The news that yet another mural in Belfast that had previously been changed from a paramilitary display to something more broadly ‘cultural’ (in this case, famed footballer George Best), has now been changed back to a violent display of a masked gunman, is causing concern to both local residents and local elected officials as well. A report from the BBC can be read here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24193950
And here’s a video report from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24214461
Because of my experience in the field of post-conflict
reconciliation in Northern Ireland, a few things stood out to me in the two
reports, though they weren’t particularly unusual. Firstly, there was the
condemnation of the act with local politicians making clear their
disappointment and dismay. Secondly, the representatives described the ‘huge
public outcry’ regarding the mural, making clear that the vast majority of
people in the area did not want it. Thirdly, there is the hope that (according
to the PUP’s John Kyle) through local engagement carried out ‘without intimidation or
without any threats’, local people might be able to ‘say what they would like
in terms of their street art and public art.’
Finally,
almost as an afterthought, there is the confirmation from an anonymous source
from Belfast City Council that the council was ‘unaware’ of any plans to change
the mural.
Most
jarring to me, however, was the resignation expressed at the end of the BBC
video, intimating that that local people’s ‘changed view’ of ‘a gunman rather
than a goal scorer’ will undoubtedly be there for some time.
While
it’s probably not fair to expect in-depth analysis from short news stories, I
think it’s worth noting what is not
in the reports- and I believe should be part of any discussion of this issue that is to
come. First, there is no mention of what action, if any, will be- or indeed, could be- taken regarding the mural. Also,
there is no mention of who would be responsible for considering and/or taking such
action- the council? The police? Local people themselves? To be sure, there is
a vague invocation of hoping that discussion with local people about the look and
feel of their neighbourhood will take place, but little else.
In
addition, the video report talks about how such violent displays have recently
‘appeared’, which I feel makes them sound like unavoidable nuisances, like
weeds or dry rot. The fact is, people painted this mural; people who live among
us. They did so illegally, without permission from the owners of the building.
Those points usually don’t come up in these discussions, as law-breaking of
this kind is so common as to have become thoroughly commonplace.
Finally,
there is no real discussion about what effect, if any, this particular mural is
having on the local community, on Belfast as a whole, or on the entire peace process itself. Could it be said that this mural and others like it are doing
something so damaging or dangerous that it must be dealt with immediately?
Considering
that, in 2011, two unauthorised UVF murals were newly painted on the Newtonards
Road, and the reporting in the local media, right down to the condemnation from
local people and politicians, was nearly identical to this recent story, I
believe that we can safely draw the conclusion that, no- no one is sure what to
do, who should do it or if anything particularly needs to be immediately done.
Make
no mistake; there are official actions that could be taken. When you consider that
a mural in memory of the late DJ John Peel, featuring a lyric from ‘Teenage
Kicks’ by the Undertones, was unceremoniously- to the outrage of many- removed from
a city centre overpass by the Department for Social Development (DSD) in June,
we know that local government does indeed feel itself able to take action
against public displays that it deems not to be in the public interest. This
should lead us to ask, will the DSD take such action against this new mural, or
the ones on the Lower Newtonards Road, and if not, why not?
As
a reconciliation activist, I believe that this new mural- particularly because
of where it is, what it displays and when it was painted- does real damage to
us all. At this stage in Northern Ireland’s process away from civil conflict
and toward some form of transformed, shared society, the ugly reality that
illegal armies can still - with impunity- publicly advertise in many areas of
Northern Ireland their might, their power and their determination to, if
pushed, commit acts of violence against local people and law enforcement- should
be worrying to us all. Every one of these new displays, as well as all of the actions, disorders or illegal events,
no matter how isolated, damages the chances of any semblance of a shared
future. Each one is like a cigarette inhaled into deeply damaged lungs- and we’ll
never know which cigarette tipped our condition over into being inoperable.
The question for me as both a theologian and a reconciliation
activist comes down to, what do we do? What is the role of the people,
particularly the people of faith? Do they have any role to play, any action to
take?
The vision of Christianity that inspires me most is the
radical strain that runs through its history- the radical, nonviolent reflection
and direct action of Tolstoy, Bonheoffer, the Catholic Worker movement, the
Ploughshares movement, Quaker activists, Dr. Martin Luther King, Archbishop
Oscar Romero, Solentiname and the Base Christian Communities under the
oppressive regimes of Central and South America. These groups and individuals,
at great personal risk- and personal loss- pointed to a Christian vision of
witness and resistance against fear, intimidation, oppression and violence.
They declared that the Kingdom of God was among us, in the person of Christ
made flesh by his church.
Now, regardless of the personal bravery and vision of
several key individuals and groups during Northern Ireland’s civil conflict, any
fair assessment of the churches in Ireland and Northern Ireland will show that
this type of reflection and action was not be found in any large quantities;
it’s in even shorter supply since the ceasefires and thereafter. Church
attendance continues to dwindle and the churches’ strong, vocal stand against
violence has not helped them overcome their embedded place in Northern
Ireland’s vast sectarian social construct, nor have they been particularly creatively dedicated to transcending it. So, I am not naive or ill-informed
to such a degree to think that radical, grassroots social activism is about to
burst forth from Ireland’s ecclesial structures.
Still, visions must be spoken out loud.
At the very least, could the Christians of Belfast- across the
denominations- inundate Belfast City Council and the Department of Social
Development with letters, phone calls, emails, tweets and Facebook pages,
demanding they take action against this mural? Four simple words, over and over:
‘In God’s name, PAINT!’
Or, much further out on the edge, could a dedicated number
of Christians in Belfast- clergy, laypeople, men, women and children from all
denominations- after earnest reflection, planning, organising and prayer, be willing
to vigil in front of this new mural, for an hour a day? What if local
Christians in their hundreds showed up with paint and rollers and took direct
action against the mural? Would our politicians and the PSNI guarantee their safety, both
on the day of the action and afterwards? Having lived for many years in areas of
Belfast where the police often did not respond to calls for help or assistance
in the face of intimidation and threat- and when they did, it might be an hour
or so later, with very little support given- I have my own doubts. But if political
representatives and law-enforcement were indeed unable or unwilling to guarantee
the safety of local people taking action in their own area against
intimidating and threatening symbols, that opens up serious questions regarding our
democracy and our rule of law.
Wherever our reflection and action take us, the people of faith must remember that the Gospel of Jesus will always be a Gospel of hope in the midst of a
hopeless situation.
It is crazy and unreasonable, out of the ordinary and
disrupting.
It is transformation of the status quo; it is new creations and
all things made new.
It is the people of God, full of love, courage and the Holy
Spirit.
It might be a dozen tins of paint. It is most certainly the
people of faith- publicly united together in love, courage, determination and
joy.
It could be the Good News for which many in Belfast wait...
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