One security alert in Northern Ireland for every day of the year

One security alert in Northern Ireland for every day of the year

Northern Ireland: The Paradox of Life Between Worlds

I'm here. Belfast, Northern Ireland. Everything is novel, new and exciting, and I have leisurely been exploring the place which will be "home" for the next four months.

The main shopping districts of Belfast (such as Castle Arcade/Victoria Center) have a vibrancy that I was not expecting, bustling with shoppers and the expectancy of Christmas. Buskers are on each street corner to regale you with carols and folk tunes, and shopwindows are gaily trimmed. Here, I do not get a sense of the tension so readily exploited by the journal mags such as the telegraph or pervaded by Steven Nolan on Radio Ulster (Nolan by the way is known as a "shock jock" according to one local I was speaking with...though clearly the term is being used in an altogether much less intense way here than the Rush Limbaughs, Michael Savages and Howard Sterns that we would equate with the embodiment of such a term back home).

Infact, beyond the closed shops evident of a struggling economy, Belfast is a charming and quaint European metropolitan center. Online forums and European newspapers speak fondly of Belfast's newfound foodie and culture scenes. Investment and redevelopment have attracted overseas companies and tourism, victories which Stormont (the local devolved Northern Ireland assembly) and Westminster (the United Kingdom legislative assembly responsible for overall governance of the province) can rightfully be proud of. Partly because of the better economy (which is still lagging as the worst in the UK, but much better than once it was), the functioning local government, efforts to deinstitutionalize discrimination, broader educational opportunities, disbanding and demilitarization of many of the big paramilitary militias, and cross-community institutions, much of the violence with which the Northern Ireland of the 1970s, 1980s and somewhat in the 1990s came to be plagued by.

I have yet to venture beyond the main Business districts of the downtown sector, but that which I have seen has been of a place which is going about the business of living in the present. This afternoon I wandered through Victoria Square, City Hall, Queens University, the Botanical Gardens, and then returned via a leisurely stroll along the Lagan back up to City center. It could have been anywhere: the Hatch Shell on the Charles in Boston, Crossing the Willamette over the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, or strolling the docks in downtown Olympia; but no, despite the reeds rustling and the gulls screeing, there were the massive sentinals of "Samson" and "Goliath" (the giant cranes at Hawland & Wolff that dominate the Belfast skyline) assuring me that this was indeed Belfast, Northern Ireland's "first city."

However, one needs only to wander off of the main streets by mere blocks to get a sense of the haunting empty feeling that impressed upon me when I first visited back in 2002. Rows of tenements with their tell-tale chimneys lining the narrow neighborhoods...these neighborhoods are where one can feel it the most. Sentinals, hiding their residents behind blonds and sashes, streets where life is masqueraded by loneliness, as mournful as a single tenor voice singing "My Lagan Love."

This paradox of an ordinary city juxtaposed with the feeling that things are NOT as they seem shows that this place is as complex as she is elusive. Today while walking I encountered my first indication of the still enduring troubles. On Damascus street in the Ormeau (near Queens University), a phalanx of four Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) landrovers and security personnel standing guard outside a house with semi-automatic rifles carefully watching me go by.

There is a Janus like quality that intrigues me, captivating me further into the paradox that is Northern Ireland. I fear that four months will not be nearly enough time to unravel her secrets and discover why this small country and her people have maintained an almost twenty-five year captivation on my mind.

Belfast...Anticipation

It is strange to think that in three and a half weeks I will be sitting in St. Peter's Cathedral for Christmas Eve mass in Belfast, Northern Ireland. What began as a vague idea in January has emerged as a very real ambitious project, only weeks away. While there are many loose ends to tie up in the coming weeks, I am ready for the challenge ahead. A new country with its' own culture, I am very much looking forward to it.

Yet, the Northern Ireland I am going to is a different one than five years ago, or even two years ago. Things are seeming to be getting quite tense as loyalists today converge on Belfast city center to protest the one year anniversary of the city council's decision to limit the flying of the Union Jack to certain days. This protest comes on the heels of a difficult 6 months marked by: a difficult marching season in July with the Orange Order leadership vocally opposing the decision of the Parades Commission on the Crumlin Road of the Ardoyne (and the ensuing rioting); the Sinn Fein Comemoration of IRA operative Thomas Begley (killed when the bomb he was planting in the midst of a busy market day went off prematurely in Frizell's Fish Shop in the Shankill in 1993 killing himself and 9 others); the attack on Belfast Lord Mayor O'Muilleoir during the opening ceremony of a park in Woodvale; spate of Paramilitary "Punishment" attacks and killings in L-Derry; the presence of American Ambassador Haas in talks to address parades, cultural emblems, and the legacy of the troubles; the elevation of security levels to include vehicle check points as a reaction to two recent dissident car bombs (claimed by the organization Oglaigh na heireann); and the fractures in the Loyalist Ulster Defense Association; these are all symptoms of the strong divisions that still exist in Northern Irish society.

Courtesy of Global Post at http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/130715/marching-season-violent-belfast-clashes-video


Despite attempts to attract investment, several high profile events to include the World Police and Fire Games, the 2013 G-8 Summit of world leaders, and L-Derry as UK City of Culture, unemployment and lack of job opportunities persist. Though NI is currently at about 7.3% unemployment for the whole country, there are portions of the country that experience upwards to the 20 percentile range. Many of the economic problems that fueled the troubles persist to this day with the shadow of the past not too far away. Even the major political parties representing on the National Assembly in Stormont seem to be finding themselves in political gridlock with stalled legislation a frequent occurence. While this could be a healthy "release of social steam" with paramilitaries taking advantage of the social climate, there is also the possibility that such an atmosphere could provide trigger and flashpoints that could ignite into a resurgence of violence.

From what I've been following in local NI newspapers such as the Telegraph and the Irish News, it seems that a majority of the people are committed to maintaining the legitimacy of the Belfast and St. Andrews Agreements and are exerting their influence to ensure things don't get out of hand. Dr. Haas' presence is another indication of how the International Community is also working to find a workable solution. This is very good, as this is a very significant opportunity for the Northern Irish to deliberately choose to continue on the path they have trod toward reconciliation since 1995. Though politics and social pressure is heating up, political institutions are still functioning and there are level headed leadership in all levels of society working to facilitate the addressing of grievences in peaceful and democratic ways. I believe that the majority of the electorate are opposed to returning to violence and will eventually work toward social integration, uniting the several divided communities.

While this may seem to be a scary time to be getting into the thick of things, this is really the best time I could have chosen to be going there. Post-Political peace agreement societies are a particular interest of mine in Peace and Conflict studies, and this will sllow me a first hand glimpse at the difficulties that such societies have to overcome. As I'm fond of saying, getting opponents to the negotiating table is the easy part; it's what happens after that's the hard part! Much can be learned from this period of social turbulence. No matter what happens, I'm ready for one of the most paradigm shifting learning opportunities of my life!

My Manifesto for Peace

War is Brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste…until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one’s responsibilities and be willing to make sacrifices for one’s country – as my comrades did.  As the troops used to say, “if the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for.” With privilege goes responsibility.” – With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, E.B. Sledge

Having read Sledge’s account of his units time in World War II, while I can understand how he came to the conclusion he did, it is nonetheless a conclusion that I cannot agree with.  To the contrary, his account deepens my horror and revulsion for war: for the senseless loss and waste of resources and people; for the individuals being used as pawns to further political objectives (whether these be good ends or evil ends); for the terrible effects on civilian populations who are dragged into and feel the more lasting effects. 

Is there such a thing as a ‘justified’ war?  I do not know.  This is a subject that knaws deeply on my soul and intellect.  Is there a time when war IS the last resort?  Can there be a noble war?  Was there another way besides the Second World War, when clearly peace was not the objective of such megalomaniacs as Hitler?  Is war justified to save civilian populations, such as police actions taken in Congo?  What about the plight of the Jews in Nazi controlled Germany?  And what of the freedoms achieved through the revolt of the American Colonies against England? Once again, I have no answers to these questions.  These questions are valid, and deserve answers.  And the answer may eventually be that there is no right or wrong answer or method to deal with these moral paradoxes.  However it may be, I will continue to visit these thoughts, apply new concepts and knowledge and continue to seek truth and enlightenment.  And even if I cannot ever answer these questions as to the ‘national morality’ or ‘character of a people,’ I undoubtedly will eventually be able to answer these sufficiently in regards to my own condition, and the path that is the right path for me as an individual.  This may well embrace defensive war, or the protection of the humanity and inner light of others.  It also might well embrace complete pacifism. 

What I do know at the present time is that ‘offensive war’ does weaken and diminish a ‘national character.’ No matter the reasons for deciding to engage in it, War is an animal all to herself, and one well to be personified by the Greeks, Hindis, and other cultures.  War does not address the root causes of conflict, but rather the symptoms. Through use of passion, it is hoped to either enshrine or annihilate the pride or morale of a people, which is another passion.  When passion and passion collide, they result in further passion.  Reason and Logic are the two tools which seem to be able to hold passion in check and create environments that address root cause and sow the potential for more lasting results.  Passion is quick, it looks to the short term, and her fruits appear quick enough, turning to rot as they fall from the mother tree.  Reason is long suffering, slow, yet nurtures in a way that maintains the dignity, respect, and addresses the root concerns of causation.  With Reason, the tree is carefully pruned, fertilized, and endures sometimes long periods of hibernation to eventually produce a bounteous harvest.

From what I can determine, War only permanently solves three problems: overpopulation, unemployment, and a national disunity.  And these problems are ones which are best not solved by war, as two are solved by the brutal elimination of hundreds of thousands of souls, the third once again only briefly mended and built on often lofty and noble, but correspondingly false and ideologically entrenching sentiments.  These problems are best solved as is war herself, through reason and logic. Like Polonius’ advice to his daughter Ophelia (while specifically addressing the passion of love, but can be also said of all resorts to passion): When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter, giving more light than heat, extinct in both, even in their promise, as it is a-making, you must not take for fire. 

War’s ends are further war, as seen by nearly every conflict in history, most powerfully by World War I and II.  While many would point to Hitler and the necessity to wage war to destroy his evil ambitions, I would point out that Hitler’s rise was enabled through World War I, and the failings to address the cause of Germany’s conflict.  War destabilizes; destroys world knowledge and cultural works of art; leaves populations in states of famine, stripped of depended upon natural resources, and tears holes in the fabrics of families and communities; creates a dependence on overly simplistic military solutions rather than diplomatic agility and skill; and breeds fear, corruption, and loss of direction for a people (in-fact war becomes the focus of direction, and with its end leaves the participants shattered, listless and with a shattered rudder).

I believe that non-violence can be achieved, and that its means creates a healthier environment in which more lasting peace are the results.  I vow as long as I believe in its abilities to heal and solve the deeper root causes to devote my life to this cause, to be a teacher in an unpredictable and low-yielding field, to continue the work which has the greater potential for defusing the crisis that we see so regularly.  This is my work, my purpose, and my passion.