Derry City and Strabane

Today we made an effort to learn about "The Troubles", the violent civil tension between Irish Protestants and Catholics. I really didn't know much about the history in the political territory of the UK except that it amounts to six counties in Northern Ireland separated from the rest of the Republic of Ireland.

When we were first planning this trip a year ago, I mentioned at a social gathering in Portland that one of the stops on the itinerary was going to be Londonderry. An acquaintance at the gathering, who had spent time in Ireland, told me "Be careful about calling the town Londonderry. It might be better to call it Derry as it may evoke a hostile response otherwise." As recently as yesterday, a friend cautioned me to be careful about what pubs we go to as some might be sectarian.

The first time that I ever heard the word terrorist was when I was about 14 years old and it was applied to the Irish Republican Army. I knew that there were random bombings over time in my teens, but I didn't really understand what the fight was about. We never talked about it at home.

The only other sense that I had about the division was when I was about 10 or 11 , and it was St. Patrick's Day. I believe that my parents were both at work, and my grandmother would sometimes look after us after school. I arrived home wearing an orange shirt. My Irish grandmother was furious with me, and I asked her why. She replied angrily, "It means you hate the Irish!" I vividly remember this because it is about the only time in my life that I remember my grandmother being angry with me.

Today's street tour helped me get a better sense of her anger because I saw it again today. In my effort to recount the day, I make no pretense of claiming full understanding of "The Troubles". We had the opportunity to take a "Bogside" tour conducted by George, a few years younger than me, who lived in Derry-Londonderry during the height of the conflict.

This tour was organized by Paul Doherty whose father Patrick was one of 17 people killed at age 31 during a protest of the occupation of the British army in Derry just over fifty years ago, January 30th, 1972. The day is more commonly known as "Bloody Sunday" and is referenced in a song by the Irish Band U2. We briefly met Paul at the beginning of the tour and he handed us off to George.

The people in our tour group were from different places ranging from Tacoma, WA and New Jersey to a couple from England and other undisclosed locations. George opened the tour with the disclaimer, " Some of my friends are British." That immediately caused me to recall the number of times I've heard people say, " I'm not racist; some of my best friends are Black." I said to Jim " I think we're about to hear a very partisan take on the history." And indeed we did.

George took us through the neighborhoods of the Bogside. He shared historical discrimination against Catholics and the segregation and overcrowding into Catholic neighborhoods, the inability to vote, have good jobs and to live in other areas. Despite the large Catholic population, there was no representation of Catholics in local government.

In the 60's some people were inspired by the Civil Rights movements in the U.S. and they began to organize against the Protestant held government. In the late 60's those protests led to the British army being called in who ultimately fired upon demonstrators on "Bloody Sunday".

Those violent clashes escalated over many decades until a peace agreement known as the Good Friday Agreements that were talked facilitated by Special Envoy and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell from Maine.

As George walked us through the neighborhoods of the conflict with murals and monuments memorializing the times, I noticed the growing discomfort of the British couple. The husband muttered under his breath several times sarcastically about the British being the bad guys, and that it was fifty years ago. He remarked to me, "They should just get over it. "

George is not over it, and I suspect that many of my generation here aren't either. There does seem to be a path toward unification, but every local person who we have talked to, things that this reality is still years away and complicated by the economy, Brexit and identity issues.

After we left the tour, we went to the Free Derry museum. The museum tells a narrative that aligns with George's perspective. The part I found the most moving was Great Britain's investigation of the Bloody Sunday incident nearly 40 years after its occurrence and the subsequent acknowledgement and apology by the British Prime Minister that the army's act of violence was ".. unjustified and unjusifiable..." The footage showed the jubilation of the massive crowd gathered at the same spot where we began the tour. I imagined the vindication of family members who had lost their loved ones so many years ago.

I don't know the other side of the story. I grew up thinking that the IRA were angry terrorists. I failed to ask George about the emulation of MLK when their actions seem more aligned with Malcolm X.

In an effort to see evidence of the Unionists, those who remain loyal to the UK, we searched for murals representing that perspective. We found the neighborhoods to be eerily quiet. Territories were marked by curbs of red white and blue along with Union Jack flags and orange flags representing the Protestant groups. We noticed the Statue of a man in the middle of a playground portraying the "Apprentice Boys", a group of young men closing the gates against the army of Catholic King James in the 1600's. Some hold it as a fight that hasn't gone away.

While I haven't researched it further, the Protestant neighborhoods are referred to as "waterside". I found it curious as both sides of Derry-Londonderry are waterside.

How do we overcome artificial divisions? Witnessing the struggles of a country that share the same language and land, it makes me think of our struggles back home. I think about my grandmother seeing her Irish identity as aligned with Catholicism and not recognizing that the Protestants were also on Irish land.

I think about the great experiment of America where the melting pot was seen as its strength and wondering how we return to that ideal rather than a deficit. I think of a SCOTUS comprised of six Catholics who seem to have abandoned the first amendment or the sentiment of the majority of Americans.

Yet, I still hold hope. At the end of the tour, George remarked about the promise of young people who are more able to ignore long-held grudges than he is able to do by his own admission. I think about the Peace Bridge and a statue we saw last night depicting connection. I think about the Free Derry momument that is also repainted to demonstrate other fights against oppression. I also hold hope in young people to create a better future if we get out of their way.

"How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? How long?

'Cause tonight
We can be as one
Tonight"

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