more sights from Belfast

So many pictures and stories and too little time… Here is a fingerfull from Belfast —>

A trip to the capitol, Belfast

I recently made a trip to Belfast to see the city and visit my classmate, Tej, who is doing his placement there with an organization called TIDES. I stayed with his host family during the visit, and they were great. On Friday we went to a rugby match — Ulster against Connaught. It was a great time, despite the fact that the first hour or more we stood in a constant downpour of rain and sleet and we got drenched to the bone. There we met a friend of Tej’s, who is a Belfast native. He explained what was happening in the game and taught us about the plays and strategies, in relation to it’s differences and similarities to American football.

gravity

I spent a couple hours talking with Jim McLaughlin this afternoon. Jim is the person managing the CPR (Consolidating Positive Relationships) Project, part of the European Union-funded Peace Initiative Programming. He works in an office next door, which is a building the Koram Centre is renting, but has intentions to buy and expand into. I always love the conversations with Jim. He is always teaching me another piece of little-known Irish history. He’s incredibly politically minded and aware. But, when he talks about this stuff, it’s not from a deep emotional place, like when Jeff talks about the subjects. 

nearby violence

Last night a Strabane boy was executed about five miles from here, right across the border. The car involved was found burned out near Derry, which is typical paramilitary M.O. It was a tragic and shocking thing to hear about, and people involved in the peace process are shaking their heads and feeling dismayed. The Real IRA are claiming no responsibility but there are those who keep trying to pull this country backwards toward conflict. 

learning about agendas

Today a man representing a local Republican ex-prisoner organization, came to meet with my supervisor on a relationship-building mission, and I sat in on the meeting. It was clear there was some tension in the room but I didn’t understand it, since I do not yet have insight into who these different players/organizations are. However, Jeff did not trust him and the way he spoke to him made it clear that he was trying to convince the man that he had insight that he should be open to learning from, and he said some things that came straight from lessons in facilitating restorative dialogue. 

First weekend in Derry/Londonderry

My second day in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland has been wonderful. I took a walk around the city wall with my host, Marina. It is the bastion that protected the people when the town was under siege by the British in the 1600’s. This city has a long complex history. Its location is in County Derry on the northwestern border, and was originally a monastery in the 6th century. Much of the city has been destroyed over the years, but the oldest building- Anglican St. Columb’s Cathedral still stands there. Also from the wall you can see the border with the Republic of Ireland. The name Derry is taken from the Irish ‘doire,’ which means ‘place of the oaks.’