All We Are Saying. . .
58
Omagh
. . .is give peace a chance.
I grew up in Northern Ireland, and was a teenager in the 1970's during the worst years of sectarian violence there. Those years partly shaped my consciousness and understanding of the world.
I learned a great deal. The human body can be blown apart quite easily. Kneecaps can be shattered using a Black and Decker hand drill. Young girls can have their heads shaved and be "tarred and feathered" and left tied to a lamp post.
Buildings are easy to destroy. Different guns have different sounds. Cars can be stolen and burned out. Buses make good spontaneous road blocks. Snipers like to find a high perch.
Fear can easily be implanted in people. The fear of losing loved ones is the strongest, stronger than the fear of being hurt oneself. Hearing a bomb blast and trying to figure out where it might be is not a pleasurable pastime. Standing in the back garden listening to gunfire is strangely a relief -- if it's a distant sound.
Terrorism is Easy.
It is easy to instill terror. The consequences are far-reaching.
Normality becomes a memory or a dream. Precautions become second nature: don't answer the front door at night. Don't go into certain neighborhoods. Don't kick a can or box on the sidewalk: booby traps can be anything, anywhere. Don't talk about certain topics with certain people. Don't drink in the wrong bars.
Do check under your car, if you have received death threats. Do this every day. Do have your handbag ready to be searched when you enter the fenced compound of the city center, and again when you enter a store. Do raise your arms to be frisked.
Difficult Process
The most pernicious aspect of long-term terrorism is that it becomes habitual. People begin to perceive "normality" as being a way of life very different from the norm.
When Peace Talks began in Northern Ireland, it was difficult for the representatives of each sect to sit at the same table: too much blood had been shed. In order to make the process work, these individuals had to do the unthinkable -- they had to get to know each other .
What impresses me most about the Peace Process in Northern Ireland is the fact that they did.
This led to another unthinkable action: allowing activists to be voted into office. Allowing activists to be appointed to government positions -- many people were outraged at the notion.
Shifting Perspectives
You'll notice my use of the word "activist" instead of "terrorist" above. In order for any peace process to work, the contributors must first respect each others' humanity. That means swallowing a lot of anger and grief, and entails trying to understand each others' points of view.
That isn't so easy. It entails soul-searching and more grief. It requires participants to turn their understanding of the world upside down, inside out, and back to front.
But most of all, it entails looking into another's eyes with a frank desire to understand.
Hubbing For Peace
- All We Are Saying. . .
I grew up in Northern Ireland, and was a teenager in the 1970's during the worst years of sectarian violence there. Those years partly shaped my consciousness and understanding of the world. I learned a great deal. The human body can be blown... - 3 years ago
- Peace, be still
Peace is something that has to come from within us. Only then can we expect peace outside. - 3 years ago
- Love Knows No Color, Creed or Race
When I think of world peace I think of the importance of embracing diversity with an open mind, and it brings memories of my late 18 year old nephew Omar, whose Dad is Arab and a Muslim. Omar was your typical American teenager who lived in a Jewish... - 3 years ago
Hubbing for Peace
- Hubs across the world unite for peace link
Hubs across the world unite for peace link in the HubPages The Hubber's Hangout Forum
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Wow! The people of Northern Ireland can be proud of working their way out of such a terrible time. I hope we can all learn from your example. I'm sorry you had to suffer through the hard times.
I'm glad you lived through the dark times and be able to share this message of peace. Peace to you pal. And thanks for the voice of hope that there is peace if we really want it and are ready for it :D
Excellent hub! If only you could be made an an ambassador to the Middle East. Also, I like your use of the term "activist" as opposed to "terrorist". The former connotates elements of humanness. The latter connotates bugs that can be stepped on and smashed. One thing more, I like your point about listening, talking, and trying to sincerley understand your "enemies" point of view instead of dropping bombs on them in hope that they will come to "our", not their senses.
hubby13
Good article Teresa. I'm soeey for the things you saw as a child that still chill you today. They made for great fuel for beautiful writing.
The hardest thing is that first step. That sit down and get to know eachother, hear eachother out peaceably. Activist, on the "correct" side is right but on the other? Both are activists in their own minds. Struggle and terror as normal life is so sad, but yes, like a child who knows nothing but terror, one becomes used to it and adapts. Should never be that way. Thank you for joining the Hubbers for Peace hubs and sharing your story. Do you still find yourself on the defensive?
Thanks, Guys, for all your kind comments. I really appreciate PaperMoon coming up with this great topic.
SoulaBee: you are very perceptive. I literally traveled around the world to get away from Northern Ireland, and it has taken years to reconcile myself to what happened there,
I have nothing but respect for the people who (with many mistakes and false starts) crafted the Peace Agreement. All of them.
Teresa - being a Brit, I only saw what the media wanted us to see. This was insightful and written with grace - thankyou.
Why -- thank you so much, frog: I can't imagine how hard it must have been for families of British soldiers, either. Hugs.
Respect and understanding - I guess we need those for a foundation before we can build any kind of a lasting peace! It must have been tough times Teresa but you always draw out the lessons of light, not darkness :)
Teresa,
Thank you sharing your experiences during the "troubles" in your usual serene, eloquent way. It would sure be nice to have peace in the world. This is a good read.
This hub is a powerful testimony to the reality of living with war and its consequencies. Thanks for sharing.
My friend Pamela grew up in Belfast, was there during the bombings. We were talking about this last week, and the impact it had on her..fear, panic.. BC has talked about it too.. it can't help but change who you are... I'm glad to see the change it's made in you!
Oh my, that was an amazing message. It amazes me how tough and resilient a people can be. I can't imagine the terror of that time. Very admirable for you to share your experience :)
Thank you all for reading. We don't get to choose where we're born, do we? But home is home.
I don't claim to understand such horror, the loss of humanity is deep and sometimes impossible to regain. But, if we don't come together in the same room, or place, how can we give birth to change or a chance for peace. To keep our "enemies" so far away, to not even talk, has been no solution.
We cannot teach humanity, if we do not demonstrate it. I hear you and applaud your insight. I pray our President will be allowed to lend an ear and initiate the beginning of peace...I think he has that basic understanding that the opposition has tried to ridicule, but Obama knows how important it is to listen, so that they will MAYBE do the same when we speak...
great job, Teresa!
(as a side comment, why is this hub scored 52, when a recipe hub I just visited is 72 with no comments...) I don't understand this system, if there is one...LOL
Dear Marisue -- bless your kind heart. You got it in one. Listening is key -- andit can be so difficult, as we often see in the Religion forum!
written from the heart as always Teresa, a horrifying account of what you lived with , whilst we only watched from the sidelines. You have given me a whole new perspective on the troubles within Ireland at that time.
amazing words Teresa, where and in such clear and simple language, you detail the horrors you lived through - when the abnormal becomes the normal. And Ireland is such an example to the rest of us - I am glad you are here and able to write about your experiences as a young one! re the seeking of peace and the means of bringing it about I particularly engaged with "it entails looking into another's eyes with a frank desire to understand." That could certainly have the ability to turn your world upside down and shatter your tightly held ideals when viewed independantly... cheers and thanks for this insightful hub...
Beautifully written Hub, Theresa.
My brother-in-law moved away from Northern Ireland for much the same reasons - it became too much.
I lived in Eire when Omagh happened - that was a disgraceful tragedy, but it galvanised the Irish like never before. They were weary of the killing and suffering. I never thought that I would see Paisley and McGuinness sit at the same table, but it happened.
Sometimes, you have to forget history and revenge, and build a future. Maybe Israel and Palestine can one day be friends.
Israel and Palestine have been given so many chances to listen to each other -- to no avail. BUT, in our lifetimes, we have seen an end to Apartheid, the Berlin Wall came down, and Paisley and McGuinness sat down at that table. So who knows.
The whole hub is outstanding, but two of your statements are particularly powerful to me.
"The fear of losing loved ones is the strongest, stronger than the fear of being hurt oneself." Love will do that to a person. Without it, life loses it's sacredness. Would I ever be able to take a life? Not unless the stakes were high enough to threaten those that I love, and possibly, not even then. It made me ask the question, how are people capable of the random violence? Then, you answered it. They lack a love for or a knowledge of those they are violent against.
"The most pernicious aspect of long-term terrorism is that it becomes habitual. People begin to perceive "normality" as being a way of life very different from the norm." The numbness that tends to come with normalcy will allow actions that aren't usally acceptable. Which brings a question to mind. If terrorism becomes the norm, how many generations will typically accept this before making a change?
Deep reading for a day such as this.
Thanks for reading it, dear Laughing Mom. Your comments are beautiful. It all boils down to looking each other in the eye and agreeing that we are worth more than the role terrorism forces us to play. Sufi mentioned that Omagh really shocked Ireland into demanding peace -- and he is right, and it is so sad that so much blood had to be shed before people could finally see it was too much.
Teresa, it has been hard for me to comment on your hub. I keep feeling overwhelmed. I am very tired, and this is a subject of which I am most passionate about. I am also very sensitive to certain things and this hub seems to have struck a chord. Thank you for adding this wonderful piece to our peace links project.
Hey Paper Moon -- glad it meant something to you. And thanks for prompting me to write it.
Very insightful and timely, thanks for sharing.
Teresa, sobering insights into the former situation in Northern Ireland. I guess I see now why you used the word, "privileged", in your comment on my Hub about growing up in a peaceful place. We only saw so much about Northern Ireland on the news, but I recall thinking how it seemed it would never end. I can't imagine living there, or anywhere where terrorism just becomes a part of life.
Oh Teresa!! I am amazed at the unkind behavior in the religion forums...can you imgaine, just for a moment, all of them being together in a room in the after life? If they could, they would rip each other's hearts out..just from the shock of all of them "making" it --- God should say...."You can come out of the room when you reach a consensus, tomorrow or 10,000 years, makes me no difference, take your time..." hahahhha I've never heard such ANGER as I see in there from "lovers of God...." Peaceseekers? hardly. =))
Teresa: I had little chills reading your hub-and you gave me food for thought. My late nephew has a cousin who lived in Lebanon and she experienced terror every single day, missiles would occasionally go past their living room, which would have her shaking for hours. She never got used to this, and moved to the USA.
Thanks for sharing your experiences - it was very moving : "Standing in the back garden listening to gunfire is strangely a relief -- if it's a distant sound."
The 'shifting perspectives' paragraph is so right ... it is so arrogant not to at least try to understand somebody else's point of view - even if you are diametrically opposed to their methods.
Do you remember when Thatcher's governement banned the voices of IRA / Sinn Féin spokespeople on TV and Radio ? It totally backfired because the broadcast news media simply lip-synched actors' voices over film of the people involved. Prior to that most people outside of Northern Ireland had been unable to understand a word that Gerry Adams uttered - all of a sudden, his viewpoint was being expressed, in his own words, in an accent that reached a much wider audience ..........
Thanks, guys -- it really means a lot to me to be able to write objectively about it now: for years I was choked with anger and a sense of betrayal (life is supposed to be like they show it on TV! The Waltons! Not being herded out of a building that might or might not blow up!). Anger at the situation having arisen.
Iphi -- I hadn't thought about it that way -- I guess it DID backfire, using actors! At the time, I couldn't even bear to look at his face, or Paisley's face, or anyone's face -- on both sides.
Hi T - I agree totally, it was hard to look at their faces - but you had probably understood what he was saying beforehand. it wasn't that we agreed with his words - but it did cause a lot of comment at the time that we could actually understand what he was saying. It was a bit of a dilemma for those many people who disagreed with both Adams and Thatcher - but one in the eye for her, eh?
Yes! -- we all derived such glee from anything that backfired on Thatcher, that's for sure!
A wonderful hub, moving and really draws the reader into the experience.
Do you think you will ever live in NI again, as opposed to visiting?
never say never. . . but it doesn't look likely. Irony is, if I'd grown up there the way it is now, I might never have left in the first place.
This is raw,brutal and beautiful.To have lived through this unscathed physically is luck,to have lived through this unscathed emotionally is wisdom.You are fireproof,or should I say rhetoric proof...excellent and thought provoking hub.The very fear that you wrote about caused a blind acceptance to the war in Iraq and retaliation of any type was considered acceptable.The travesty of war remains so distant that even the relief of traded gunshots in the distance can not be heard,only the constant hum of rhetoric and the trading of humanity for patriotism.Teresa,this silence,not unlike gunshots, is deafening.
MindlessBrute: thank you. Thank you very much -- your avatar name belies your intellect.
Thank you for sharing the experience from Northern Irland - and the best of all are steps which are used in peace negotiations.
Word "activist" instead of "therorist" points to all how important is to change the way how we perceive the others, and the worst problem will gradualy start to solve.
Peace and blessings to you and to your country. Many thanks for writting it - it is so educative!
It is one thing to endure war as a soldier, but is quite another to endure it as a civilian living within a war zone each day. Your story is inspiring, and if more people read stories like this, perhaps there will be a day when powerful men seek out hands to clasp in search of peace rather than guns to fire in the interest of destruction and death.
A survivor of a bad time in a beautiful country. I do not agree that a fighter should become a leader neither. I think they should step aside and let a wise survivor and the people make that decision. Thank you for sharing Teresa. :)
T-M, Trooper, Dame -- thank you for your great comments. I appreciate you stopping by.
Thank you for this thought provoking hub. Your real life experience comes through loud and clear.
RESPECT is such a big word. Hope everybody could learn it, just like what you've said "for any peace process to work".
Teresa we are all so privileged that you survived such nonsense to come and teach us all a few things. What did Bill Clinton contribute to the cause? I'd like to know your thoughts on that one as he did get into the fray at the end of the mayhem. God has blessed you and us with you. thanks
Thanks, Smireles, Charia -- I appreciate your kind comments. Respect can be tough when there's so much grief to set aside.
CC! Great to have a visit from you -- Clinton is very much respected in ireland as a Statesman -- in fact, one of the few places where Clinton is not respected is the States.
Thought-provoking, Teresa. I too grew up in a country where different factions were fighting against each other and it did get nasty at times. It would be great if we could just be open-minded enough to accept we are all different, have different beliefs and then get on with it.
Teresa..Great hub!I can identify with all that you have gone through,as right now we are going thro' that phase, as our country is being threatened by terrorists from outside.We are whisked at shopping malls etc.We do long for the good old days when there was peace at home!
This was so well said. I appreciate you sharing out of such painful experience. Do you see things drifting this direction in the U.S.? I just wondered, from your perspective, if you see similarities, especially in discourse and in the tendency to dehumanize the other and even the tendency to dehumanize people who live here who maybe don't share the same views.
I see us becoming more polarized and I see a tendency to dehumanize and ridicule people with differing opinions that I believe will end in violence if we don't get a grip. I think the rhetoric is all pumped up and is reaching an incendiary level, and if we don't cool it off we'll be sorry.
I hope I'm wrong though. You've seen it happen, so maybe I'm overreacting and we're not than uncivil here yet. What do you think?
The good that comes of that experience is the fact that it proves it can be done. Somehow people can do it, can pull off, "swallowing a lot of anger and grief, and entails trying to understand each others' points of view" and even turning "their understanding of the world upside down, inside out, and back to front." I mean, in a few short sentences, if you really get to the heart of it in this hub, really make one think about how f-ing impossible that is for people to actually do, and yet it HAS happened before. So it IS possible. Somehow. Imagine having to look across the negotiating table at the guy who killed your wife or your son - or both of them - and say, "Ok, I want to get to know you and understand." That's brutal. To pull that off requires character of the most incredible kind. I hope this world can find a place in time where sides of so many atrocious conflicts can muster leaders capable of doing it.
Nice work, another enjoyable read from your cyber-pen. Thanks.
Cindy, lyla, Pgrundy, shades -- thank you for reading. I'm not sure I could face the guys who tied up my da and left him beside a bomb (he managed to roll down into a ditch before it detonated).
Grundy-girl: I was too young to understand the complexities of the issues in 1969 -- I was 10 -- but I do clearly remember the extremism and the total opposition to each other's point of view. So yes -- I do see a similar process taking place here in the States; and where injustice is concerned, with a total lack of fair play and so many being catapulted into unemployment and destitution, it's getting to be like the run-up to the French Revolution, as the wealthy still churn their fancy boats down the river at the edge of my yard. . .
Yeah that's kind of what I feared.
Gosh, you're still a kid Teresa! You were 10 in 1969! (I think I was 30...no that can't be right. It feels like it though.)
Hi Theresa
Your hub pulled at my heartstrings. It is so beautifully written and without bitterness or anger. I too am thrilled that Northern Ireland has been able to sort out some of the problems.
I believe that Clinton deserves some recognition for the part he played in getting the peace process on track. Also those that stood up to the bullies and refused to be intimidated. There are a lot of very brave ordinary men and women walking the streets of Ireland.
I am not a fan of either Adams or Paisley but I think it took guts for them to sit at that table. I know they were responsible for a lot of murders etc but they did sit down knowing that some in their respective organisations had just moved their names to the top of the hit lists.
Despite growing up in the Republic, I lost friends to the troubles - some were killed, some decided to join the followers of Adams et al.
How can anyone believe that people deserve to be killed for wearing a uniform, walking down the wrong street, or heaven forbid worshiping in the wrong church. It always amazed me that these people, could trot out to mass and then head out on their "war"!
I was barred from a pub in North London for refusing to give to the cause - I was branded a traitor as I didn't (and still don't) believe that any piece of land is worth killing anyone over.
I have always been very proud to be Irish. I love my country and think the people regardless of their religion are fantastic. I find it incredibly sad that it took the 9/11 tragedy for people the world over to realise that their monetary contributions were funding the violence of the North. I could never understand how certain bearded individuals were once welcomed with open arms and big cheques by organisations within the US.
I feel even sadder that despite the excellent example shown by some "activists" on both side, we have the die hard terrorists who still resort to intimidation, bullying, violence and murder. They make people's lives miserable in the name of their "cause" via their bank robberies and drug running.
How many more have to die? People everywhere have got to realise that violence only begets more violence. Killing terrorists is not the answer. When armies and supposedly civilised societies start to act like terroists we are on a downward slide to murder and mayhem. When governments refuse to honor human rights, they leave the door open to terrorists.
Oh golly now the soapbox is out, I better quit before I get into trouble.
Slainte
Rach
Wow, Rach -- thank you for taking the time to post this heart-felt comment. Ireland is such a small island, when we look back at it from abroad, isn't it? We all were touched by the violence; no one escaped, whether they lived in Belfast or Ballygoslough. The whole thing made me careful not to take sides, as I thought both sides were wrong. It made me reject religion altogether, for many years.
You are so right. The minute a government starts using the same tactics as the terrorists, it becomes terrorism. The minute a government starts bending laws and imposing "extraordinary measures," it is inching towards dictatorship.
Thank you for your kind comments and your great interpretation of it all.
Teresa.
You are very welcome Teresa - I typed it with three kids hanging out of me as I am home in Ireland for a couple of days hence the typos!
But I feel so strongly about this - My hubby is Algerian (which went down really well with some of my extended Irish family as you can probably imagine lol) so when the July 7th bombs went off in London - the comments of some of my workmates were "its either your lot or his"!
Ignorance is widespread and unfortunately some people are still misguided enough to believe that God, no matter what name you give him, would want someone to be killed in his name.
But you are right - we need to live in hope - we have seen great things happen in our lifetime and hopefully much better to come.
All the best
Rach
Must admit, although I was fairly young, I can remember how pubs in Brtain went quiet if somebody spoke with an Irish accent. Thatcher's 'No Surrender' policy was sheer insanity, and encouraged the thugs and the Irish bashing. Substitute Muslim for Irish, as Rach says, and there you go - jokes can soon turn to violence.
My Brother-in-Law, from Derry, is from a lovely Catholic family who also refused to have anything to do with the IRA. He got beaten up regularly by by the Catholics and Protestants, and his brother was knee-capped. My sister, when visiting the in-laws, was often called 'A Catholic Irish Slut' by British Paras, who assumed that she was local. Too much hatred.
Sorry - rant over - Nice that we can all talk about this with no suspicion or hatred!
Hey Sufi -- yep -- one of the reasons I took such an Irish moniker for my keyboard name is because my own doesn't sound Irish. Years ago, it would have just sounded Catholic. . .
What impresses me abut this hub, Teresa, is that you talk of the terrible times with no recrimination. You are giving peace a chance.
Dolores -- it took 30 years and thousands of miles to get to this point: the drafters of the peace agreement in Belfast didn't have that luxury, and I'm impressed at their equanimity!
"contributors must first respect each others' humanity"
Well said, this is a great addition to this concept!
Thanks, Ixxy.
Hi Teresa, I am indeed struck by this statement.."...must first respect each others' humanity. That means swallowing a lot of anger and grief, and entails trying to understand each others' points of view."
Yes in respecting and listening, understanding can begin making way for peace to happen. Thanks for this thought provoking hub. :-) Peace...
Thanks, Ripples -- I don't really know how they did it.
Teresa - as always from you, a thought-provoking and beautiful Hub. Thanks for sharing so deeply and honestly.
Now I'm going to write about that dreaded subvject, apartheid and how it was changed by a few brave people sitting down and talking. Thanks for inspiring me!
Love and peace
Tony
I've been waiting for such a hub from you, Tony, and I know it will be powerful stuff. Thanks, always, for coming by and reading.
Great article! My boyfriend is a Belfast boy himself and the injustice of some of the things that happen in northern Ireland really hit home with me. I live in Scotland myself and the thing that most appals me is the lack of media coverage on the situation in this country. My boy has just come back from a visit to his home and found out that 82 people have died there in the last three months - but in Scotland and the rest of Britain we have heard nothing - it's almost as if the troubles are inconsequential and it makes me sick. At the end of the day we are all human beings - and no one human being should be any less important than any other. You have my support.
Hey Happy: thank you for looking after a Belfast Boy! And thanks for your interesting comment -- since I'm in the States, I don't get all the news unless I dig for it. Cheers, T.
Jerilee Wei Level 3 Commenter 3 years ago
Impressive insights and something I'll be thinking on for awhile. Enjoyed as always with anything you write.