Over the years I have adapted quite happily to living in England however, like any emigrant I always feel a longing for the old home country. At, this time of year, however, I am unfailingly glad of my decision to settle elsewhere.
I grew up in a predominantly Catholic part of Belfast and come from a very Republican family. I would like a united Ireland and live in hope that one day this shall happen. Various members of my family were involved in the Troubles and I lost an aunt and uncle in a sectarian assassination in their home in front of their children. My story is not unique and there are many with a similar story both in the Catholic community and in our Protestant counterparts. I grew up in a city were if you crossed a certain line with a certain name you could be beaten or killed, a place of pain and anger, hatred and pride. However, to me that was home and we had a lot of goodness in our lives too, a strong sense of community, identity and pride, that I have yet to encounter in England, parades and festivals celebrating all that we were fighting for. I was relatively shielded from the horrors, thankfully, and my generation is the first to have experienced the Troubles and Peace and having grown up through a peace and equality our parents and grandparents had not known, it was easier for us to befriend people from across the barricades.
The majority of people in Northern Ireland long for peace and a high percentage of people my age (25) know how difficult it was for our families and just want peace. We don't want to fight each other or carry on adversity, we want to work together and make the place better for everyone. Over the years this shift in perception, as well as more rights for the Catholic community, has meant Belfast has grown into a bustling, trendy metropolis complete with high rises, a new shopping mall and a developed waterfront. Mainly this was able to happen was down to investors feeling more confident in a place and people that wouldn't attempt to blow up anything they built! The whole of NI is undergoing so much change and attracting the tourism this beautiful, culturally rich part of the world deserves.
That being said the July parades, known as the 'marching season' culminating in the inflammatory 12th night bonfire always make me turn away in disgust and anger. Commemorating a failed coup by Catholics against the English landowners in the 17th century, the parades are a way in which members of the Protestant community celebrate all that they represent, namely their loyalty and affiliation to England. The problem with this is that instead of parading in protestant areas, members of the Orange Order insist on inflammatory routes e.g. along a known Catholic road or outside Catholic churches etc. Considering the population is around 50/50 Catholic:Protestant, this is certainly going to rile a lot of people who feel their insistence on this route is simply to cause trouble and demonstrate superiority over their Catholic counterparts. It is unsurprising then that riots break out. Every year. Every single year.
Bonfires are lit in celebration after the parades and people attend these to revel in their national pride of England and identity. These bonfires, and most marches to be fair, generally go off without a hitch and apart from causing mild annoyance, no harm is done. However, there are those who deliberately want to cause contention and burn tricolours, pictures of prominent Irish politicians etc on the bonfire. Today pictures have been circulating of a hanged effigy which is supposedly a Catholic priest who recently killed himself amidst paedophilia claims. There is no need.
I am pretty moderate in my stance on NI, I really believe that a peaceful society can and will be created in the next few generations, built on a solid foundation of respect and a fatigue of hate. Sadly, this can't happen until people from both sides (I'm not blind to those of my own community's wrongdoings) put down their ancient, bloody swords and think about their children's future. I do not like the parades but I accept they are an integral part of the Protestant community's identity and I am sure they regard the West Belfast Festival and St Patrick's Day parades with equal dislike. Therefore, I don't propose we cut out the parades, simply enforce anti-inflammatory routes, leave Catholic communities out of their celebrations and go about their business in peace. Until this happens, we will never truly have a peaceful Northern Ireland.
Lora
Apologies, I have been advised I made a mistake regarding the priest who killed himself amidst paedophilia claims. The priest had actually been suffering from depression for sometime and it was for this reason that he committed suicide.
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