Belfast THEN and NOW

Okay so about a month ago, a group of students from the University of Washington were here in Belfast on a mission trip, and during their time here we talked about many things dealing with Belfast. But one night we listened to a guy speak about his childhood in West Belfast during the 1980s. He was Catholic and his story and life experience made the whole conflict situation in Belfast seem soo very real. Here was a guy not much older than me, in his early 30s, who was personally affected by this situation, and he was truly brought to tears just by sharing his life story. He spoke about the deaths of people close to him …and he just asked what for? Why did they have to die?

And I just thought….this is why I came to Belfast, because of this situation, and what am I doing about it?

Also, later that night we had a question and answer session with other university students and many of them said that the past was the past and it’s not part of their future. One of the American students brought up the troubles and the issue of segregation and one of the Queens students said it wasn’t a problem anymore, at least not for them, more their parents generation. That the hatred didn’t exist anymore and people were moving past that!

However, most of them wouldn’t even have contact with a Catholic until university level…so you tell me that it’s not a problem anymore?? And then another American, not one of the students, said that most people he has talked to say the troubles, segregation, the us vs. them mentality is a thing of the past and its’not an issue anymore.

Needless to say I was soo angry and wanted to cry and shout and say YES IT IS!! I am an outsider, but I see that it is still a problem, and maybe you have come a long way..but you still have more ground you can cover…and I mentioned that you go to North, West Belfast and people are STILL affected DAILY by the past. It is a present issue, a modern day one, and it’s not something that should be ignored.

So then that brings me to this…an article in THE INDEPENDENT Peter found me and gave it to me AGES ago, and I have kept it ever since the end of March. The article was titled, Blair may have finally seduced Paisley – but that still leaves an Ulster as divided as ever. Just mentions how segregated the society still is and these are some of the things that stuck out to me…

Only 3% of children go to mixed schools

Only 5% of the workforce in Catholic areas are Protestants and vice versa.

Some 68% of 18-25 yr olds have never had a meaningful conversation with a single person from “the other side”.

Taxis have orange or green stickers, indicating which “side” they will take you to. (he writes this, but I don’t think I have ever seen this.)

Protestant and Catholic are sealed off with “peace walls”, 30-foot corrugated steel-and-barbed wire fences that can be closed by remote control by the police when there are “tensions”.

The peaces walls have been closed more often in the past five years than at any other time.
Kids raised in segregated schools – as more than 90% are – will inevitably fear each other.

So someone PLEASE tell me that segregation, the us vs. them mentality is not an issue anymore !!