While Boston recovered from its St. Patrick’s Day festivities, the Community Church of Boston took time yesterday to remember Northern Ireland’s struggle for peace by sponsoring a discussion with representatives of PeaceWatch Ireland.
Standing before a tapestry decorated with the words “Peace” and “Justice” and illustrations of multi-racial peoples united against war, PeaceWatch representatives Lynne Gerber and Nuvia Ball-Burrell addressed a congregation of about 50 members.
“Our purpose is to gather people with a historical connection to Ireland and help them to develop a more progressive and political vision of the Irish conflict,” Gerber said. “While we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we need to remember the Irish who are trapped in their neighborhoods and oppressed by military and police occupation.”
Ball-Burrell then directed the congregation’s attention to a number of photos showing small, rural communities covered in barbed wire, occupied by police and military forces and leveled by bombings.
The photos depicted the time of year known as the Marching Season, which takes place annually during the months of July and August. It is a time when military occupation and violence in Northern Ireland reaches its peak.
The political and civil unrest in Northern Ireland date back to the 12th century when British imperial presence became apparent in the region, according to Gerber.
“Many people recognize the Irish conflict as a product of the Protestant and Catholic split,” Gerber said. “However, unrest was prevalent centuries before the Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries.”
In the beginning of the 20th century, Ireland struck out against British imperialism and separated itself from Great Britain. However, Northern Ireland, comprised of a largely Protestant population, remained loyal to England and established itself as a Protestant state.
Currently, the Northern Ireland Assembly, British Parliament and Irish Parliament are in the process of implementing the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, a document that came into existence in April of 1998.
According to Gerber, the Good Friday Agreement addresses issues such as the demilitarization of Northern Ireland, reform within the Irish police force and Britain’s renunciation of its interest in Ireland.
“For the citizens of Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement is the only hope for peace that they have,” Ball-Burrell said.
Gerber and Ball-Burrell also addressed the Clinton administration’s investment in the issue of peace in Ireland. They criticized the Bush administration’s lack of interest in Irish affairs and for not continuing Clinton’s efforts in Ireland.
The founding of PeaceWatch Ireland, a U.S.-based community of activists from all ethnic backgrounds working with Irish individuals, communities and organizations toward a just and lasting peace, came as a response to the Northern Ireland cease-fire of 1994. The group has been involved in the current Irish peace process as international observers and ongoing allies to marginalized communities.
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