All This, and For What?

Looing into the Catholic side from the Protestant side

I guess it isn't too surprising that Belfast reminds me a lot of Berlin. It isn't the prettiest of cities, it has a ton of graffiti and artwork throughout it, and it has a wall. But in Belfast, unlike Berlin, the wall still exists and is still in use. Yes, the wall that separates the Catholic and Protestant communities still have their gates open throughout the day and closed during the night even though "the Troubles" have ended. In fact, about 60% of residents said they would prefer the wall to stay up because they feel safer that way. There are even cab companies that service one side and refuse to cross the border. Unlike Berlin, seeing the propaganda murals and the Peace Wall really hit me hard. It is so clear that even though Belfast is the safest it has ever been, the conflict has not entirely been resolved. Can we all remember that nothing was even resolved until 5 years ago? That is AFTER 9/11. It's still the present. How unimaginable is that? And, as my cabbie to my hostel said, neither side is satisified. Everyone just wanted peace.

The first full day in Belfast, I went on a Black Taxi Tour. A guide took me and three other travelers on a tour of the more "dodgey" parts of the city and spoke to us about the conflict. We went to one of the main Protestant areas, saw the part of the Catholic side that was burned down and even signed a part of the wall that was commisioned to be brightly decorated. This tour was exactly what I wanted to see in Belfast. Belfast was one of the first cities I knew I had to visit on this trip. Having visited Dublin last year and hearing about what had been going on, I knew that I couldn't pass it up. It has been so worth it. It's just so jarring that this separation can still be occuring and in Europe, in the UK.

A great example of how ignorant people may be about this situation is a  girl from New York who was on the tour. First of all, she just started her year of traveling, and started it in Belfast. She asked me questions the entire time about traveling alone and how it has been for me. I told her the truth about it being difficult and lonely and advised her to courchsurf. She responded that she thinks she may just go home and that couchsurfing is unsafe so she won't be botherered with it. Then she asked me to take several pictures of her smiling in front of Protestanct militant propaganda, just before asking how the conflict started and how long it's been going on. The most jarring part of her ignorance was asking our tour how people could possibly differentiate between someon who is Catholic and who is Protestant. That's sort of the point--you can't. Except that it goes far deeper than that, all the way to British loyalty or Irish nationalism.

I think my cabbie and tour guide both said it best by saying, "All this, and for what?"

The St. George's Market