Rioting in Belfast...

It is now Monday and Belfast is still in a state of disquiet due to the actions of a minority of its citizens.

From 4 pm (perhaps before) traffic was reduced to a crawl citywide, roads have been blocked in several loyalist areas, preventing people from traveling about freely.

According to news articles I have read on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4236282.stm some people in working class loyalist areas feel that the parades commission is biased in favor of nationalists and that they are getting a rough deal, so they feel as they are not allowed to march in an area that is nationalist (due to the residents have opposing the march), that they will then disrupt the whole city and inconvenience everybody in order to make their point.


Blockades

I witness 1st hand, one of these blockades earlier today in the Tigers bay area of Belfast, the remains of a burnt out bus and other debris were strewn across the road and the barricade was manned (or supervised might be a better word) by a boy with a scarf wrapped around his face covering his mouth, he looked no older than ten years of age although he could have been as young as eight, some residents (adults) stood out the front of their houses and looked on.

Is this acceptable behavior for a young boy?
I am sure that this would have been great fun for him, to have his first taste of power and excitement and to feel part of something, a community activity, but what lessons will he learn?

Will he grow up feeling this behavior is acceptable?

Is this behavior normal for a young boy?

It is a cliché, but it is one hundred percent true, the children are our future.

When we are no longer here, they will be left to run things.

What future lies in store for a child who at such a young age is standing in front of a barricade on his own whilst adults stand by and watch?

What lessons will he learn from his peers and the adults around him?

I would like to point out that children on both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland are left to participate in riotous antisocial behavior.



The situation is not helped when political leaders who have the ability to influence people stir up feelings of anger and refuse to accept any responsibility for the consequences.

We have seen radical Muslim clerics being scrutinized and criticized for inflaming tensions and encouraging extremism in Britain, but for years in Northern Ireland certain political leaders have inflamed tensions and instilled a siege mentality into many citizens.
It is difficult for people to ignore the rhetoric from community leaders and politicians that seek to achieve their political goals by manipulating people’s fears and insecurities with scare stories and sensationalist sound bites.

Many people in Northern Ireland have just learned to accept the fact that from time to time roads will be blocked, vehicles will be stolen and set ablaze and innocent people will be terrorized and put out of there homes. As long as it is not on their doorstep it isn’t important enough to bother them, and that they can’t do anything to change things here, that is just the way it is.

Can you imagine what it is like to wake up in fear of your life, to have bricks and petrol bombs thrown through your windows as you sleep?

Well it happens, and it is just one of those things, apparently.

That may well change if it happens to you or your loved ones, but it probably won’t so what do you care?

We all have a voice and we all have a choice, we can choose to ignore this behavior or to speak out, to come together in a show of support or simply say, “I’m aright jack, it’s not my fight”.


You can want peace in Northern Ireland, but unless you show support for the victims, for the people who you see on the news who are directly affected by the trouble here, nothing will ever change…