A very local piece about Northern Ireland and observations. I sent it to the local free newspaper (The Leader) and they actually put it on their front page as their head article. Was so touched, later, when a Chinese father in Coleraine approached me and said how much he appreciated the article. Sometimes, when writing you really feel alone. Sending stuff out there but not knowing if it actually does anything at all, except satisfy your own urge to be creative. It is nice when it makes even a small affect.
Rural Revolution
This week I watched as a train from Coleraine university, filled with students, stopped at DuhVarren, Portrush. A carriage containing a mixture of nationalities was subjected to taunting from a group of teenagers on the platform outside. They banged windows and screamed insults in at the foreign students. The rest of us squirmed in silence and hopefully felt as ashamed as I did that this is increasingly the face of NI.
When did this aggressive minority in our community suddenly get the green light to target ethnic minority groups? Was there a critical number of foreigners that triggered their prejudice, or have we all been so relieved that the bombing and shooting has stopped that we acquiesced while they turned their attention to drug dealing, vandalising and intimidation? Has the violent minority become an out of control vicious beast that now has its sights set on a target more easily identifiable, more defenceless and more accessible? It’s as if we have carefully flagged a bull into an enclosure and ignored the fact that it has turned its attention on a new more vulnerable target.
These elements have to be fought on all fronts. We must be vigilant and realise that this is a war with many battlefields. If it is to be won we must plan our strategies in the schools, in the media, in the workplace and in our homes. This same group is to be found bullying our children, intimidating the elderly, abusing their neighbours, attacking our hospital/ambulance/emergency personnel. They thrive on violence and the fear they engender. They feed on hatred and disunity. Our apathy and indifference is the green light to their endeavours. N. Ireland has come through so much pain. Families have picked up the pieces of shattered lives and so many want to look to the future with hope. Diversity should be celebrated, the differences to be appreciated much as we relish the different flowers that add to the beauty of a garden, not detract from it. This aggressive group has another agenda. They have become ravaging wolves and whether they are the bully in the playground, the abuser at home, the vandal who violates your property or person, the neighbour who intimidates, or the politician who stokes the fires of hatred, they must be stopped. The fruits of their actions are the bane of the world we live in and they can and must be stopped. But how?
Not by argument or rational debate, nor by political movements or leaders, not by religious dictates or even national community will. No, it is the degree to which noble individuals step forward and, with deeds, not words, proclaim their humanity. By doing so they light the way for others to follow, leading a path out of the despair, disunity, distrust and disintegration of society. So where do we look for such examples. Not in the cities, I sense, but in our rural hinterland. For example, during World War II it is a little known fact that many major democracies/leaders demonstrated a degree of anti-Semite sentiment that sustained and fuelled the genocide of so many Jews. If you want to know who rescued most Jews look no further than the countryside. In small farming communities many were hidden from the Germans, and in tight knit villages where everyone knew everyone else these foreigners where welcomed and protected. In their solidarity and courage in closing ranks to the hatred and fear sweeping Europe, they stand as a reminder of what humanity should be about. Not a rabid nationalism, but a realisation, in dangerous days, of their overriding loyalty to the human race.
So where shall we look to see the first stirrings of N. Ireland’s reaction to the growing racism of these days. It is to our countryside - to the rural communities we must look - not blinded by materialism, but in tune with their inner moral landscape as much as they are with their rural surroundings. May they begin the groundswell of revulsion and rejection of this cancer. May they step forward and demonstrate their true qualities. Racism is not deeply rooted yet in NI. It is a fresh crop blown in, and we must address it now, before it can become ingrained and then inherited as our own religious prejudices have been. We have enough problems without this being allowed to colour our future.
So many look to the peace processes happening in NI with hope, but we who are here and see the frailties and hypocrisies on the ground, cannot sense the degree to which the world conflict zones are turning their focus on us. Perhaps we have more to show the world than we know. No colour, racial, religious bar can stop the friendship of souls. We will not turn on those from outside who come here, but will think of values that bind - hands and hearts outstretched, open minded, open hearted, ready for hope and ready to welcome.
