Inequality in Northern Ireland

Is Your Head Pure Fried Although the Troubles ended twenty years ago, many are still burdened with thoughts, images, loved ones lost and many other trauma-related issues. Worse than just the issue they hold, people are not able to express their fear, anger and sadness from the Troubles because if they admit involvement, even to a priest, social worker, counselor, etc. that provider is mandated to alert authorities. This creates an environment where people are walking around with trauma, shame and depression on their back, unable to disclose whatever they need to get off of their conscious. This picture represents a call to everyone needing a mental health provider. "Is your head pure fried?" is asking if your mind has too much going on, too much burden, too much anxiety. This was not the only mental health advertisement we saw while in Norther Ireland - there were many organizations, non-profits and health providers focused on mental health, particularly as it...

The Impact The Troubles, claiming to have ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement, has had a lasting impact on Northern Ireland because of violence, divide and inequality (BBC, 2018). These two pictures, taken not even a mile apart, are an example of how the Troubles are still lingering in Northern Ireland and how some cannot move passed them. The first, a Unionist/Loyalist/Protestant sign indicating their allegiance to the United Kingdom and their feelings of attack in a mostly Republican/Nationalist/Catholic area of Derry. The second, a Republican sign making reference to the violent attack on the Republicans in Derry and their eventual freedom after The Troubles. Although Rublicans are "free" in Derry and the rest of Northern Ireland, I am not sure that the forty years of the Troubles were necessary for them to gain freedom. The power struggle, the inequality, between the Catholics and the Protestants needed to be discussed, needed to be re-ba...

Corrymeela There is a place in Northern Ireland that is inclusive, peaceful, hopeful, calming and beautiful to just name a few adjectives to describe it. The Corrymeela Community is one of the greatest places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. It holds the ideas of Christianity that I truly believe in - those of love, inclusivity, acceptance, equality and meeting people where they are without judgment and with open arms. Corrymeela, although tied to religion like the Troubles, does not hold any reservations towards any individual or group, they simply accept and love everyone as they are. Corrymeela has made peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland a top priority - allowing families, groups and everyone in between to visit their facility for a restful, peaceful, transformative retreat that is sure to leave one with hope. Their mantra: "Corrymeela believes that people can learn to live and work well together", although simple, really embodies the feeling so...

Women One aspect of The Troubles we did not talk about much was the gender dynamic before, during and after The Troubles. There was a huge focus on men and boys, but not much discussion on women in Northern Ireland. It seems to me that besides class division, there is also gender division where women are experiencing inequality as well. When we look at this through an intersectional lens, women in the working class seem to have little to no freedom in Northern Ireland, especially before and during the Troubles, with little change today. This picture represents an acknowledgement that women's voices matter and an equal Northern Ireland means gender equality as well. Although the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition (NIWC) was included in discussions about the Good Friday Agreement, there has been little change in gender equality since then. Politically, representation and gender-based violence has not been at the forefront of decision-makers agendas, however, abortion pol...

Reconciliation There is good news - the Troubles may have been a tough, even brutal forty years of conflict, but people are ready for peace and reconciliation. We met with several former conflict participants and they made it clear that they are no longer involved with the Troubles and condemn any activity, especially violence, that continues. Many of them acknowledge that their activity in the Troubles was wrong and that the entire country must move past their mistakes, their hurt and their resistance to an equal, free Northern Ireland. This sort of reconciliation and promotion of peace gives Northern Ireland hope that the Troubles will be something of the past - no longer threatening their communities, no more violence, no more animosity, no more inequality. Organizations like the Peace and Reconciliation Group, the Corrymeela Community, and many others are working towards this goals for a peaceful and inclusive Northern Ireland (Peace Direct, 2010). This picture repres...

Voices Under-representation, voicelessness and inequality are the frustrations that bubbled up to the surface for the Catholics/Nationalists/Republicans in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1969. Years of frustrations tied to religion and politics were no longer going to be tolerated - "an oppressed people were demanding a different world where justice, equality and freedom were the entitlement of all" (Museum of Free Derry, 2018). After marches and riots by Nationalists, police (mostly tied to loyalists) attacked the Nationalists, their families and innocent citizens on the bogside of Derry, mostly populated by Nationalists. This caused an uproar from the community that inspired more violence and war.  This picture represents the voices that were heard during the terror that killed 14 people on Bloody Sunday and sparked more violence in Northern Ireland (2018). I chose this picture because to me it is a representation of the voices of the Nationalists that w...

                    Division The Troubles started in an already classist, poverty-stricken society that did not care for the working or under class. These issues were then exacerbated when division between the Catholics/Nationalists/Republicans and the Protestants/Loyalists/Unionists started a war over religion, opportunity and politics. Many hardly knew what they were fighting for - some starting as early as thirteen years old in opposing sides - the Irish Republican Army (IRA) or Ulster Defense Association (UDA). For decades the war between religion and politics destroyed Northern Ireland and no one cared enough about this working class conflict to put a stop to it until The Good Friday Agreement, reached by political parties in Northern Ireland.  Unfortunately this division still exists in working class communities and symbols like this fist are seen on the side of buildings throughout Northern Irela...

The Crum Crumlin Road Jail served as a prison for men, women and children starting in 1845 and housed men and women up until 1996. Although it is now a tourist attraction and an event space, its deep history with The Troubles and the working class is a testament to the strife experienced in Norther Ireland for many decades. Crumlin Road Jail or as they like to call it in Belfast - The Crum - isolated prisoners in an already isolating and divided society. The Crum, along with many other places in Northern Ireland, demonstrates the division, classism and frustration still felt in Northern Ireland today.  Although poverty was not discussed at length during our time in Northern Ireland, several instructors spoke of "the working class" or "the under class" that still experience violence and hatred in their communities. These are the communities that were often housed at The Crum - people of the working class or the under class who were ignored, mistreated and...