BUILDING NEW BRIDGES

OCTOBER 24, 2019 — HANNAH RICHTER

Far outside the bustling city of Belfast, the Northern Irish countryside is dotted with bright green landscapes and far-flung towns of various sizes. At first sight, concrete manifestations of segregation, such as those of Belfast’s peace walls, are nowhere to be seen. However, you only need to look at a map of the religious demographics of Northern Ireland to see that the jigsaw puzzle of religious divide continues well beyond the walls of the Northern Irish capital.

This segregation can still be seen in Northern Irish schools today, as 93% of schools are divided by either being predominantly Protestant, or predominantly Roman Catholic. The remaining 7%, however, are known as ‘integrated schools’. Students at these schools come from Protestant, Catholic or mixed backgrounds, and put their differences from the past aside in order to overcome segregation. The number of these schools has greatly increased since the first one was established in Belfast in 1981, and this continuing rise brings hope for future generations.

“It’s just about how everyone mixes together.”

One of these integrated schools is located in Loughbrickland, a small village with approximately 700 residents. Here, New-Bridge Integrated College is home to roughly 620 students with a variety of religious backgrounds. The school has been awarded the ‘Evans Prize for Peace Education', which recognised the students’ ability to engage in open, yet potentially controversial debates and conversations.

We wanted to learn more about the unique experience students had in an integrated school whilst living in a country that seems to still be so highly divided. We were fortunate enough to chat to six of New-Bridge’s students: Katie, Alanna, Ellis, James, Matthew and Marco, aged between 15 and 18. Their backgrounds, from both school and home, provided the grounds for a discussion about societal divisions, identity, and Brexit. With only a couple of questions at the ready, we let them mostly take the reins of the conversation.

INTRODUCING THE GROUP

The students started by explaining a bit about themselves and their upbringings.

Alanna: “My parents are both Catholic and I went to a Catholic primary school. I never knew a Protestant until I was 10. I came to New-Bridge because my parents wanted me to experience an integrated education, as not everyone you meet will be the same as you and my parents never experienced that themselves in school. When I came here, it didn’t matter anymore where you come from. It was more normal than I expected, and it turned out to be a really smooth transition.”

Katie: “I come from a mixed background and I’ve been in integrated schooling since I was 4. I was brought up a Catholic from my mum’s side, but I also went to Protestant clubs and stuff with my dad. Because of my upbringing, I feel like I can respect other people’s opinions really well.”

James: “I also come from a mixed background and was always brought up with the idea that everyone is equal. I think that every child in Northern Ireland should be given the option to learn in an integrated environment.”

Ellis: “I have a mixed background as well, but I started in Catholic education before coming to New-Bridge. Once I came here, I started to see that it’s just about how everyone mixes together, and I really value that.”

Matthew: “This is my first experience of integrated education, I was previously always at Protestant schools and brought up Protestant. But coming here, you leave the colours outside, and whenever you put this uniform on, you’re all equal, so to speak.”

Marco: “With a name like Marco you might be able to tell that I actually have an Italian background. I’m very proud of my mixed background. My dad didn’t want me growing up with the same high tensions he experienced himself, so i’ve been in integrated education since I was 4. I’ve never met anyone who disliked me purely because of my name.”

BREXIT: A STEP BACKWARDS FOR IRELAND?

After the initial introductions, we had a simple question for the students:

What do you think of Brexit?

Marco: “Big trouble! I don’t think it was properly thought through. I go to Italy a lot to visit my family. Now, I might need to get a visa each time I visit. Brexit is going to throw a wrench in the works.”

Katie: “It’s like we’re going back in time. You know how it used to be over here. It’s a step backwards when it should be about moving forward.”

Ellis: “I agree with Katie. They haven’t taken into consideration Northern Ireland and how much it’ll impact us. It’s really confusing too. I live in Northern Ireland and I have an Irish passport, so I’m a citizen of the EU. But by living in Northern Ireland, I’m also a British citizen. So at the same time I’m not a citizen of the EU?”

Katie: “Yeah and there’s so many more opinions to be taken into consideration now with everyone that has turned 18 and has a right to vote. But we don’t have a vote on the very thing that is going to have a major impact on us in the future.”

“For my final year at uni I would be able to pick anywhere in the EU to study. That choice could be taken away from us now. I’m going to be limited to Northern Ireland. I’m going to study nursing, and when I was first looking at it, I was told that it’s a career that could take me anywhere in the world. Now Brexit may hold me back from that.”

James: “There’s so much talk now about a hard border. If that happens it’s going to be horrible for Northern Ireland. I think the Troubles could start again. 20 years of the Good Friday Agreement — we don’t want to be ruining that!”

Alanna: “What good is a hard border going to bring to the future? We’ve been working so hard on making progress and going forward in the past 20 years. How is a hard border going to benefit us in any way?”

Matthew: “We’ve started making comedy out of the whole border situation, it’s kind of the only way to look at it these days.”

James: “It’s going to affect sales, agriculture, everything. Britain needs Ireland and Ireland needs Britain, especially for trade. And a hard border will make that so difficult. Northern Ireland will really struggle.

Marco: “We might not even make 100 years as Northern Ireland.”

IDENTITY: A FINE LINE BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS?

Identity in Northern Ireland is an extremely tricky matter. A mix of students identify either as Irish or as British. Some identify as both, but some specifically as Northern Irish. Most people in the country identify with one or the other solely based on their religion. One of the students explained how their mother identifies as a European, only to avoid the political differences and complication that comes with either an Irish or British label. They discussed the difficulty choosing a certain identity, especially with the unrest of late. Some decided that describing themselves as Northern Irish was a ‘comfortable middle’, even though it was far from a perfect solution.

Does your identity influence your decisions, surrounding politics and even life in general?

Matthew: “For the older generation, if you’re Catholic you just vote for Sinn Fein and if you’re Protestant you vote for DUP. No matter what sort of lies they tell you, you just go and sign the piece of paper and you don’t really look at what they’re talking about.

“The older generation is just stuck in their ways. But things need to change. There are new parties coming through with new and better reforms for the future. People that just vote for the parties they’ve always voted for need to change and open up their perspective.”

James: “It’s also to do with trying to keep ‘your’ people in power. If there’s a predominantly Catholic parliament, then the Protestants will be, sort of, scared and oppressed, and vice versa for the other side.”

Katie: “Everything is influenced by religion though. Politics and religion in Northern Ireland are so interconnected; what town you live in, where you shop, what football team you support. Even your name. It’s hard to separate it in Northern Ireland, but as the younger generation that’s something we want to try to separate. It is still affecting our laws and regulations. Even though Northern Ireland is part of the U.K, we still don’t have gay marriage rights or the right to safe, legal abortion, because of the religious viewpoints of the DUP.* But in our country, we have people from Jewish backgrounds, Muslims, Sikhs, so then why should their lives be influenced by a Christian belief. Politics and religion are so involved, but they should keep to their own.”

Alanna: “Religion shouldn’t influence laws. Just because of your personal beliefs you shouldn’t be making that decision for everyone else in the country. Why should they be denied the right to something because of your personal beliefs?”

Matthew: “The main thing is to see no difference between people. You need to allow an open mind. At New-Bridge, we get time to learn about other people, to learn about different beliefs and different sides of the community. It’s one benefit of belonging to an integrated school.”

James: Another thing that’s bringing people together, aside from integrated schools, is sports. I used to play karate, and not once was I ever asked what religion I was. No one cared. I think that was a step forward, no one ever asks anymore in sports what religion you are, even though some sports are predominantly Catholic or Protestant. Sports are also becoming a way to move forward and develop.

BELFAST: AN OUTSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

In Belfast, we saw the divisions manifest themselves quite strongly with the fenced-off walls throughout the city. Is that something you find here as well?

Matthew: “In Belfast, the divisions are definitely more obvious.”

Katie: “Derry also used to be similar, but it’s got better. I think Belfast will always be a bit more stubborn.”

“I remember the first time I went to Belfast without my parents. I went with my friend, and before we left her mum sat us down and said: ‘right, if there’s a bomb scare at city hall you run this way, and if there’s a bomb scare here, you run that way’. I was just sitting there wondering what she meant.”

“She continued: ‘it’s quite common there, I don’t care if you are halfway down the motorway, you keep walking and I will find you. They’ll probably cut the phone cords but…’ and as she kept on going I just thought to myself: ‘I don’t want to go there anymore!’”

“So yeah, that was the first thing I was told when I went to Belfast: what to do if there’s a bomb scare.”

THE FUTURE: GIVE US A VOICE!

As an integrated school, you seem to have very strong opinions about where, and how, things should be. Is that a sentiment that is shared by other organisations or political parties? How far up do you think this sentiment of integration goes?

James: “You only have three parties in Northern Ireland which are really somewhat integrated: Alliance, Green and SDLP. But if we got the hard-hitting ones like DUP and Sinn Fein to be more neutral, as neutral as can be, it’d do Northern Ireland a hell of good.”

Do you think there is anything you, as an integrated school, could do?

Katie: “I think there’s something we could do, but we don’t really have the platform to do so.”

Alanna: “There’s been talks of setting up a youth parliament, but it’s been in the works for ages and nothing has actually come of it. I feel like having something like that available to us would give us the platform that Katie is talking about to get more involved and change the way things are going.”

Katie: “I think we all have great ideas and opinions, but we don’t know how to make them clear and express them.”

What are those ideas?

Katie: “We need to revamp our parliament to start with! At one point or another they’re going to have to bring new people in.”

James: “Yeah like younger people especially, because we don’t have that history background from the Troubles, we don’t care about it as much.”

Katie: “They’ve all grown up in the Troubles, so they have personal opinions on it. We haven’t, so I feel like we could give a broader opinion.”

James: “We’re more willing to learn, accept it, and get past what’s happened.”

Katie: ”We need people who are open to new ideas and new ways the country should be led.”

Alanna: ”I feel like as young people, we have a less biased opinion. Violence, on both sides, can really influence a person’s political views. I think it would be good to have people who weren’t as involved or subjected to the violence, like the younger generation, in parliament. It might also help to lower the voting age!”

Matthew: ”As a country, we’re too good at looking at the past and holding grudges and all that. Surely it’s better to just move on, instead of constantly digging up the past. In the politest way possible: the past has happened, let’s look to the future instead.”

Katie: ”Exactly. The past has happened. Don’t dwell on it.”

So, following this sentiment, and as a final question from our side: what would you do if you were Prime Minister?

Katie: ”I’m going to make my own parliamentary party, bringing in all new people with fresh ideas and beliefs. Politicians now are so stuck in their ways. I want people with new attitudes and new opinions towards the new type of society. We don’t live the same way we did 20, 30 years ago. We’re a new generation, things have evolved. Especially with social media, we’re more accepting of each other. We have more ways to learn about each other, from other countries and societies. We need to use this to our advantage.”

Alanna: ”We can talk to anyone from anywhere all over the world because of social media, and they are definitely not just Catholic! My parents didn’t have this opportunity, and they don’t know what it’s like.”

Ellis: ”If I was Prime Minister, I would make sure we have a future with peace, with no conflict and everyone getting on the same. With no discussion about a border, and everyone accepting each other’s opinions.”

Matthew: ”I would give Northern Ireland more of a voice.”

Marco: ”I would get all new people in, with someone who could look over me as I’m still a bit young. I’d get qualified people and people who have actual good opinions and can make valid judgements and decisions. And I’d get a really nice house too.”

When the group reminded Marco of the fact that, as the British Prime-Minister, you actually get assigned a specific house, he had to backtrack on that last statement, although only after mentioning he would change the colour of the door. After which, James had one final remark to make:

James: ”Ultimately, we need to inform people more. What’s the point in having a United Kingdom if you don’t have anyone in it anymore?”

As the group heavily agreed with James, we considered it a fitting moment to wrap up the conversation.

IT’S UP TO THE NEXT GENERATION

These students hope that more integrated schools will be created in the future, allowing for a greater number of students in Northern Ireland to experience integrated education. By learning in an integrated environment, the students found they are able to be more open, understanding and accepting of others. It has also provided opportunities for the students to align their political beliefs with something other than religion.

When it comes to polarisation in Northern Ireland, a phenomenon that is mostly determined by the past Troubles, it is ever the more crucial to see what the next generation has to say about it. As a generation that grew up in a completely different world, their perspective on mutual acceptance, respect, and empathy gives hope for the future.

However, to allow them to actually build the bridges of integration, it is important they are given the platform they themselves are often lacking. Only then can this younger generation truly prevent history from repeating itself.

*This interview was carried out in June 2019. As such, some of the comments, specifically to do with same-sex marriage and abortion rights, are not up to date anymore.

A massive thank you to Alana, Katie, James, Ellis, Matthew and Marco for taking the time to speak with us, and to their teacher, Eimear McKeown, for helping to set the interview up.

To find out more about New-Bridge Integrated College visit their website here.

This story is the third and last part of our Special: “Ireland: A Divided Island?”

Part 1: Troubled Walls

Part 2: The Lessons of a Guide

Hannah Richter24 October 2019Round Table, Northern Ireland, School