found my tribe. I found people who were not just of the same mindset, but who were protective if anything happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This didn\u2019t happen immediately \u2013 \u201clike everyone, I felt apprehension going into first year. My first year was spent trying to find my feet. It wasn\u2019t until second year that I found my people.\u201d One of those people is her partner Patrick, who studied Psychology. \u201cWe are getting married next June \u2013 we were supposed to be married last weekend but Covid [put paid to that]. I was sending out invites, and looking at the list, 30 per cent are friends from UCD.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lord Mayor Hazel Chu with her partner Patrick Costello TD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She was auditor of the UCD Politics society, joined the History society, and she and Patrick were both active in the L&H. \u201cWhen I was looking for Patrick, or anyone, I would go to the student bar. Inevitably, U2\u2019s \u2018With or Without You\u2019 would be playing, someone would be at the bar trying to trade their Foster\u2019s dollars for something, and my mates would be in the corner. Even now, that scene always plays in my head, like a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, she says, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t all sunshine and rainbows. And there are a lot of students I speak to these days who say it\u2019s a struggle for them in college \u2013 financially, for housing, with their mental health \u2013 and that there needs to be more services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how might  UCD,  for example, take a pro-active anti-racist stance? \u201cThe thing with colleges and universities,\u201d Chu says, \u201cis that their best activists are their students. Students participate, they fight the good cause. When it comes to anti-racism, if the students decide \u2018we are going to talk about racism and discrimination\u2019, we want the university to support and recognise that. Governing bodies need to listen to the students. There needs to be an ongoing conversation. Constantly talking, reflecting and working together. Whether fighting discrimination or supporting students, the communication needs to be stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu entered the world of politics cautiously. \u201cI did the background stuff first,\u201d she says. \u201cI ran Patrick\u2019s campaign in 2014. At that stage, I wasn\u2019t even a party member. But the more I started working for the Greens, the more I thought that if I really believe in this, I should make the leap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even then, she didn\u2019t leap without looking. \u201cI looked at all the parties, except those on the far right, and did my homework on each of them. And after that,  I decided \u2018ok, it\u2019s the Greens\u2019. People often just see the ecological side, but for me, it was the social justice element that drew me. That has always been a big thing for me. You can\u2019t grow up in Firhouse, nine people in a three-bedroom house, with immigrant parents, always struggling to put food on the table, and think you will eradicate those social justice issues out of your brain. The problems I grew up with are still problems now \u2013 housing, health, education, child poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due diligence done, Chu joined the Greens in 2016. Even then, \u201cI did not see myself as someone who would run. I was very interested in what happened in the background, and I ran for stuff internally: the executive council, then the chair of the executive. I founded the women\u2019s group, then I was chairperson of the party. Finally, I thought, will I put my money where my mouth is, and represent the party externally as well? I took a long time to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gave her pause for thought? \u201cAt the time I had a small child. I thought about my daughter and whether I had time. I talked to Patrick \u2013 we were going to be running two campaigns, mine and his; could we physically do this? Could we mentally do this? Family was a big question. Also, what do you hope to achieve? Are you going to be able to do good? and then there was a bit of me that thought \u2018I\u2019m not sure they\u2019ll elect me, because I am different …\u2019 Growing up in this country, I know it is a welcoming, collegial, warm place. As a people we are supportive, we see past colour and we are united. But there is a vocal minority who push a different agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu had experienced racism, but as isolated incidents rather than anything concerted. Enough, however, to know it was there. \u201cAt the back of my mind, I worried, will that minority surface? The people who bullied me when I was in school? The people who put my brother into A&E with broken bones when they beat him up when he was 15 because he was \u2018yellow\u2019? These aren\u2019t everyday occurrences, but they happen. I did have that nagging thought \u2013 I\u2019m about to put my face out there very publicly. It\u2019s going to literally be on posters. Do I want to court that?\u201d What persuaded her to go ahead? \u201cLooking at my family and my daughter and thinking: \u2018If I don\u2019t do it, if others don\u2019t do it, how are we supposed to set examples for her and others to do it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chu was elected with a record  33 per cent of the first preference vote. The overwhelming electoral support she received was, she says, \u201cincredibly heart-warming. And then,\u201d she adds, \u201ca couple of months later, the job started, and the trolling came with it. It picked up\u2013 voicemails, phone calls, letters through the door.\u201dAnd she has consistently called it out when it does, speaking the truth about racism in our society. \u201cThere is a need to be actively anti-racist,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRacism is like any other big issue \u2013 you can no longer be an innocent bystander, and I don\u2019t think you should be. Maybe people think, \u2018I don\u2019t want to get too involved in that,\u2019 or \u2018it would be weird for me to say it when I\u2019m not the one suffering,\u2019 but it\u2019s not. Across the board, everyone is involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lady Mayoress Patrick Costello joins us now (\u201cI think it\u2019s hilarious,\u201d he says of his title, then wonders if the Ceann Comhairle might call him \u201cLady Mayoress Deputy Costello\u201d) and agrees: \u201cVictims of racism,\u201d he says, \u201cpartly because of their minority-excluded status, will find it harder to speak out. They need allies who find it safer to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the new Lord Mayor, she too will continue to speak out. \u201cI\u2019m in a very lucky position. The gravity of my role doesn\u2019t escape me when I look around this room, full of portraits of Lord  Mayors from hundreds of years ago. When I am attacked and then speak about it, I have that credibility: people will listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Lord Mayor \u2013 a role that is highly symbolic \u2013 she says: \u201c\u2018As first citizen, I would very much like to see councillors united in our common purpose \u2013 I plan to build a mayoralty and initiatives to help us on this path. I would like us to unite to tackle the housing and homeless crisis, to build a liveable city for all our citizens, to fight discrimination and protect those who are vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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