Hiccups in a "process"

Yet another chapter in the process of peace in Northern Ireland. This week it came out like a bombshell in the newspapers that letters had been given to a significant number of paramilitaries wanted for accusations of murders and actions (many going back 20-30 years) by the British government. Many of these individuals have been on the run outside of the country. Much of this came to light in a particular court case of late that fell through on the technicality of one of these letters which essentially granted Queen's amnesty. The outrage has been significant, to the extent that yesterday the first minister, Peter Robinson threatened to resign if the Prime Minister didn't launch an inquiry. Such a resignation would have triggered an election, and while interesting as a political exercise, would have wrecked havoc with an already delicate political landscape. Today Prime Minister Cameron announced the inquiry, so presumably the First Minister is safe from carrying out his threat. Which threat is no real surprise...there is a paranoia on the part of a particular segment of the Northern Irish population who are always looking for signs of the British willing to 'sell them down the river.'

The issue of what to do with those who carried out killings in the name of political expediency (whether Loyalist, Nationalist or Security Force alike) has been an ongoing problem, and one which is common to any country destabilized by insurgency/revolution/independence movements. There are many versions of history here, narratives which depend on the community one comes from. Freedom fighters. Murderers. Victims. The term varies, and no one has yet been able to figure out the best way to come to grips with the legacy of the past. Unlike South Africa and several other situations, no truth commission has yet been successfully launched. There have been some smaller commissions focusing on individual instances (such as Bloody Sunday) which have had some resolution, but for the most part, nothing on a wider scale. A part of the Haas talks at the end of last year sought to broach the possibility of such a larger commission, but was met with large scale resistance and eventually had to be set aside.

There is much pain that exists to this day, and much fear. Yet, risks have had to be taken to move things along, such as the part of the 1998 peace accords that resulted in prisoner releases that effected both communities. These risks, in the name of peace, have for the most part been successful. Justice was sacrificed to lay to rest vengeance, with the recognition that in conflicts such as that went on during the Troubles, there are no innocents. All are victims by time and circumstance, and each story is as valid and tragic as the other. Yes, there may be outrage, and much political posturing is being made of this...but perhaps this is an important step needed to be taken to continue to move things down the path. Where that path may lead is anyone's guess.

Everyone, including myself at times, seems to forget that the peace process in Northern Ireland is just that: a process. A delicate process. A struggling process. A hopeless process. A hopeful process. Each citizen of Northern Ireland sees this process in a different light, with different adjectives reflecting their outlook on life and their experiences. Perhaps I'm just an optimist, and maybe that's my prerogative as an outsider...yet I firmly believe that Northern Ireland is on a track to success. Hiccups such as the ones over the past year and the one in the past few days are to be expected. Smooth sailing is not realistic, and history tells us to expect otherwise. Even the experiment of 1776 has had many problems and took decades (if not a century!) to define itself and its institutions. Rome, and certainly not Washington, was not born in a day...and neither will Northern Ireland!

The complications between theory and hands on Research

First week of full study interviews (meaning, not pilot nor control groups). It has begun, though with some modifications.

The original intention had been to have four pilot interviews, which logistics and scheduling forced down to two. Problems with two of the interviews were as follows: The first interview (P.P.1) had to cancel due to an emergency when we had only just gotten started and was never able to find a suitable time to reschedule, and intended fourth interview (P.P.4) was slow in responding to scheduling requests (second and third interviews occured without any problems). These four had been selected by consultation between myself and the sexual health officer at Rainbow Project who selected the individuals for pilot testing, based upon their experience of LGB&T issues in Northern Ireland, their assortment of age & professional demographics, and the perception that they would be qualified to give constructive feedback on the structure, format and data (both intended and collected) of the interviews. Timelines for this project have aways been limited, with a growing awareness of the mortality of timelines. It has been a constant concern and one of the aspects of the project I had misjudged in the planning stages. Getting established, gaining entry, and field observation took far longer than had been anticipated, despite the sense of having been relatively well prepared.

If one aspect of the project had to be chosen for best executed, it has always been the preparation phase. This portion of the project begun in January of 2013 and ended December of 2013 included extensive perusal of academic, news, and popular literature on Northern Ireland, as well as media. I’m most proud of this and it has been remarked on several occasions that my level of knowledge on the issues present in the culture and political landscape is astonishing.

That said, I could have gone even further by studying sport and games (such as gaelic, rugby, hurling, and football). However, this would have been of very little use in my current project beyond facilitating the gaining entry with more general Northern Irish society and putting me more at ease (like most of the world, sport here is highly valued and in many ways revered as a sort of secular religion. The “high altar of our blessed pitch,” if you will). Had I been interviewing other portions of Northern Irish society this would have been necessary. Thankfully, the stereotype holds true and gay men are less prone to demand sport adherence, though still much higher in the British LGB&T communities than in the US. A week and a half ago, while visiting Edinburgh, I visited a gay bar which was practically a sports bar. It gave me several minutes of confusion as I struggled to determine if I was in the right place, finally discovering I was by searching through the literature for distribution on the wall!

Much of the actual carrying out of the project and the associated problems I’ve found to be the normal aspects of first time research. My grasp of theory was fairly good thanks to my research methods course last semester, however, it is the most practical aspects in the actual carrying out which have been a problem, especially in the understanding of timelines and tracking down, scheduling, and interviewing participants, then processing their interviews. Rookie mistakes. BUT not mistakes that would bias, call into question, or otherwise diminish the academic soundness of the data itself.

While more pilot interviewing would have been preferable, the questions had been screened by several individuals and changes mades upon their recommendations. Some adjustments were also made following the 1st completed pilot interview (P.P.2), but these were made on the basis of flow, rather than function. The second interview completed (P.P.3) was conducted with a mental health counselor whose an expert in Northern Irish LGB&T concerns, that indicated his satisfaction with both the flow and the format of the prompts. I found that the data being obtained was satisfactory and objective, without signs of bias, and decided that further pilot testing would merely pose to delay the project further. It was decided to begin active testing to achieve timetables of interview completion by 31st of March (with the exception of control interviews which will be completed the second week in May).

Beyond the pilot testing cut short, the only other matter which has posed a concern is the time scheduled between participants. Originally an hour was thought to suffice, which was expanded to an Hour and a Half following P.P.3. This was decided to expand even further after the first regular participant, P.1, took 2 hours 20 minutes. The next scheduled interview had taken into account an hour and a half, and was forced to wait 45 minutes. Thankfully, the second participant (P.2) who was the civil partner of P.1 was understanding and agreed to reschedule. It was decided that no less than 3 hours would be necessary between scheduling interviews.

Difficult, difficult day

Today was an extremely difficult and challenging day emotionally. I am meeting some of the most amazing and resilient people I have ever had the opportunity to talk with, and hearing some of the most heartbreaking stories. There is fiction, and then there is reality. Humans are so fragile, yet so resilient. Learning much, but so much more left to learn...

I'm feeling exhausted, emotionally drained. Wondering if I can truly do these stories justice. I feel in awe, that they trust me that much to share such intimate and heartwrenching details of their lives.

Welcome to Belfast...

A Night in the Council...

Tonight I attended the Belfast City Council meeting, which was my first local politics meeting. Belfast politics are unique given the polarity of the parties and the power inherent in Northern Ireland's capital city.

Upon arrival I realized how very different such local politics operate here when I was asked what councillor was sponsoring my entrance. The city council is NOT open to the public, compared to the "town hall" model which is much beloved as an American institution. This was quickly remedied however by the kindness of Councillor Guy Spence who agreed to vouch for me. Spence is something of a wunderkind here in local politics, having been elected to the council at the tender age of 19, and surprisingly a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (though the true surprise probably would have been from him had I been forthcoming fully about the topic of my research project!). City councillors are allowed to sponsor two constituents to the gallery.

I gained admittance and was directed to the public gallery overlooking the south side of the chamber, where I got to speaking with a council employee who explained to me the layout of the chamber (nationalist/alliance parties on the north benches with unionist on the south). Public opinion is not solicited, with council meetings being a formality agreeing to what is passed in committee meetings. This makes sense considering the tight control with which British Politicians are bound to their party. When I asked if the public had the chance in committee meetings to then express their opinion, he seemed taken aback and remarked "that's what we elect representatives for!" He then elaborated that public constituency speak with their representatives directly if they wish to comment on a particular policy or matter of concern.

City Hall is an impressive architectural wonder from the turn of the 20th century that complements Belfast's former place as a shipbuilding/linen/ropemaking industrial center of the empire. Decorated in brightly painted plaster, murals, ornamentation, wrought iron, carved oak, marble, and stained glass, City Hall poses a picture of dissonance: what was built for the ascendancy of Lords and Ladies in robes and gowns, now occupied by a modern people representative of a power held firmly in the hands of the people. All under the prudish gaze of HRM Queen Victoria, peering out of her 15 foot high canvas. I can't but wonder what she would have thought?

Council opened with the entrance of the Lord Mayor, deputy Lord Mayor and High Sheriff who share the west dais. The Lord Mayor's chair is a huge affair, and I admit to having inwardly guffawed watching him struggle to drag it to the microphone, like some modern goldilocks. Then, once seated, Council opened with a reading from Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy ways" (of which I'm still trying to figure out the applicability). Most of the items on the agenda were regarding city planning, council facilities (such as the Cherryhill sports complex), Tax levy rate freezes, and other items of council note which brought about lots of debate from the councillors representing the districts of Belfast.

Three items came to mind that struck me about the Belfast City Council. First, the sheer number of councilors, 51. Most cities I've lived in of a comparable size have had much smaller numbers (7-10). Second, most of the Councillors dressed fairly casually, in slacks with button up shirts open at the neck and either a sports coat or pullover. Northern Ireland is much less formal a society, and unlike city politics in the states, only the Lord Mayor and his deputies were in suits and ties. The final surprise was at the significant number of young faces who had been elected as City Councillors. This is very atypical of US politics, where city politicians are older and more experienced, and better able to run campaigns for competitive seats of which there are fewer, and require greater resources and business establishment courting to secure. Needless to say, it amazes me that despite the apathy of many young Northern Irish toward their political system and parties, it is also the young people who are getting involved and securing the future.

While expecting a rather dull and unexciting session, things got a bit heated when the issue of peace walls came up. Like a switch had been flipped, all of the councillor's eyes were riveted to the speakers who passionately spoke of their frustration of the other side "coming into their neighborhoods and accosting their pensioners homes and property." PUP Councillor Hutchinson remarked in particular that this wasn't 1998, nor 2008, rather the political scene was much more polarized (referring to the tumultuous events of the last year of parades rioting and flag protests), and therefore the peace walls were more integral today than they were then (to date there are more peace walls now than when the Good Friday Accords were signed in 1998, before the demilitarization of most of the paramilitaries). Yes, sectarian tensions still remain, and the political situation IS different than it was during the Good Friday peace talks occured; however, the differences and improvements within the society and functionality of a devolved executive and parliament must be acknowledged. Things ARE NOT ANYWHERE near as bad as they were in 1972 (bloody Sunday), 1974 (Sunningdale strikes), 1981 (hunger strikes), 1995 (canary Wharf), or 1998 (Omagh). Northern Ireland for the most part is a peaceful society with mild turbulence and crime rate lower than any other European or American city. Unemployment remains low, except among young folk in economically deprived areas whom experience difficulties in marketing their skills and finding steady employ. Granted, things are not perfect, but the problems that exist today are no more significant or encompassing than those facing any other country dealing with their past (hint hint, America, which still lurks under her shadow of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and mass racial Criminal incarceration).

Northern Ireland has come far from (as SDLP Councillor Keenan put it) "the hard days," "the dark days," and her "baggage." A new era does indeed exist, that is no less difficult; with the legacy that instead of relying on fear and violence, these politicians now must learn to navigate their differences and geo-political aspirations within a democratic process. The armalite has been long retired, and the ballot box is the only legitimate tool. It takes time, it takes patience, and it takes a continued commitment to learning how to break down barriers and become a unified society. The great experiment of the 1990s is bearing fruit. Northern Ireland continues to be a success story.