Mark and I just spent a week experiencing Christina’s life
as a Y.A.V. in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
She has been there almost 8 months. The first thing I noticed is that
she obviously loves it in Belfast and the people equally enjoy having her
there. I believe that the lovely
welcome we as her parents received is a direct reflection of this. The hospitality and generosity we
received from many of people in her life is truly heart warming.
Within a couple of hours of arriving in Belfast, we were
taking part in a Prayer/Peace Walk.
Catholics and Protestants were walking side by side through the areas
hardest hit by the violence, united in their belief in the peace effort. At
this point all I really understood about their past conflict was the simple version
we saw on the nightly news where it was condensed to a series of guerilla-type
battles between the two communities.
This Walk marks the start of my understanding of the “The Troubles” in
Northern Ireland.
The Peace Walls were built to divide nationalist Catholic
neighborhoods from loyalist Protestant ones. These barriers range from 10 – 25 ft in height so they can
stop anything thrown from the other side.
Some now have had gates installed in them that are opened during the day
but closed at night. These walls
are oppressive although efforts have been made to make them more attractive –
note the murals painted on them in the picture. They restrict movement between the areas of the city but were
necessary to stop the violence and make the nearby residents feel safer. On this day, I was concentrating on
placing one foot in front of another and really did not understand the
significance of the peace walls and the fact that gates were opened that
normally are closed so the walk could proceed through them. I only now understand how incredible it
was that this walk happened at all.
Many people in Belfast have worked for a long time to make this a
reality.
Picture taken by Karl (another of the Y.A.Vs) of the Peace
Walk
My education continued as we went with Christina to the WAVE
Trauma Centre. The aim of WAVE is to offer care and support to anyone bereaved
or traumatized through the violence of the the Troubles, irrespective of
religious, cultural or political belief (from their website). Christina helps with the meetings of
the men’s and women’s group. On
Wednesday, the men’s group was finishing a lunch of Sheppard’s pie as we
arrived. What followed was an
afternoon of meeting and exchanging conversation with this group of
extraordinary men. As one of the
told me, “ I am a survivor not a victim”
They gave me a book called “INJURED… on that day” which contained
their stories of the injuries they suffered through the “Troubles”. The inside flap of the book warns that
it is not pleasant to read these stories as some are very difficult to hear but
that it does bear testimony to the sort of trauma visited upon so many. I have started reading the book and
have found it to be very moving as I am now acquainted with many of the people
featured in the book.
The following day, we met and had lunch with the women’s
group. After lunch they went
around the table and introduced themselves and told their stories. Once again I was struck with what they
had survived and how the group was providing support and friendship to each
other as they work through their traumas.
It was another afternoon that left me with many new ideas to ponder.
My view of the violence that occurred in Northern Ireland
has been permanently changed. I am
so proud of Christina for taking this year to be a Y.AV. as I believe she is making a difference in
the lives of the people she is working with and am sure it is making a
difference in hers.
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