Last night was for me, without doubt, the best night here. Weirdly I guess, given both the endlessly wonderful events that we have and the simplicity of last night.
JC Jnr arranged for us interns to gather and discuss how we feel about Ireland, Northern Ireland and everthing in between. It was definetly the elephant in the room, since this group was formed back in Belfast months ago now. In every casual conversation, group discussions and debates, it was there- the topic we avoided. We couldn’t avoid it any longer.
The premise of the Washington-Ireland Program, and its predecessor Project Children, was to bring together young people from both sides of the religious/political divide and train them as leaders in an effort to further peace back home. I don’t agree that despite the fact that we have a functionning, power-sharing government back home, that there is any less of a need for such people. Indeed, it has probably never been so crucial.
SO, last night we got pitzas in. Megan brought cookies,and we robbed some coke. We sat around the board room and just talked it out. Everyone gave a three-minute contribution of their views, background and position. The tension in the room was palpable. The emotion evident in people’s voices and faces. Experienced speakers, and I include myself in this, we shaking in their boots while giving it their two cents. Every word was respected, but it’s such an emotional topic to discuss particularly in front of a group. The usually rowdy gang of us, sat in respectful silence as people shared stories, hopes and fears. It was powerful, moving stuff.
It shocked me a lot too. I like to be shocked. Makes it worthwhile. There was no controversy for it’s own sake, just pure opinions that differed immensely. Chatting to a fellow WIPer afterwards, we said that it was a pity that the whole of Ireland hadn’t seen what had just happened. We got to the root of the issue. Behind the overly-optimistic press reports that the war is over. Behind the academic doctrines and historical analysis of who was right, when and why. Behind the propaganda and rhetoric of conflict used by both sides. It was simple. A gang of young people who drink together and work together talking about the single greatest chlallenge their country has ever faced and how it has impacted their lives. We didn’t try hard to reach some new Nirvana, but we were truthful. The power was in that, methinks.
I don’t feel that it would be appropriate to quote verbatim what people shared, but I’m happy to share my piece.
I grew up down south and had little direct dealings with the North. I remember being terrified of an IRA bomb being put under my bed though, as a young child. In summer 2005, I went to work as an intern with “Daily Ireland”- a republican newspaper, run by a former Sinn Fein counseller. It was a whole new world to me. My first day, the taxi driver showed me around the peace walls and the murals and all the streets I’d known from the riots. One night, I got the wrong bus and ended up in a very Unionist area. Another day, I got caught in a SF march. It was a whole new world to me. And, I was pretty shocked.
As a Southerner among my peers, I don’t feel particularly entitled to a view on the North. Those guys have lived though it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live though conflict, violence, war, troubles, whatever it is that you want to call it. I care deeply about Northern Ireland ( a point I laboured to emphaise, to the amusement of others). That said, I recognise that my experience of it is entirely differnet for those who have lived there.
I’m a news junkie. I follow these things intently. But last nig was the first time I felt that I trully understood it. I learned a lot. I learned just how wide the divide is and how long it will persist. I learned that peace is not a place in history, but a process and I grew to appreciate the fragility of that peace. The old questison arose. That of a United Ireland, that of mixed identities, the labels of terrorism, that those in power can re-write the history books, can change the rules. That both sides have to swallow a lot. Not only the political figure heads, but the people of Northern Ireland - the people who just want decent schools and hospitals and a safe place to lay their head at night. I saw how hard it is to live in a power-sharing arrangement and have someone you so passionately disagree with make decisions in your name and with your taxes. I realise that compromise is the only answer. But that fact does not negate how difficult it is to achieve that, on an emotional level as much as any other.
To my fellow WIPers, thank you profoundly for last night. I’m just sorry that the rest of the world did not see the magic in that room. We were so nervous that it would be disasterous, afraid to say the wrong thing and be the pariah of the group. But, it was an issue that required discussion, and I think, we’re stronger as a team for having done it. In particular, thanks to JC Jnr for organising it (especially the pitza) and Mary for doing such a great job chairing- quiet but even handed, it would have been worse without your skilled presence.
Guess I’m a bit of a nerd for having this as my top moment, but it had everything. Good food, good company, great revelataions. There were also some drinks and chats to relax afterwards.
