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www.celtic-connection.com
OCTOBER 2004
'In Order to do Anything
About Racism We must Understand it'
IN 1988 the community of West Belfast set in motion an incredible event which has grown and flourished substantially over the past 15 years.
Feile An Phobail reflects the extraordinary culture of this besieged community which can produce an amazing range of events from music concerts featuring Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine to literary readings by such writers as Roddy Doyle.
There are remarkable political discussions and debates, drama, sports, community development, children's events, exhibitions and wonderful tours and walks. This is a feile not to be missed.
This year's festival proved once again to be outstanding. I was fortunate enough to attend a few of these events and one of the highlights was apublic meeting held on July 31 at St. Mary's University College on the Falls Road.
The panel discussion was on issues of historical anti-Irish racism and racism in Belfast today. The panel included Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, former Westminster MP and human rights activist, Dr. Robbie McVeigh, Clare Hackett, Annie Cerezo, a local Filipino nurse and Jamal Iweida of the Belfast Islamic Centre. The panel was chaired by Father Des Wilson of Springhill Community Centre.
Robbie McVeigh spoke of his experiences as an Irishman after he relocated to England several years ago. He considered himself a liberal, Protestant Unionist but was surprised by his treatment during his stay there and by the way other people perceived him.
To the English he was just another "pasty Paddy " and within three years of living in England, Robbie had redefined himself as a Republican. He must have had quite the experience for so drastic a change in outlook.
But the person who touched the audience at the deepest level was definitely Armie Cerezo, the Filipino nurse whose traumatic experiences reflect a very disturbing trend and escalation in racism in Ireland. She spoke of the harassment and name calling she and her Filipino friends were subjected to on a daily basis. She related the story of a friend who was crossing the street to meet her one day, when a 10 year-old boy on a bicycle came along and hit her friend.
Jamal Iweida was equally emotional in his presentation, referring to eight Muslim families who had been forced out of South Belfast last year; victims of racial abuse and attacks. He spoke of houses being broken into and his own experience of name calling when he would leave home with his Irish wife and one year-old child.
One day a man (a neighbour) approached him with two dogs. Jamal asked the man not to come near him with the dogs because he was afraid of them. The dogs attacked him and it took the police 45 minutes to respond. He was informed by the police that all they
By
SHARON GREER
BERNADETTE DEVLIN
could do was caution the man. The next morning Jamal s car was destroyed.
Although not all cases of racism are reported, between 1996 and 2001 there was a 444percent increase in racial abuse in Belfast.
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey spoke passionately about racism in Ireland today, asking the question, "What are we going to do about it?" She said that in order to do anything about it, we needed to understand
And she believes that racism stems from imperialism and colonization; by-products of capitalism. She claims it's about power and "apower relationship."
McAliskey referred to Jamal Iweida's presentation when he spoke of receiving hate mail. She said, "A Christian can send a
Muslim hate mail, but if a Muslim speaks out about it,
Guantanamo Bay beckons. And the difference between Christianity and Muslim is not about ideology. People don't throw stones because they have deeply felt theological differences.
"People throw stones because they're internalized over generations - their internalized attitude to people who are not Christian is that they are inferior. And it's part and parcel of the social context of their religion. And the people teach them their religion and the people who are a part of the infrastructure of their religion teach them that God belongs to us and that everybody else's God is some kind of infidel.
There was huge applause when she said, "As a human being on this planet, you have the right to go wherever you like."
McAliskey concluded her presentation by saying, "We are now either the perpetrators, or the silent tolerators of what's going on. What we have to do is assist in building the infrastructure that allows those who are on the receiving end of racism to collectively organize against it. For those who are on the receiving end of racism, to take the lead and for us to follow and the infrastructure has to be there at every level."
She spoke of when the police would stop someone during the conflict, "and we had a social responsibility to stop and never leave anybody standing on the side of the road facing the enemy on their own.
"Now, we must never watch some wee git from West Belfast or Tyrone insult or abuse a person who has come to this community, whose skin is a different colour, whose religion is different, whose accent is different and go 'tut, tut, tut' and walk on. " She ended her talk on a sad comment about Ireland today, stating, "We are a racist society."
It was quite an exceptional experience to have the good fortune to listen to the ever eloquent Bernadette Devlin McAliskey at a brilliant event like the West Belfast Feile An Phobail.
Church in Conflict Over New Sex Abuse Policy
DUBLIN-A dispute has broken out between the Catholic Church and its own advisory committee over who should decide what happens when clerics are accused of child abuse. It is reported that the disagreement is based on whether it should be experts in child protection or the religious superiors and bishops who decide whether an allegation is serious enough to pass on to state authorities. Historically, the Church has been extremely reluctant to cede any control over what happens to its priests and religious.
A comprehensive new child protection policy was presented to the bishops and religious orders over the summer. The draft policy now sits with a steering committee consisting of three bishops, three members of CORI (the Conference of Religious of Ireland), and one member of the Irish Missionary Union. The committee must find a way out of the current impasse or the Church could find its attempt to undo the damage caused to its reputation by the child abuse scandals badly derailed.
If implemented, the new policy would radically update and improve the child protection policy the Church has been using since 1996 called "Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response. " The framework is entirely voluntary and there is no system in place to ensure it has been implemented throughout the country's 180 religious orders and dioceses in a standardized and uniform way.
Troops Could 'Pull Out of Nl by Christmas'
BELFAST - Britain's most senior military officers are optimistic that a breakthrough in the peace process could see troops start to pull out of the North by Christmas. General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff, said that, although he remained cautious, it was "quite possible" that the trigger for the army's "normalization"process in Northern Ireland could come "this side of Christmas."
Senior military and civil service officials in London believe there are signs that the Provisional IRA is preparing a statement about the "end of the war" that might overcome concerns among unionist
GERRY ADAMS
IAN PAISLEY
politicians.
The general's views will be interpreted as a signal of confidence in the ability of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to deliver the stand-down of the IRA. It may be intended as a message of encouragement to Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) chief Ian Paisley after his unprecedented visit to Dublin for talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahem.
The green light for troop withdrawals can only follow a political agreement, and the DUP is also demanding greater ministerial accountability before power-sharing is restored. Both governments could not come to an agreement in talks at Leeds Castle last month, but there were encouraging signs of movement, even though there remains an absence of trust between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
Under the Joint Declaration agreed by Dublin and London in April last year, a final peace deal ending the conflict would include cutting troop levels from their present 11,200 to a normal garrison of 5,000 within two years.
There is now a renewed sense of optimism that the politicians on both
sides of the divide will be able to agree on a form of words for a final deal. However, nothing can start by way of further troop withdrawals until the London and Dublin governments agree that there is the right "enabling environment" in the North.
Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Trousdell, General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland, said, "The whole normalization process is ready to roll as soon as we get the enabling environment."
There has already been a significant scaling-back of forces and reduction in bases to reflect the Provisional IRA ceasefire of 1994 and the subsequent lowering of the security threat; the number of battalions has been cut by half from 18 to nine, watchtowers are down from 14 to 10, and military sites have been cut from 105 to 55. However, there are still more British troops there than the combined force levels in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo.
But the depth of suspicion remaining between Sinn Fein and the DUP was shown when Adams accused the British and Irish governments of "acquiescing" with the DUP over changes to the Good Friday Agreement. Adams claimed that the governments were making "bridges too far" with the DUP.
RUC Informer Pleads Guilty to Finucane Murder
BELFAST - The family of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has said that the conviction of former Special Branch informer and former UDA member Ken Barrett (41) for the February 1989 murder does not help the search for the truth surrounding the solicitor's death.
Barrett was the first person to be charged with the killing which was one of the most controversial of the ■30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It is mainly because of allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and members of the British security forces that the family has consistently demanded apublic inquiry.
At previous hearings, Barrett denied shooting the high-profile Catholic solicitor at his home in the north of the city as the family was sitting down to Sunday dinner.
Barrett was due to stand trial in September but suddenly cut short the proceedings by pleading guilty. He also admitted 12 other charges which included the attempted
murder of Geraldine Finucane, stealing army-owned weapons and membership of the Ulster Freedom Fighters.
Speaking after Barrett was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment, Finucane's brother Martin said, "The guilty plea and sentencing of Ken Barrett has never been our main concern," he said. "We have continually asked for the truth. Barrett's plea of guilty means that much of that truth remains hidden. " Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, Barrett could be released as early as next year.
Finucane's widow Geraldine is now challenging the government's decision to delay a public inquiry, which was recommended by retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory. Cory was appointed by the British and Irish governments in 2001 to examine allegations of collusion surrounding some of the most controversial killings of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.