Northern Ireland: Binding up the Wounds
A Major Philanthropic Initiative
By
The Ireland Funds

1. Northern Ireland today

The Good Friday Agreement signalled an end to the Troubles of the previous thirty years. Northern Ireland is now in a post conflict phase. The bombings and rocket attacks have ceased. So too have the drive by shootings and the mass riots and other manifestations of a society basically at war with itself. However, the two communities are still far from being reconciled with each other. Indeed society in Northern Ireland is as polarised as ever.

• Only 6% of children in Northern Ireland are educated with a child of a religion different to their own.

• 92.5% of all public housing across Northern Ireland is segregated.

• The euphemistically named peace walls, built to divide the two communities in the urbanised areas, have increased in height and new peace walls are being constructed.

• A series of surveys have shown worrying sectarian attitudes on both sides of the community and children as young as five express negative attitudes to members of other side of the community.

• While mass riots have ceased, the chance of local sporadic trouble remains high in many areas.

• Northern Ireland has also seen violent outbreaks at flashpoints such as the Drumcree marches and the protests at Holy Cross School, when elementary school children were taunted on their way to school. These pictures were beamed across the world. It has been estimated that the cost in policing alone of the Drumcree stand off for the last six years is £1 billion.

• Paramilitary activity continues in Republican and Loyalist areas. The number of paramilitary associated killings since the Good Friday Agreement stands at 106. Punishment beatings are common.

• Against this backdrop young men, often in trouble with paramilitaries, choose to take their own lives. Although suicide is on the increase across Ireland, there has been a worrying spate of suicides in North Belfast recently.

Against this general background support for the Good Friday Agreement has been ebbing away, particularly among the Unionists. It is now fully supported by no more than half the electorate. In the recent elections to The Assembly where the constitutional nationalist SDLP and the centrist Ulster Unionist Party were outvoted by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein. A political stalemate has resulted. Thus, six years after the Good Friday Agreement, as stated, society appears to have become more polarised and the distrust between the two communities is more evident then ever.

2. Why should this be?

Not withstanding all of this, the vast majority of the population in Northern Ireland want peace and an accommodation with their neighbours However, their society is now in a crucial phase. In this period of post conflict transformation, it is still not possible for one side to open itself without fear to the other for the following reasons:

2.1 Thirty years of hurt and distrust

Over the course of the Troubles members of both sides of the community lost husbands, wives, children and friends in the conflict. Tens of thousands of others were maimed or injured. Loyalists were told that Nationalists wished to overwhelm them and drive them into a united Catholic Ireland. Nationalists were told that they would always be treated as an under class in a Protestant state ruled by Protestant people. Thirty years of such hatred and hurt cannot be erased over night. Young people of the current generation have known nothing but the conflict and division. Even though the war is over, many members of both communities are not ready to overcome the distress and hatred engendered by the conflict and to meet members of the other community as neighbours and fellow citizens.

2.2 Geographic segregation

Before the Troubles erupted in the late sixties, many communities in Northern Ireland were mixed with Protestants and Catholics living side by side in the same streets in the same areas. However, once the Troubles intensified, families on both sides, especially in working class neighbourhoods, fled to safe areas occupied by members of their own community exclusively. As stated, 92.5% of public housing in Northern Ireland is segregated. The map overleaf indicates the distribution of the population across Belfast. It shows that the city is basically a patchwork quilt of orange and green with working class Protestants and Catholics living in areas separated from each other. As a result, there is limited opportunity for social interaction between members of the two communities and suspicion and mistrust and resentment thrives.

Green areas - Nationalist neighbourhoods
Orange areas - Unionist neighbourhoods

2.3 Schooling

94% of Northern Ireland’s young people are educated in schools comprised of young people of the same religion as their own. Many young people will report that they never knew, through their entire childhoods, a member of the other community.

2.4 Paramilitarism

Paramilitaries still dominate whole areas through a mixture of intimidation, fear and violence. They have become laws unto themselves in these communities with a vested interest in maintaining and perpetuating the conflict. They are engaged in racketeering, drug dealing and deal harshly those who defy them.

2.5 Economic dislocation

Northern Ireland has a proud industrial heritage, particularly the city of Belfast. However, the decline of traditional heavy industries, such as shipbuilding, and the disincentive to inward investors, caused by the Troubles, has led to economic stagnation in working class areas. This has resulted in some areas in high levels of unemployment along with a low skills base and a low level of morale. These conditions provide great scope for exploitation by paramilitaries.

2.6 Culture

The opportunity of a new beginning is hard to grasp by people who are weighed down by the history and experience of the last three decades.

Society is now at a critical cross roads. The two communities must choose to go forward together or to live apart.

3. The Choice

The danger is that, in the absence of significant advances in the economy and politics of Northern Ireland, the two communities will settle into a pattern of living in which segregation in housing, schooling, socialising etc. will be considered the norm. There will be little interaction between the two communities, suspicions will remain and be expressed, from time to time, through violence. The economy will stagnate and the opportunity for improvements in people’s lives will be diminished.

However, there remains the possibility that the people of Northern Ireland will be reinvigorated and find new faith in a new political dispensation and that they will move together towards a shared future where decisions at a local and national level are agreed together. People would work, learn and play together. The old formulae of hatred and suspicion would be gradually abandoned and people would gain confidence in themselves. The two sides would begin to develop an appreciation for the other’s cultures and traditions and the economy would flourish. This, surely, has got to be a future worth striving for.

4. The Role of The Ireland Funds

The Ireland Funds, since their inception in 1976, have supported efforts on both sides of the community to bring about an end to the conflict. We have assisted hundreds of projects, participated in by thousands from both main communities who have struggled against the burdens of violence, hopelessness and prejudice. This, in an indirect way, has helped to save lives.

Support is as critical as ever in this post conflict phase. While governments and political parties work towards a new legislative and administrative structure, our focus should be on developing trust and connections at grass roots level between the two communities in Northern Ireland. We must work to combat the ravages of violence and sectarianism in supporting those standing up to them. We would make an enormous contribution to the future of Northern Ireland if we could build up trust in ordinary people which would then be translated into general support for a shared political future. Specifically, it is suggested that The Ireland Funds would concentrate its effort on the following areas:

4.1 Young people

Young people are the key to the future of Northern Ireland. It is essential that they are provided with help in seeing beyond sectarian attitudes and are given grounds for hope, optimism and, critically, experiencing connections and shared activities with members of the other community. Priority should be given to supporting the following programmes:

4.1.1 Integrating Education

Educating young people together, at the earliest possible age, can help prevent sectarian attitudes and prejudices from forming. Also, young people can establish friendships for life with those of a different identity. They can develop a lasting appreciation of the conditions, culture and identity of the other side while feeling no threat to their own sense of themselves. Supporting integrated Education would ensure that these shared experiences occur throughout the formative years of the current and successive generations. The Irelands Funds have been early and constant supporters of Integrated Education. We have backed those parents and families which have, courageously and voluntarily, established integrated facilities and provided resources to enable them to come through the difficult periods towards achieving state recognition. Integrated Education is a success story.

However, at present, the integrated schools movement effects only a very small proportion of the school going population. It will take time to reach a critical mass. There are other important opportunities and initiatives encouraging co-operation in existing schools, outside the integrated system, which deserve support also.

4.1.2 Youth Club and Cultural Activities

Community activists who provide youth clubs and cultural activities should be encouraged. Initiatives, like local radio stations, art classes and computer clubs etc not only help to give young people a sense of purpose, they can also help develop a skill and, perhaps, lead to employment. If these activities are culturally based they can help young people develop a greater understanding of their own identity and, indeed, that of those from the other side of the community. Critically of course, by occupying young peoples’ time in constructive activities they become less susceptible to the lure of the paramilitaries.

4.1.3 Sport

Sport provides an outlet for energy, encourages team work and, of course, is fun. Activities, at grass roots level, should be encouraged. This is especially true of those which are organised on a cross community basis which encourage friendly competition between loyalists and nationalists. The Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2003, in particular, demonstrated the potential for pursuing a common purpose and shared cross community activity.

4.1.4 Youth leadership programmes and exchanges.

Young people showing leadership qualities should be identified and given support. They should be provided with access to training and the opportunity to exchange ideas with others. They could prove invaluable as role models for their peers and as a means of breaking the cycle of hatred and mistrust which so many young people in Northern Ireland are in danger of inheriting.

4.2 Anti Sectarianism in general

The potential and needs of all members of society in Northern Ireland should be of concern to The Ireland Funds. In particular, we should support adults within their own communities who have the courage and fortitude to stand up against sectarianism and racial discrimination.

4.2.1 Community Activities

Efforts should be made to provide support for communal activities, again, in particular in working class areas. Special focus should be given to those activities which have an educational or a skills component, e.g. literacy classes, computer trainings and social skills. These would not only help increase self-esteem but also the employment prospects of the service users. Those in employment with a stake in society are more likely to contribute to the stability and security of their community.

4.2.2 Cross Community activities

Particular attention should be given to activities which engage members on one side of the community divide with those on the other. Much of this work is carried out, in particular, by women’s groups. These activities should be encouraged warmly. The participants often find that they face the same problems, e.g. low incomes, poor standard of housing, poor employment prospects, and that the perpetuation of the division of society is a root cause of these problems. Many of these initiatives are driven by the energy of the participants themselves and require relatively little financial support and, yet, deliver enormous returns.

4.2.3 Interface Work

There are members of both communities who cooperate at the points of interface between the two communities, often across the peace walls. These individuals liase with their opposite numbers advising of when trouble may be brewing on one side and allowing their counterparts to try to diffuse and prevent a retaliatory response. Often this work is done through nothing more sophisticated than a network of mobile phone users.

4.3 Changing Attitudes and perceptions

The problems in Northern Ireland persist because of attitudes. As stated earlier in this paper, a defeatist attitude and an unwillingness to hope that the situation can be overcome is common. Equally neither side has an adequate understanding of the traditions of the other and therefore suspicions and dangerous myths abound. The Funds should support work to rectify this.

4.3.1 Identities

The Funds have been to the fore in supporting Irish language schools and also the development of Ulster Scots. Assistance should be directed to those who are exploring honestly the origins and traditions of both sides of the community and who are willing to share this with others. In doing so, each member of the community will have a greater sense of security in their own identity. They will feel less threatened by the other side and, therefore, less resistant to contact. In exploring their history, many will discover points of commonality, e.g. the sacrifices made by both Protestants and Catholics in World War I, the common heritage, of landscape and environment etc. Efforts to explain one tradition to the other should be warmly supported.

4.3.2 Good News

Many positive activities are underway in Northern Ireland today. Many courageous and energised people are challenging the status quo and working towards a shared future between the two communities. The Funds support over one hundred projects every year, the main objectives of which are to achieve just this. However, good news is rarely as capable of capturing media attention as bad news. Indeed, much of the news coming out of Northern Ireland centres around political stalemate, maimings, punishment beatings etc. Efforts should be made to support those providing good news stories from Northern Ireland. Role models, particularly sports and media stars of which there is a disproportionately large number from Northern Ireland, would be helpful in this area.

4.4 Victims

It is critical, in moving to a new future, that the suffering and hurt of those who have suffered in the past is addressed. Mental and emotional wounds need to be bound up. Victims of violence and their families deserve to be listened to. Their hurt must be given expression. There can be no hierarchy of victims. This will have the effect of helping these people overcome the distress and terror they have experienced and also to remind the rest of the community of just what an appalling price the violence of the Troubles exacted. A mechanism which would sensitively and with care listen to victims and help them to develop confidence in a new future should be supported.

4.5 Cross Border Activities

Many myths persist on both sides of the border. Many Northern Irish Protestants have been breed to believe that the Republic is a theocratic insular Catholic state intent on their destruction. So strong are these perceptions that they have persisted despite and throughout recent economic growth in the South. Many residents of the Republic of Ireland have never crossed the border. Therefore, many have no direct experience of their Northern counterparts. They believe Northern Ireland to be a bleak place with no future and one towards which disinterest is probably the most appropriate response. Much of this results from images projected in the media over three decades.

Initiatives and projects which encourage groups from both sides of the border to meet, exchange views and co-operate with each other should be encouraged.

5. Conclusion

Go forward together or live apart?

The direction Northern Ireland takes will be decided at two levels, the political level and the grass roots level. Both are interdependent on each other. The Ireland Funds has a critical role to play in encouraging support and integration at grass roots level. It is essential we continue and deepen this work. We have never had a better chance of helping to resolve, once and for all, the divisions in Northern Ireland.

6. Binding Up The Wounds – A Major Philanthropic Initiative

Based on this analysis, support from The Ireland Funds is as critical as ever. Also, the areas in which this support could have the most meaningful impact are clear. These are in working class areas, particularly among young people and in developing an understanding of the two cultures and between the two parts of the Island.

The Ireland Funds therefore propose the establishment of a Major Philanthropic Initiative – an MPI.

6.1 Purpose

To contribute in a focused way to over coming sectarianism and to the normalisation of Northern Irish Society

6.2 Period

From 2004 to 2007. This is to say, lasting and measurable change would be realised over three years.

6.3 Process

A small number of key projects under each of the headings listed below would be identified. Ireland Funds’ personnel would work directly with each project over the next three-year period agreeing priorities, monitoring change, advising on initiatives and reporting back to Donors.

6.4 Cost

$5 million over three years.

6.5 Target Areas

Integrated Education and Associated Activities
To help provide the capital costs of establishing new integrated schools and to assist existing schools to transfer to integrated status and to develop intra school linkages.

Young People
To support centres and activities for young people particularly youth clubs, cultural activities and sport clubs which at grass roots level and in difficult areas provide construction pursuits and skills.

Education
To promote educational facilities and activities which provide access and skills to the marginalized and which assist young up and coming leaders.

Identities
Support for initiatives and organisations which explore the different traditions in Northern Ireland and sharing this information with their counterparts, including those operating on a cross border basis.

Victims
Initiatives to help victims express and come to terms with the hurt which they have suffered and not only to participate in but, perhaps, to lead the transformation of Northern Ireland

Community Activities
Support for those working within communities to provide resources, skills and facilities to help blighted communities. Special support should be focused on these operating in interface areas.

A concerted programme has the potential to affect profound change where it is needed most, at the grass roots. Our aim is to reduce mistrust and suspicion and build confidence within and between the two communities in Northern Ireland in pursuit of a common future.

Maurice Hayes
Chairman
The Advisory Committee
June 2004