Living amidst the walls

Forewarning:  I wrote this blog while listening to the latest This American Life and chatting to a friend.  Expect grammar and spelling errors.  Expect some nonsensical words and phrases. Expect to be wowed, or not.  Better yet, read it without expectations.   

Derry/Londonderry is a city rife with history.  Today I learned a bit more of that history; I was given a tour of the walls by R1.  The walls were created in the early 1600s.  There have a unique shape; they are not the normal circular design of most walled cities.  Circular defensive walls always have a blind spot -- Derry's walls do not because of their unique shape.  There were originally only 4 gates into the city, but now more have been added.  (I walk through one of the gates to enter the walls each morning on my way to work and walk out the gates to exit each evening.)

As a part of my walled city tour, R. took me into St. Columb's Cathedral which was a beautiful cathedral built in the early 1600s.  It is the oldest standing building in the city.  It was interesting to go into the church and see how entwined the unionist politics are even within the church walls. (Unionism is the political ideology that supports the maintenance of ties between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.  Basically, unionists want to stay a part of the UK. Unionism is commonly associated with Northern Ireland Protestants.)  St. Columb's Cathedral had numerous flags hanging it that were relics from old UK colonies and wars.  There were stone etchings, wall plaques, and stained glass windows dedicated to foregone saints who were proclaimed to have given their lives dutifully for their country while serving the Queen in India and other far off provinces.  Some were heroes from the siege of Derry.  All of the plaques could easily be classified as being 'unionist'; neutrality was not the vision.  The tight web of militarism, colonialism and religion was evident throughout.  The lobby of the church included an area to buy magnets with the Queen of England or hat pins with Londonderry written on them.  There weren't any hat pins with Derry available for purchase.  (At this point I should mention that R. told me about a few of the initiatives church leaders are taking to try to work with across boundaries -- joint activities amongst Catholic and Protestant churches, etc.  Also, I should mention the architecture of the cathedral was beautiful and we also got a special treat since the organist was there.  He was practicing a few Christmas hymns.)

I have been reading several books full of personal stories and experiences from the Border (between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland).  Each of these stories shares an individual's experience of living on the border.  There are stories from individuals who lived their entire lives on one side of the Border and from individuals who lived different parts of their life on the different sides of the Border.  The Border was created in 1920 with the Government of Ireland Act.  Some people had farmland that was split by the Border; some even had houses split by the Border.  One of the stories tells of a man who always slept with his head in on one side and his feet in another.  The personal stories are full of pain.  The common denominator in all the stories and all sides of the conflict was the pain.  Another theme was the idea that the greatest border is not the physical one but the psychological and emotional borders that have been erected by the people within Northern Ireland.  The walls they have erected in their hearts and minds.  Sometimes these walls have visible manifestations -- such as the peace walls in Belfast, but more often the walls are invisible.  The invisible wall existing between Protestants and Catholics in Derry/Londonderry (which manifests itself through a segregation between the two groups -- different communities, different schools, different pubs, different churches, etc.), the invisible wall between the Croats and Bosniaks in Mostar, the developed world and the developing world.  

Even though I may not believe in borders and think they only create division and strife, I have to respect that others may believe in them (believe=support).  I have to respect that for some people the presence of a border or a wall is what makes them feel secure and safe.  It doesn't matter whether their fear is founded or unfounded, what matters is that it is how they feel.   

I have only been here a few weeks and I have come to realized that even if I stayed here for the next twenty years I would still be learning.  I know I still have a lot to learn about the walls that exist here -- the history, the politics, why the Border is necessary for some to feel safe and why its destruction is necessary for others to feel safe -- okay, basically I need to learn everything. However, like so many before me, I am going to still express an opinion on something I know so little about and expect people to listen to it.

So, how do we recognize and respect other people's experiences and beliefs without feeling threatened?  I know we all have prejudice within us and stereotypes -- perhaps it is towards country hicks, city slickers, Mexicans, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, or any of the other numerous groups that can be classified as the Other (that which is different from myself/yourself).  How do we acknowledge and embrace the difference each other to become a new, more inclusive community?  I think along with the importance of community initiatives there must be change within individuals.  

In the end I must ask myself:  What walls have I put up?  What is the Other to me?  Am I willing to break down those walls even if it is a painful and slow process?  Hopefully, I will succeed in identifying my 'walls' and working to tear them down even if it is only stone by stone.  I'm sure it will be a lifelong process. 

Here's to a future generation that exists without walls, borders, or dividers.  I don't imagine it to be utopia, but I do imagine it to be a better place.  After all, how can we conquer the really important questions like how to save Britney Spears from her continuing self-destruction if we can't first save ourselves? Or can white really be worn after Labor Day?