(page 2 of 2) startling fact can be attributed to the violence which raged within the province from 1969’s mass rioting to 1998’s peace deal. Within this 28 year period 3,289 people were murdered, representing 3% of the population, and 40,000 people were injured. There were 35,000 recorded shootings, roughly 15,000 bomb explosions, and it would be utterly impossible to even guess how many bullets were fired – the shocking numerical summaries of a quagmire conflict that destroyed the lives of thousands of people. However, if they are extrapolated to reflect the population of Britain in the same period then over 110,000 people would have been killed and 1.4 million injured, a figure equivalent to half of all the British deaths during the Second World War.
It was within this context that the Agreement was ratified. The culmination of thousands of hours of debate and concession, it contained proposals dealing with a range of complex issues, including the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons/ early release of paramilitary prisoners, the future of policing and criminal justice, and the relationship Northern Ireland was to have with the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. A copy of the Agreement was posted to every household in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, and referendums the following May gave substantial support by voting 74% and 94% respectively for ratification. Regardless of its complex success and failures, it has been responsible for the most prolonged period of relative peace since the current manifestation of the Ireland conflict began in 1969.
To date 450 prisoners have been released under the terms of the Agreement and, as with any conflict, the disarmament and reintegration of former prisoners is essential if the conflict is to be effectively resolved. No amnesty for their crimes has been given, a contentious issue even today, and some ex-prisoners have drifted toward criminality. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) estimates that the money made by paramilitary organisations through illegal activity is in the millions.
Despite the problems that have come with reintegration and the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, many former political prisoners have crossed the religious gulf to work with their former enemies. Coiste na n-Iarchimí, working to reintegrate IRA ex-prisoners, and Epic, a parallel organisation on the Unionist side, are among several schemes that regularly organise cross-community events and work to integrate youths from both sides by focusing on the common ground that unites them. Each organisation receives a range of funding from the European Union and the British or Irish government.
Michael explains that many former prisoners have swapped active conflict for cross-community activism: “There are a lot of groupings involved in the peace-making and building process. Political ex-prisoners tend to be heavily involved in these activities. The main reason why it is political ex-prisoners is that we were in prison because we cared about own communities and we were political activists. We are continuing that role in a new way and try to make sure that no more people lose their lives.”
Within this new climate of peace, foreign investment has greatly increased, rising by 300% in the last year and attracting nearly one billion dollars. Unemployment is at an all time low.
Within this storm of change stubborn politicians have been uprooted, army barracks have been dismantled and property prices have been thrown sky high as the country has been transformed from being the owner of the world’s most bombed hotel to being the UK's most popular stag weekend destination. However, this storm has been unable to topple Northern Ireland’s three divisive pillars; polarisation, distrust and sectarianism.
According to the Sutton Index a further 121 people have been killed since the ratification of the Agreement, and paramilitarism remains a powerful provincial force. Numerous riots and acts of violence have taken place but, in comparative terms, Northern Ireland has improved dramatically. What has superseded the troubles is a mirror of the drug and gang violence that exists within the rest of the UK, though William explains that violence in Northern Ireland will always have a sectarian undertone. “The youth of today,” he says, “has a ready-made enemy because of the troubles, but much of it is a gang culture and is different to the violence of that time.”
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Michael, too, highlights that much of the current sectarianism is linked to social deprivation and youth tribalisation: “I think that a lot of things that are defined as sectarianism are actually gang fights – it just so happens that those fighting are of different religious faiths. It’s very much like what you now see in Glasgow. Sectarianism, like racism, is about us and the others, and what we are now experiencing is more like football violence than what occurred during the troubles.
“A further problem is the scale of trauma and disaffection. Many people have been affected in ways they do not understand, and some of the social ills we see today are a response to the violence of the past – there are many dysfunctional people who do not know that they are dysfunctional.”
Like any scar, the troubles - the latest chapter in an 800 year conflict - will never disappear from Northern Ireland, but if left to heal then over time its effects will fade until it becomes a distressing memory rather than a defining characteristic. Paramilitarism will inevitably play a part in this healing process and its hold within elements of both communities will remain a norm for the foreseeable future. Yet the work of organisations such as Coiste and Epic can at least turn some of this energy into a positive element of a secure peace.
Gerry Adams, like many of Northern Ireland’s politicians, is keen to stress that the institutions are working and will continue to do so: “At no time in the last 800 years have the people of this island opened up a new century with such great hope and confidence in the future.” However, these grass roots activists have a mixed range of forecasts.
Pádraic is the most dubious of the three when asked to predict what the future may hold for Northern Ireland. “It remains to be seen what will happen when Ian Paisley steps down, and if the Agreement will hold in the next few months. There is so much hate within such a small place so it is hard to never say never.”
William, a leading figure in the loyalist attempts to secure peace and ratify the Agreement, is more optimistic: “We have a good opportunity to become one of the best countries in Europe but the government must not leave the working class people from these communities behind in the ghettos. Belfast has the opportunity to be great but only if everyone shares in the prosperity, otherwise it is difficult to say what might happen.”
Michael takes the middle ground, aware of the great potential for hope to turn to division and vice versa: “I feel strongly that the peace is stable, though it is not satisfactory from a republican perspective. Much depends on unionists and republicans working together and that is best for Northern Ireland. I firmly advocate supporting the peace process, you have to try the best option and make it work and the that is people not dying.”
By Franck Martin
Photo: Jim Wilson
