Mural UFF and UFV

Northern Ireland

With butterflies in my stomach I finally arrive at The George Best Belfast City Airport. I’m greeted by a taxi driver who offers to drive me to my hostel, and try to listen carefully as he kindly guides me through the city, but with his heavy accent I miss a couple of words. I smile and nod at what I perceive to be the right places, trying to cover up the fact that I don’t know what he is talking about half the time. Luckily my ears quickly adjust to the charming accent, so much that when I travel home a week later, I have picked up parts of it myself.

I spend my first day in Belfast walking around the city, absorbing the atmosphere and tasting the flavorful local ale. I try to talk about ISFiT with everyone I meet along the way. At the hostel I’m lucky to catch a few minutes with Karen, a student from Londonderry/Derry, the historically heavy loaded city where Bloody Sunday took place. She works for The Spirit of Enniskillen Trust, an organization which, like ISFiT, focuses on young people and students as agents of change. Enthusiastically we talk about the possibilities for cooperating on the dialogue project. Before she heads into town we exchanging contact info, and she suggests that I take a black taxi tour in order to get a better understanding of “the troubles” (the war years).

The following day I climb into a black taxi which takes me through Protestant Shankhill road as well as the catholic Falls road. These are some of the heaviest political districts in Northern Ireland, and both sides have suffered from unemployment and poor living conditions. It is here that you can view the famous political murals painted on the walls of ordinary houses. I start in Shankhill road where the driver shows me what he calls Belfasts Mona Lisa – a political mural honoring The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) and The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) (both illegal organizations). The barrel of a UFF soldier’s rifle seems to follow you where ever you go, just like Mona Lisas eyes. As I walk between the houses I can clearly see a development in the murals. The old ones are politically loaded, and underline a divided society; the new ones on the other hand focus on problems concerning both sides of the conflict – adequate housing, education, jobs and human rights for all. One of the older murals shows a portrait of the Protestant King William who defeated the catholic King James II in the battle of Boyne in 1690. Every year on the 12th of July, this event is commemorated by the Protestants with marches through the region. Today it’s the 11th of July, and as I walk through the protestant neighborhood I can see that they have started the preparations for the celebration. The Union Jack sways from every house within sight. I approach an open field were a gigantic bonfire is set up. On top of the bonfire the Irish flag sways. I realize that the flags are used as identity markers – the Protestants demonstrate their loyalty to the Brithis crown with union Jack, while the Catholics on the other hand identify as Irish and subsequently use the Irish flag. This underlines the core of the conflict, while many Protestants identify as British, and want to uphold the union with England, many Catholics wish for a unified Ireland.

I get back in the car, and we drive towards catholic Hills road. In order to get there we have to pass through one of Belfast’s many “peace lines”. These are walls which separates the Catholics form the Protestants. The wall between Shankhill road and Falls Road, is the largest one stretching 5 km down the road, and is filled with graffiti and messages of peace and hope. Built in 1969 it was also the first one to be built; the latest was built in 2008. I am told that in fact there are more walls now after the peace process started than during the worst of the troubles. When the taxi driver stops by the wall, he gives me a marker and asks me to write my own message on the wall. I cease the opportunity, and in large letters I welcome everyone to the ISFiT festival, and highlight one of ISFiT’s core values - Peace through Dialogue. We drive in to Falls Road passing through the gate of the wall which is closed off after five o’clock at night. While the murals in protestant Shankhill Road honored UFF soldiers, the murals here pay tribute to the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The most famous one portrays Bobby Sands, an IRA soldier who as a political prisoner died in a hunger strike only three weeks after being elected Member of the British Parliament. His face smiles to the passersby and is flanked by his own words – “Everyone, republican or otherwise has his/her own part to play”.

Foto: Silje Mathisen
The wall between Shankhill road and Falls Road

The next day I’m meeting Dominic Bryan, professor in Irish studies. I join him and some of his students on the sidewalk were we watch the traditional 12th of July parade. The marchers, most of them middle aged men wearing black suits, orange ribbons and bowler hats, are orange men, members of the orange order; a sort of brotherhood which honors King William who originally came from the Netherlands – hence the use of orange. The order is divided into units whom carry banners stating their loyalty to the crown, paying tribute to King William, or declaring themselves as protectors of the realm. Bryan explains that while, for some, this is a deeply religious and political march, for others it is simply a festive tradition. He specifies that there are many people in Northern Ireland who do not wish to take sides in the conflict.

The orange parade causes riots every year, as the marchers move through catholic areas. This year is no exception; in fact the riots are worse now than in the past six years. On the TV screen I see young people and children, eight year olds even, throw rocks and gasoline bombs at the police. In total 80 policemen and women are wounded. I question why the riots are so much worse now than during previous years, but no one has a clear answer. Some blame the downturn in the economy which has caused the unemployment rate to rise. I wonder how growing up in segregated neighborhoods affects the youth. Do the murals honoring paramilitary organizations, the “peace lines” and the segregated schools which separate the Catholics from the Protestants, function as fertilizers for hatred in the minds of these young children?

Foto: Silje Mathisen
12th of July parade

In the afternoon I meet with Ryan Moore who works as a Good Relations Officer, this includes working with dialogue projects. His work is difficult he tells me, because there are few natural meeting places for Protestants and Catholics. And even though people have friends from both sides, they tend to avoid discussing issues that are seen as divisive. He tells me that he grew up in a protestant family, but that they were never very traditional. Still he went to a protestant school, and it was not until he started university that he met someone from the other side of the conflict. This is not uncommon he tells me, and this is also part of the problem with the conflict. If young people never meet someone form the other side until they start university, their mindset may already be fixed, and there is a possibility that we’ll inherit the conflict form previous generations. Integrated schools may therefore be part of the solution in securing lasting peace. I ask him about the orange parade and he replies that in his opinion the people of Northern Ireland have to find a way in which everyone is able to maintain their identity, but without offending each other. I point out that this is also the main idea behind the Dialogue project; one does not have to come to an agreement, but be able to see each other’s point of view, and find a way to live side by side.

During my last evening here, Londonderry/Derry is named the British City of Culture. In stark contrast to the day which I spent visiting the museum of Free Derry, a museum which tells the story of a divided society, the whole city now rushes out to celebrate this joyous event. I find myself in a pub where a young band plays traditional Irish music. On the wall the Union Jack and the Irish flag hangs side by side, and the band plays This land is your land, this land is my land, Ulster was made for you and me. The hairs on the back of my arms rise up in salute as I absorb an atmosphere of hope and unity across differences. But while the citizens of Londonderry/Derry all celebrate together tonight, in Belfast the riots rage for the fourth night in a row. It seems evident that even though the past years have shown much positive change, there is still a need for dialogue.

I leave Northern Ireland with a backpack full of inspiration, eager to continue my work and to hear the stories and opinions of those who will participate in the Dialogue Seminar.