[ad_1]
On the surface, the idyll is so beautiful. The green hills, dense hedges and white stone houses make the province of Armagh remind you of the county of "The Ring of the Ring". The autumn wind is hot. The sun is shining. The city road runs through the area.
And in one passage, a memorial tells of how eleven men were cold-blooded peppers with automatic pistol bullets in irreproachable execution.
It is the south of Northern Ireland, with a heterogeneous population where Catholics and Protestants live side by side but mentally distant from each other, especially during the worst Wonders of 1969-1998.
|
Belfast still houses a large number of "walls of peace", which separate the Catholic and Protestant housing blocks. On the walls, there are many paintings that glorify armed efforts on its side during the worst ages of the 1970s and 80s.
Bus stopped
Here on Kingsmill Road, the bloody half ended in January 1976. The assassination of one side was followed by the murder of the other, as in an Icelandic Viking story.
Three Reavey brothers were alone in Whitecross when armed men from the UVF trade union organization broke in and killed them. The brothers were Catholic, but unrelated to the IRA or other national movements. The mother forced the other brothers to swear not to take revenge. Anyway, someone else did it anyway, in their place.
The next day a minibus was stopped near masked men. The twelve on board were ordered, after which they were interrogated to find out if anyone was Catholic. A man advanced and was sent along the road with the order not to turn around. The other eleven are treated with automatic weapons. One of them survived, despite 18 bullets in the body.
|
Kingsmill Road winds through the forests and hills of County Armagh. Today, there is no record of the bloody acts performed here during the ages of Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1998.
Countless victims
The monument of the dead breathes everything except forgiveness and reconciliation. "This attack was perpetrated by local Irish Republican terrorists," reads the text. Always filled here with flowers.
|
The "walls of peace" in Belfast contain a multitude of paintings that glorify armed efforts from their own side during the worst ages of the 1970s and 80s.
In reverse, Desmond McCaine comes with a small bouquet and goes to her hometown for the first time in 40 years.
I remember all. Joe Lemmon, Bobby Freeburn … He used to cook all our cars, he said with a nickname to the plates with the names of the dead.
|
Violence, stone chips and soldiers have long been the image of Northern Ireland during the greatest impatience of the 70s and 80s. Image from 1972 archive.
The Armagh crime scene is only one example among others in Northern Ireland. More than 3,600 people were killed during the years of wound healing. At least 35,000 were injured. More and more people have seen their lives marked by events.
Margaret Bateson, of the VSS organization, which supports victims and survivors, says Margaret Bateson, of the VSS organization, which has many young people injured.
|
Thousands of British soldiers and police were stationed in Northern Ireland during the worst years of unrest from 1969 to 1998. Image from 1972 archive.
Murar and fence
The 1998 peace agreement was widely followed and hoped for a more normal life, with normal relations between peoples. But the mistress is deep. In Belfast, so-called walls of peace stand to separate Protestant streets from Catholic streets. Bottles and stones still fly over the walls late at night.
Although integration has increased, Northern Ireland is still very divided. And if you have things like lies and caves since the 1970s, your sons and daughters will clear it to the sons of your sons and daughters of your daughters, "said Paul Sheridan of the SEUPB organization , responsible for distributing EU support to projects for peace and integration in Northern Ireland and the border area.
Worry for Brexit
Like many other Northern Irish, Sheridan is worried about Brexit. When the peace agreement was signed, no one thought that one day could become a border between Britain and Ireland. Now, no one really knows what the consequences will be after March 29, 2019.
It's the fear of the unknown. We must ensure that the peace process continues, whatever happens in Brexit, "said Sheridan.
But not everyone agrees – and blame Brexitoron for former entrepreneurs.
This is only a contact of the Irish government. The sooner we leave the EU, the better, says Desmond McCaine – who lives in England – and drops his flower at the monument on Kingsmill Road.
The sun is still shining. But we feel that the fall is there.
[ad_2]
Source link
