I have learned so much about the Troubles, that the names of the people and places come so naturally to me. As I was preparing the next few posts, I realized that some of my reader may not be familiar with some of the terms I use. Therefore I wanted to give you my working definitions of some key words when talking about the Troubles. I say working definitions, because my knowledge is still limited and I am constantly learning new dimensions to the Troubles as I meet and talk with more people.
P.S. If you make it through all the heavy definitions, you will be rewarded with my reflection on the growing grayness of identity.
The Troubles: A political conflict that took place from 1969 to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. While it was a political conflict, those with a shared political ideology also often had a shared religion. And. unfortunately, religious symbolism was often incorporated into the conflict and strong prejudices have been cultivated between Catholics and Protestants.
Sectarianism: Is a bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences within a larger group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, or political ideologies.
The IRA (Irish Republican Army): A highly politicized, Catholic paramilitary group, that took up arms against the British army, police force, and pro-British paramilitary groups during the Troubles. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, evidence has been confirmed the alleged collusion between the British army, police and paramilitary groups. As a result the IRA took it upon themselves to protect the Irish Catholic people, using whatever means necessary. The IRA also fought for equality for Catholics and for a united Ireland, an Ireland without any British rule/government. The leaders of the IRA officially called a crease fire upon the signing the Good Friday agreement.
Republicans: Are people, almost exlusively Catholic, who strongly identify as Irish and oppose British rule, oppression of the Irish people, and strive to bring about a united Ireland. During the troubles, many Republicans would have been volunteers of the IRA. Today Republicans remain a strong political presence in all of Ireland through the Sinn Féin party. Thanks to good leadership, while republicans still hold very intense political views, most are very supportive of the peace process. There is a small minority of Republican who oppose the peace process and engage in sectarian violence, those people are called the dissident Republicans and are members of different dissident paramilitary groups.
Nationalists: A typically Catholic group of people who identify with they Irish heritage and would support the more moderate Socialist Democratic Labour Party (SDLP). .During the Troubles, the IRA would have protected nationalist communities. Today the safety and interest of these communities is looked after by both Sinn Féin and SDLP.
The UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force)/UDA (Ulster Defense Assoication)/UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters): Are Protestant, anti-Catholic paramilitary groups. These groups seek to protect British rule, government and culture through violent meanings. As mentioned before many of these paramilitary groups were in collusion with the British Army and police force. There is still the presence of the UVF and other protestant paramilitary groups. One of the currently problems facing these groups is differing priorities and different understandings of identity and purpose, causing many internal feuds. For more information see the BBC's more detailed descriptions of these (and other) paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.
Loyalists: A group, almost exclusively Protestant, who oppose to a united Ireland. Most loyalists support upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom. A large majority of loyalists would find themselves in the working class and are willing to use violence to fight or "Queen and country" or tacitly support such violence, either today or in the past.
Unionists: Refers to a typically Protestant groups with holds a political ideology in favor of the continuation of some form of political union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. In addition to preserving a political union, unionist also strongly promote British culture and symbols. Most Unionists would be in middle or upper socio-economics groups.
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC): Was the police force in Northern Ireland until it was dissolved in 2001 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was established. The RUC was a pro-unionist police service that has received much criticism over their treatment of Irish nationalist and republicans and its loyalist collusion. The B-specials were a reserve policing group that was particular aggressive towards Catholics and was as seen as a Protestant Army. For more information of the RUC and B Specials, see the information given by the BBC.
Protestant Political Parties: Over the years many different Protestant political parties emerged to protect and promote the interest of the Protestant people. The most popular party being the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) followed by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) for a complete list of all political parties in Northern Ireland, click here.
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They say that time heals all things, and I tend to agree. During a period of conflict it is very easy to identify yourself. The "us verse them" mentality helps gives people a easy (and in my opinion, unhealthy) sense of self. When the conflict ends, once the threat of the "other" subsides, and after the wind blurs the line in the sand, you are left with the haunting question of "Who am I?" And, this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
The bad manifests itself when people struggle with finding a positive identity. The most recent example of this has resulting in the current Flag Protest, which I will address in more detail later. Its important to remember that the flag is the par excellence symbol of British-ness, and Belfast Council's decision to restrict the number of days the Union Flag is flown has greatly upset many people because its seen as an attack on British-ness. Fact or Fiction, it is a very prominent feeling here. But the sad part is, when you hear interviews of the young protesters they are unable to answer the question "What does British-ness mean to you?" They don't know who they are, they just know things are changing, they don't like it, and their response in civil unrest and in a few more extreme cases, attacking nationalist communities.
But, within the grayness of identity, I also see glimmers of hope. With the old identities no longer cast in stone, some people are able to find flexibility in terminology. When the Olympics were on the summer I ask a friend of mine what country she was supporting. She told me she was rooting for the British athletes and the Irish ones. She then explained to me that she holds both an Irish passport and a British passport, which makes her both British and Irish. You would not have heard this explanation 20 years, okay maybe even 10 years, ago. Off course not everyone changes at the same pace, and within some prejudiced have be planted very deep, but change for the better is happening. Another example of this positive change is the new terminology and ways to describe identity have emerged. According to the 2011 Census (see page 15), the term Northern Irish has emerged and is growing in popularity.
Time heals all things. As more time passes, I pray that people continue to explore the questions of "Who am I?" This isn't a call to do away with terms like nationalist, republican, loyalist or unionist, but desire see identify is a more expansive and inclusive way. I pray that people can begin to discover positive ways of understanding and expressing themselves and as a result people can engage the peace-process with more energy.
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