Travels thru Life: 8/27 -- Belfast 'Troubles' and the Titanic

We started out today in a black taxi (quite comfortable for four in the back) and drove around Belfast getting our driver's view of the 30 year conflict and stopping to see lots of murals. We drove through both Catholic and Protestant working class areas. Unlike Derry, Belfast has been the scene of an in-your-face march annually for a long time. The Protestants would organize this antagonist march through Catholic areas. The 1998 Good Friday agreement didn't end the march, but kept it out of the Catholic neighborhoods. It now includes an enormous bonfire on the border between the two areas. There is also a very high wall between the areas that runs about three miles, and has gates that are still closed and locked at 6pm every evening. While it looks sort of like a curfew situation, you can still get into any area, just not as conveniently.

One notable story was about the change in rules of how political prisoners were treated. They could wear their own clothing instead of criminal garb, and were exempted from the work requirements of criminals. When the British government changed their classification to criminals, they protested in a couple of ways. First, they wore blankets instead of the criminal clothing. That extended for five years. Then there was a hunger strike, led by Bobby Sands. The strike ended when they thought they had an agreement with the British, but the British reneged, and the hunger strike was called again. There was also an agreement that when the current Parliamentary representative's term of office was up, that Bobby Sands could run, even if he was in prison. The representative died, and Sands won, but died from the hunger strike along with nine others.

The 32 in the mural represents the 32 counties in all of
Ireland, 26 in the Republic, 6 in the UK.

This is the tallest building in Catholic Belfast.
The two top stories were occupied by the
British Army as a way of keeping tabs on
the activities in the area.

Following photos: some of the murals we saw.

This was one of my favorites...


Bobby Sands, who looks sort of feminine, even in his wikipedia photo.

Bobby Sands poem

The wall was originally the height of the low green section,
but raised to make it harder to throw things over.

Bill Clinton's contribution to a section of the wall that is
covered with signatures and text.

Sign authored by the Dalai Lama

The remains of this year's Protestant march bonfire, with the
wall and Nationalist homes in the background.

English flags fly all over in Loyalist West Belfast, which also
features this Queen Elizabeth mural.

Photo of a photo of building the July march bonfire. One
year, embers from it set several homes on fire.

A hero of the Loyalists

Interesting poster in Loyalist West Belfast. I wonder how
brave they are if they choose to wear hoods.

William of Orange, a Dutchman who was imported to
England and Ireland as a Protestant king to depose the
Catholic king, James II. It is why the Northern Irish Loyalists
are known as Orangemen.

After our taxi tour, we had an interesting panel discussion, featuring a former British Army member, a Nationalist or Republican, and a Unionist or Loyalist. The Nationalist and Loyalist both got involved with paramilitary operations in their teens and both spent time in jails.The Nationalist told us about the blanket protest, and that he only wore two blankets for five years. He also said he rarely left his cell, because the blanket protesters were subject to abuse by the guards. The Loyalist became a mediator.

The Army man was from Britain and was encouraged by his parents to get a job at age16, but after a year of being a butcher, he followed some friends into the army. He had hoped to be posted someplace sunny and warm, but ended up in Northern Ireland on two tours, once for six months, and then for two years. He emphasized how his training was focused on obedience vs. thinking and dehumanizing the opponent. They were given no context for the violence from the Nationalists and he viewed all the Nationalists as suspicious. During his second stint, he started reading about the history of the situation and came to see that it was much more complex than he thought. He ended his army career when his term was up, married an Irish girl, and went to college, eventually earning a PhD. in American History.

They all thought that progress toward a lasting peace had been made in the last 20 years, but it will take more generations and more integrated schools to totally turn the tide. And looking at our experience in the Civil War that ended over 150 years ago, it is likely to be a very long time before there is universal equality, although the US situation was exacerbated by the treatment of the South after the war, and I hope the Irish will do better.

Then we headed off to lunch and had elected to take a tour of the Titanic Museum. There was a LOT of information and the initial entry could have been better at indicating the optimal sequence of displays. Next came sort of a Disney ride through the process of building the ship which was a fun intro to a floor showing how it was built. The next section showed various parts of the ship, with a mockup of a 1st Class and 3rd Class bedroom. Then we went on to the sinking, with copies of Morse code messages that went out, including one boat receiving who said something like 'Stop sending, you are hogging the transmissions.' It ended with views and a movie of the rediscovery.

Above and below: The Titanic Museum

The weather today was supposed to be clear and only partly cloudy in the afternoon, so I dressed lightly, but the wind was brutal. Since we had planned to walk the two miles back to the hotel to get in some exercise, I decided to purchase an extra layer at the gift shop to avoid feeling like I was freezing for the walk home. My new fleece was very helpful, and the signage in the city for the Titanic Trail easily led us back to the vicinity of our hotel.