New Gate In Interface Wall In Belfast, Northern Ireland

Did you know the installation of a new gate in Belfast, Northern Ireland is very important?

Let's start with some basics.

Do you know Belfast is a divided City?

Most people outside Ireland who are old enough can associate the phrase, "The Troubles" with the conflict in Ireland, and mostly in Northern Ireland.

What many people around the world do not know is that in Belfast and Derry there are walls to separate those perceived as in favor of Ireland being a republic independent of Britain (Nationalists/Republicans) who mostly are members of the Roman Catholic branch of the Christian religion from those perceived as in favor of Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom (Unionists/Loyalists) who are mostly members of the Protestant branch of the Christian religion.

The communities are separated by 21 miles of walls in Belfast. These walls, which some have dubbed interface walls, are seriously impenetrable concrete, steel, and razor wire monstrosities with limited gates which are mostly closed at night.  The interface walls work from two respects.  They complicate matters for those who wish to riot or otherwise hurl insults and missiles at what they perceive to be the other side.  On the other hand, those who are more concerned with being harmed, than with doing harm, feel safer knowing the walls are there. These non-aggressors think they are safer than if the walls and gates did not exist.

The negative side effects are numerous.  Among them are the lack of interaction of the two communities. Most of the neighborhoods are not specifically mixed and have been either side of the interface walls for two generations. Approximately 91 percent of the primary schools are religiously affiliated. As a result the children play different sports and thus have no cause to mix even in athletic competition.

Of course, church attendance is segregated.  However, some vanguards of peace and understanding have made a point of crossing that line by intentionally attending the services and gatherings of their opposite faith and by forming friendships which crossed the line.

While historically segregated, workplaces have been subjected to a series of laws and monitoring so that integration of the two communities is strongest at places of employment.

However, in regard to the darker and more hidden side of the conflict, in 2012/13 there were 411 cases of individuals and families who informed the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that they were homeless because they had been intimidated into leaving their properties.  This is probably the tip of an even larger iceburg because the individual or family must name any paramilitary groups involved in their intimidation and the police must agree.


Now comes this development where a new gate was installed in the interface wall at Workman Avenue near the Springfield Road.  Here is a view of the former gate:

Here is a view of the new gate under construction:

The gate is see through and everything else about it is the result of cross-community consultations.  The community selected the brown color.  The community members asked for decorative golden balls on the top of the tines so that it would look more like the gate to a formal garden.

Sometimes change comes in increments.  While this gate might not seem like enough change to some, it is a vast change to those who live there.  And it came about with consultation with the people who live there.

Now the two sides can see into the other neighborhood and that change might make it easier to realize the people who live on the other side are neighbors.

Here is a link to an article in Belfast Live where you can see the completed gate:

http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/barrier-sectarian-interface-replaced-less-8969840#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Thoughts of an American on the Walls in Belfast

Thoughts on "the wall" in Belfast by an American:

For those who don't already know, there are walls in Belfast and other Northern Irish cities and towns.

The Interface Walls demarcate the separated housing of the Protestant-Unionist- Loyalist community from the Catholic-Republican-Nationalist community.  The walls grew out of the barriers of debris that were established during the height of the Troubles in 1969 when both sides wanted to keep those from the other side who were bent on violence from entering their communities. These debris walls were originally reinforced by barb wire by the British military units which came into Northern Ireland. The government calls them Peace Walls to emphasize the security the walls impose.

The walls vary in size and construction material. They are all substantial and do block movement. The tallest ones prevent bottles, stones, etc. from being thrown over.

These walls cut off many streets that formerly were complete. There are large metal gates at certain larger streets which are sometimes open during the day and closed at night.  There are other streets where there are both large metal gates and narrower pedestrian gates.  Most days the pedestrian gates are open to foot traffic, but have restricted and crooked paths through the openings which prevent motorcycles and scooters from speeding through so those devices cannot be used for quick getaways from assassinations or other violence.

The large metal gates at certain locations can be opened for parades which celebrate victories of one community over the other, in battles centuries ago.

Where there isn't a physical wall such as out in the rural areas, there are invisible but clearly known lines between the communities.

Approximately 1,300 families or individuals were forced to move in Belfast in 2009 because of threats, intimidation, and violence for living too close or within an area where one side or the other thought they shouldn't live.

Rather than walls being taken down over the decades, more walls were constructed until as late as 2010. Politicians used wall construction to garner good will and votes from the community they support.

Both communities have community safety as their prime concern, but there are empty properties on the Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist side in Belfast and every property is occupied in the Catholic-Republican-Nationalist side.  Many from the Catholic-Republican-Nationalist community are on wait lists for housing.

Some residents we spoke with said many residents don't feel the walls are necessary except during the marching season.  Tensions escalate during marching season, and people feel the walls prevent gangs of one community or the other from venturing into the opposite community bent on intimidation or violence, especially at night.

Our Volunteers In Mission group experienced the aggravating side of the gates and walls when we stayed past 9 PM at a Protestant church. visiting after a service.  The gate we wanted to use to get back to our hotel, which essentially is in a Catholic area, was closed and we had to walk to another gate which was still open.

At the session about the five decades affected by the Troubles, we were told about a family that owned a house which was on the interface early in the development of the walls. They used to let their friends from the opposite community through the "wall" by having them pass through the house. So there have always been those who understood the separation of communities was unnatural.

Thinking about all the aspects of the walls, from the perspecitive of an American and as a practical person with an idealistic bent, it has been easy for me to focus on how the walls need to be removed as part of the reconciliation process.  Still, the walls are also a manifestation of the deeper problems.

One of the youth workers at the Forthspring Community Center said something which put my attitude and the entire problem in a new perspective. He said, "If we could magically remove the physical walls in the city, it likely wouldn't solve anything, until the walls in peoples hearts are dissolved."