Mr. Christopher Moran, Chairman of Cooperation Ireland
March 2013
This year, thousands of young people across Northern Ireland will celebrate their 18th Birthday.
Of course that is no different to every other year, except for one important point: this year, young people reaching the milestone will have been born in 1994.
A short perusal of the Wikipedia entry highlights many significant events in that year, the completion of the Channel Tunnel, the Rwandan Genocide, and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South African President all resonate memories. But from a Northern Irish perspective two particular events catch the eye, the Republican and Loyalist ceasefires.
So we now have our first generation entering adulthood that has lived their entire lives during relative peace. One might expect young people who didn’t endure daily digests of sectarian murder to make a significant departure from the entrenched mindsets of our past.
Unfortunately the events of recent months in Northern Ireland bear out a different reality. The despicable murder of David Black, the attempted murder of police officers, and seizure of rocket launchers, explosives and firearms in Co Tipperary and Co Cork all signal that there are violent Republican extremists within our midst determined to threaten hard won freedoms. Furthermore when the disquiet erupted over the decision to fly the Union flag over city hall on designated days, young people from loyalist communities were at the forefront of the protests and agitation.
The PSNI Chief Constable lamented that there were more experienced sinister elements in the background pulling the strings and stressed the long-term impact an arrest could have on a young person’s life.
There are many peaceful protests but time after time we watched young people out on the streets, blocking roads, taking part in illegal parades and engaging in rioting. It brought into sharp relief the distance yet to travel for Northern Irish society in tackling sectarianism and building a truly shared society, respectful and tolerant of difference.
Whilst we have made enormous progress, the cycle of sectarianism continues unabated and recent weeks have shown us what happens when it spins out of control. Regardless of the merits of the arguments over the flying of flags, what this has demonstrated is that Northern Ireland is a high-octane society, and when the touch-paper is lit months and years of progress can be scorched. If it hadn’t have been a flag it could easily have been a parade or a perceived provocation.
Programmes under Co-operation Ireland’s control are designed to challenge and change mind sets; to help people understand that they have a choice between the constructive and the destructive. We are embedded at the heart of communities who feel marginalised or left behind right across Northern Ireland and we are making a difference.
Our two Youth Leadership projects in Kilwilkie and Shantallow provide participants with a support structure to address personal and social challenges in their lives.
‘Entwined Histories, The Signing of the Ulster Covenant’ programme saw six groups of young people from schools and youth clubs across Greater Belfast participate in a range of activities designed to explore the social and political history of 1912, and the impact that the signing of the Ulster Covenant may still have on their lives today.
Through innovative programmes we can help young people understand that they do not have to remain within a sectarian mind set. We show them they have the potential to step outside – Co-operation Ireland provides the encouragement and opportunity.
Our work is vital, but the recent disturbances show the enormity of the task ahead. That is why we recognise that we can only do so much in isolation. It requires a holistic effort, from parents, political and community leaders, Government and schools, amongst many more, to work together and deliver the new era of community relations this ceasefire generation deserve. They played no part in our past, but they are playing it out in the present.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers MP was right, protest must be replaced by dialogue. The question we must answer collectively is how and when will we break the cycle of sectarianism? When will we understand that it is more productive to talk to other communities, than block a road, or lob a brick over a so-called peaceline? Which generation will have the vision to figure this out? We thought it might be this one – and it can still be. Collectively, we can’t let another generation be enslaved by the snares of the past. We will have to get to a point where as well as demanding our rights we also pledge ourselves to protecting the cultural tradition and religious ethos of the other community. This will give us the best opportunity to build a genuinely shared society.
At Co-operation Ireland our programmes point people towards that answer, but each person must learn the lesson themselves.
This article was originally published in the Belfast Telegraph – 04 March 2013
