In this episode Thomas discusses the post conflict experience of Northern Ireland He is a student journalist with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services. This article was edited by Cassia Jefferson, a fellow student journalist from Oxford University.
🎧 listen to Thomas's backstory here - he discusses her motivation & research as well.
“Has the war ended?”: The post-conflict troubles facing Northern Ireland
Standing 45 feet tall, made of concrete, fenced at the top and decorated with graffiti. The peace wall lining Cupar Way in Belfast stands as one of the cities dozens of monuments to its unsafe past. Commonly, known as “The Troubles”. The wall, like many others of its kind, was erected after community pressure. The need for safety and security of both the communities on either. It is not hard to see why there was this impetus. On one side of the wall lies the predominantly Catholic Falls Road. Here was the site, in 1969, of violent protests which left 6 Catholic protestors dead. On the other side of the wall lies Shankill Road, a predominantly Protestant estate. While the days of the Falls Road riots are gone. And, Northern Ireland has officially been at peace for 25 years, the wall remains.
Hailing from the Falls Road side of the wall are Republican hip hop trio Kneecap. They are self-proclaimed “Hoods”. Youths whose antisocial behaviour has led them to fall foul of the paramilitaries. They are explicit and proud in their Catholic identity. Mo Chara, a member of the trio speaking to Channel 4, expresses dissatisfaction with the socio-economic status-quo. He brings up the harrowing statistic that since 1998. Suicide has killed more in Northern Ireland than The Troubles did. “Has the war ended?”, he asks.
Indeed, despite the absence of armed conflict. Peace and safety has been denied to the people of Northern Ireland. Social, economic and health issues (many of which a direct legacy of The Troubles) continue to plague this region.
The frightening level of suicide in Northern Ireland is reflective of high levels of mental health issues. Northern Ireland having an incidence of mental health issues 25% higher than England’s. And, the worlds highest recorded rate of PTSD. (Source - Ulster University Report). This horrifying incidence of PTSD is undoubtedly a legacy of The Troubles. Half of the Northern Irish population knew someone who was injured or killed in the troubles. (Source - as above). Moreover, as community activist Jim Donnelly points out to Sky News. The effects are transgenerational. If a young mother or father witnesses something disturbing on their way back from work, that trauma will be passed on to the household. This way, young people are bearing the fear and grief of the trauma. As well as their parents and their grandparents.
The effects of living in a divided society have also worsened Northern Ireland’s problems with mental health. Around 90% of Northern Irish schools are still segregated according to religion. Along with 94% of public housing is also segregated on the same basis. (Source - Foreign Policy Centre). Unsurprisingly, in 2019 Northern Ireland was still a deeply divided society. Living in such a society is a breeding ground for fear, paranoia, anger and a sense of alienation.
The obvious social importance of dealing with mental health issue. They have been neglected in Northern Ireland. Despite having the highest rates of mental health concerns it has the lowest funding. There is poor provision of mental health services in the country. A lack of effort to address the legacies of The Troubles on the mental health of the people there.
There is obvious unmet need. More attention should be given to people and communities with significant trauma related problems. Including those needs arising from years of conflict. (Source - Ulster University article). Without addressing these issues, internal peace and safety will be denied to thousands in Northern Ireland. And, as Dr Iris Elliot of the mental health foundation put it speaking to The Guardian. "We cannot achieve a peaceful society in Northern Ireland without peaceful minds”.
Unfortunately, mental health issues are not the only issues threatening the peace and safety of of Northern Ireland. The problems faced by many young people of the likes of Mo Chara from Kneecap concern economic safety and security as much as well. In the early days of the peace, there was the idea that a “peace dividend” would materialise. Now, it is widely acknowledged that this has not happened.
When it comes to Child inequality 8 of its 18 constituencies rank in the top third of the UK. (Source - article by The Guardian). This means there is a significant group of young people growing up in abject poverty.
While growing up, cuts to youth funding services have ensured that boredom and purposelessness is the order of the day for many young people in Northern Ireland. Moreover, significant educational attainment disparities exist. Another example, is the gap between the lowest skilled and the highest skilled in Northern Ireland. It is higher than any OECD country. To make things worse, this division runs along sectarian lines. With young Protestant people having generally lower educational achievement than young Catholic people. There is also a lack of employment for people in these areas. Partly because of deindustrialisation and as well as a brain drain of those who are skilled.
Out of these two issues. The lack of education and employment. Which gives rise to a youth without jobs, support and aspirations. This constitutes “economic violence” replacing the direct political and physical violence. This is not inflicted impersonally. The Guardian notes that “Six years ago the high court ruled that the NI executive’s failure to adopt an anti-poverty strategy was unlawful. Yet six years on this has not been remedied”. Economic safety and security has been ignored by the political establishment. This is because the only accepted benchmark for peace in Northern Ireland is the absence of sectarian violence.
Without jobs, support and aspirations, young people in Northern Ireland are being driven to acts of violence. On a scale that mirror those undertaken at Falls Road in 1969. Peace walls recently became the sites of riots in 2021 involving Unionist youths. One of these walls was even set alight with a petrol bomb. On the surface, the riots were about the Irish Sea Border created by the Northern Ireland protocol. The actions of a community that felt they had been betrayed. But underlying this single “political betrayal” are the multitude of times they were betrayed. They were betrayed by a lack of employment. Betrayed by educational disparity. Betrayed by poor mental health provision. The lack of social and economic safety that pervades Northern Ireland drives much unrest and sectarian violence. The identities become a vehicle for expressing anger and alienation, rage and hopelessness. The Good Friday Agreement may have effectively ended large scale sectarian conflict in Ireland. By bringing “peace” in the typical sense of the word. But without efforts to improve mental health, economic woes and social divisions, rebuilding efforts cannot truly succeed.
Despite the recent riots, The Cupar Way wall has tentatively begun to be reopened. Although it is closed again at night. Community leaders have argued that this is emblematic of how far Northern Ireland has come in peace. Sure, there is still sectarian violence, but nothing in 25 years that matches the scale of The Troubles. The wall, despite this, still stands. The war truly has not ended for people like Mo Chara. Stephen Donnan-Dalzell, writing for The Guardian, points out. The lack of direct conflict has left the political establishment to ignore the social issues. These being education. Mental health. Housing. Segregation and employment still facing Northern Ireland. These issues drive young people into the displays of frustration seen across peace walls in July 2021. Which genuinely threaten the peace of Northern Ireland. Until these issues are dealt with, they will continue to fuel sectarianism. But more importantly, they will continue to deny the people of Northern Ireland peace and safety.
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