Time for a new Ulster Covenant (on the 99th anniversary of its signing)

ULSTER, or in Irish- Cúige Uladh or in Ulster Scots- Ulstèr but understood in English- Ulster (the anglicization of the Irish mixed with the Old Norse staðr meaning something along the lines of 'land') is a dynamic and multi-dimensional term for an ever-changing place and people. It's sometimes hard to see it this way when the word 'Ulster' is so often hijacked for one sided politics and bigoted rhetoric. But I'd like to redefine the term if I can to emphasize what it means to me.

The Red Hand of Ulster is a brilliant myth with relevance in both Catholic and Protestant communities. The symbol of the Red Hand flying on flags (whether on gold fabric for the Ulster Province of Ireland or white fabric for the place Ulster has in the United Kingdom), represents this northern territory of the island and rejoices in its myths and history and progress. Whether you define it as 6 counties or 9, the culture of this space does not change and the self-definition of an individual or a place is not infringed upon.

I guess what I love about Ulster is that you can see it and define it however you like! You want to be British? OK! Are you Irish, that's OK too! And now a days, you can be both (or neither).

The Ulster Covenant certainly stands for something strongly loyalist. Signed 28 September 1912 by nearly 1/2 a million people, it reads

we, whose names are underwritten, men of Ulster, loyal subjects of His Gracious Majesty King George V, humbly relying on the God whom our fathers in days of stress and trial confidently trusted, hereby pledge ourselves in solemn Covenant, throughout this our time of threatened calamity, to stand by one another in defending, for ourselves and our children, our cherished position of equal citizenship in the United Kingdom, and in using all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland.

The women's covenant is slightly different but encompasses the same sentiment (the disparity in covenants for men and women is an issue for another time...).

This is powerful language, it inspired marches and riots and hateful feelings and activity. It encompasses a lot of things associated with loyalism- the Crown, the United Kingdom, God. However, even further so it diminishes the Home Rule Movement into a subversive 'conspiracy'. It negates any potential for democracy. It threatens 'using all means' to defend that very right.

Next year, on the centenary of the signing of this covenant, I wonder if there can be a movement where the people who feel themselves to belong to Ulster in any form and capacity, sign a new covenant and celebrate a new Ulster Day that will reflect the positive elements of this part of the world. A covenant that breaks down the myths that the Titanic was built by only Protestant shipbuilders. A covenant that is proud of the military sacrifices Ulstermen and Ulsterwomen have made--coming from Protestant, Catholic, and other communities. I wonder if we can all sign a statement that says we are loyal to one another, that we will defend one another and the rights of our children to chose their own identity. That we will benefit from employment opportunities that value skill and education. That our education system will provide equal learning and opportunities for every student, regardless of background! That we will do whatever it takes to have a healthy, happy and successful Ulster that promotes tolerance, welcomes diversity, and sees the true benefits of cooperation. An Ulster that will not ignore sectarianism, that will not empower bigoted politicians, that will not go backwards--but only forwards.

There will be marches and bands and speeches and music, but it will not be of the variety you may well know and remember. Ulster Day 2012 will be neither Orange nor Green. It will not chose to define itself in the limited confines of past memories.

Ulster has the potential to clarify its definition to encompass whatever it sees for itself in the future. From the earliest peoples to Neolithic farmers to Celtic Kingdoms to Vikings to Normans to Ulster Plantation to partition to consociationalism. From invasions and battles to civil war and peace. From myth to history to present. This land has seen many different people, been ruled by many different types of authority.

Change will not stop. It is only right that Ulster embraces these changes and defines itself in a language we can all speak. We, all of us who live here in this wonderful part of the island, are people of Ulster and we deserve a covenant that reflects us all.

Happy International Peace Day

Today was an interesting day where a lot of different elements of my life in Belfast came together.

Falls Road Peace Wall

I took the number 10 bus up the Falls and hopped off by the International Peace Wall on the Falls Road, adorned by images of struggles across the world from Basque country to the Palestinian movement to equality movements in the United States. It's one peaceline that I find myself visiting often because of its tourist draw and its proximity to other projects I've been involved with.

Cupar Way Wall

For the Shankill community the Cupar's Way murals reflect similar images of international struggles uniting Belfast to the world. It was in this part of the city where I did a great deal of research during the year of my MA and made a number of memories that make me smile when I walk down the road.

Between the Falls and Shankill, which run parallel to one another, there is a linking route called Northumberland Street that is controlled by two large access gates. It was on this spot in Augut of 1969 where the most violent inter-community violence took place in the streets leading to the emergency erection of barriers. Busses, burning cars, and furniture were used by civilians as make-shift blockades to defend one community from the other. Overtime these types of blockades were fortified creating the normalised use of physical barriers to manage physical violence in Belfast. It was here where the new mural, created in honour of International Peace Day, would be unveiled.

I walked in between the barriers through a pedestrian entrance way and saw a big red hop on hop off bus acting as a cover to the mural (as it would have been £700 to hide the image behind a sheet). Community worker Jackie Redpath introduced journalist Ivan Lyttle who introduced the mural.They spoke of the violence of the Troubles that had led to the creation of the walls. They spoke of the long history of intercommunal strife during which time the place where we stood was a dangerous hotspot.

In order to remember the past in a positive way and promote a peaceful future, this mural was made up of photographs that marked the glory of neighbourhood and connected the two separate traditions of the Falls and the Shankill together. In the middle of the mural in large letters read 'IMAGINE', designed from the images themselves, looking optomistically at what the cooepration of these two legacies and these two groups could produce.

At this event there were 2 interviewees from my dissertation, my first ever mentor in community work, and a girl I worked with at the call centre. They had been brought together, uniting for me so many different elements of my life here, all at the peaceline.

Later that evening I finished the book Trinity by Leon Uris that I re-read for the first time in years. It meant so much more to me after having lived in Belfast and in Northern Ireland for these past years. The book speaks of the communal division, the working class people of Belfast, and the struggle for many different types of equality and justice from 1898 to 1915. It also spoke of a legacy of industrialism, the passion of people, and the potentials for the future. All of these themes, both positive and negative, followed me throughout my day.

The memory of the past, both positive and that slightly darker together with the ongoing efforts for peace define this amazing city I love so much. It is with these different elements of conflict, working class roots, human genius and lasting peace that Belfast will continue forward.

A Wall Memorial: Berlin

Visiting Berlin in August 2011, exactly 50 years after the construction of the Berlin Wall began, was something incredibly moving for a girl who has a strange love for walls. We had to seek out the fragments of the wall that remained, and in the end we missed seeing the most famous section with the most popular artwork (as it was that much off the tourist trail..well for the directionless anyway).

We happened upon a fascinating photo exhibit with very detailed views and descriptions of the Wall taken from the perspective of the East. They had made up documentation by guards in East Berlin, marking the scope of the wall, escape attempts, and normal activity. The detail of the photos, the quotes used to describe each one, and the absolute expanse of the wall left me a bit shocked. I stood staring at one particular panorama and I felt like I stood in front of the Wall itself, running as far as the eye could see in each direction.

While there are drastic differences between the Berlin Wall and the peacelines of Belfast, there is something about division that feels so universal. I thought about the mapping and detailing processes occuring at the minute in Belfast to better define and identify the scope of the peacelines here. It helped me to see how important those projects are.

The next day we traveled to Bernauer Strasse to the Wall Memorial. I couldn't help but look forward to the day when Belfast is made up on wall memorials rather than walls. I looked from the cement slabs to the watchtower to the metal slates--all as a tribute to the memory of the walls. It was an excruciatingly hot day but looking around at the buildings and the cement, even with the green of the trees and the blinding sunshine, it felt like the coldest day of the winter.

I was reading a book on the Wall, trying to place it in the very limited European history in my mind. After my trip I finally finished the book, written beautifull by Frederick Taylor (The Berlin Wall: A world divided, 1961-1989, p.449). The closing sentiment shook me hard as he describes present day Berlin with its delightful cafes and carefree cyclists and eccentric culture saying 'sometimes we can believe...that the Berlin Wall was just a figment of somebody's mad imagination.' It gave me the chills to think that in my lifetime people died trying to cross the very short expanse between the two sides of the wall that I passed without even realizing. If you're my age and have very little historical recollection of Europe, Taylor's idea seems eerily spot on.

It makes me think that 20 years from now the landscape of Belfast or Jerusalem could be vastly different. It makes me think that one day, young people like myself can think about walls as unimaginable. As so cold and divisive, that they could not possibly exist in the world we have today.

But for now, I have to think if walls can come down in Berlin, then the work we're doing here and the work ongoing in other parts of the world are not for naught. I laugh to think that one day it may be difficult for a tourist in Belfast to find the peacelines. I sure hope so!