Antisectarianism

Antisectarianism in the Northern Ireland context is positive action to overcome sectarianism and sectarian divisions. Nonsectarianism is not ignoring sectarian divisions but deliberately treating everyone the same and avoiding, as far as possible, thinking in sectarian terms. Of course in the North awareness of ‘who is what’, what foot people kick with, is difficult to avoid and most people will have grown up with that awareness imbibed with their mother’s milk – this is almost literally true as surveys have shown even young children may be aware of the otherness of people across the main divide.

Antisectarianism and even nonsectarianism were often brave choices during the Troubles (and before) when expectations could be to stick to and support only your own perceived side or tribe. There are those who suffered physically or through ostracism because they were seen to be friendly to the other side. Although it is different, there was also bravery in the face of violence or the threat of violence, a prominent example is 15 year old Stephen Parker who sacrificed his life in 1972 trying to warn people about the bomb which killed him. Less bravery is required today in most circles in Northern Ireland, not all, but it still requires determination, and the blurring of some old divides does not mean they have disappeared. Other examples include those who painted out sectarian graffiti or who tried to assist at risk neighbours who were of the opposing ‘community’.

There are all sorts of assumptions made about ‘the other’ still, and the corollary is that all sorts of assumptions are made about ‘our kind’, and breaking out of that straitjacket can be a difficult task. Difficulties in deciding what is ‘sectarian’ come mainly from the overlap between religious-community (‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’) identity and cultural and political identity. In terms of voting strengths this is usually thought of these days as 40:40:20, i.e. 40% each identifying as Catholic/Nationalist/Republican or Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist, and 20% as ‘other’. Nationalism and unionism are legitimate political identities and it is unfair that anyone should be castigated for simply supporting either. But scratch at any of the three categories mentioned and you will find considerable diversity, and many of the 20% ‘others’ may still carry not just some beliefs from their background but some prejudices as well.

Norn Iron is certainly a long way from being there. Even people who think of themselves as nonsectarian may be far from that because they have never seriously examined their assumptions and carry prejudices with them.

One of the tasks which INNATE has sought to champion (largely unsuccessfully we might add) is telling the story of those people in civic society who did work for peace and nonsectarianism during the Troubles. A few of those stories have been told including some aspects of work by the churches and something like the, very significant, input of the Women’s Coalition to the Good Friday Agreement. The story of the Peace People is ‘known’, often with mistaken assumptions of one kind or another, but the story of other peace and reconciliation groups is not known. INNATE’s contribution in this area consists of some chronicling on our photo and documentation site https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland and a listing of peace groups https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Irish-peace-groups-listing-2024.08.pdf – though this latter includes groups all over Ireland and ones focused on peace internationally as well, over a longer time frame.

This work is not just for the purpose of giving credit where credit is due but also to show that there were people trying to provide alternatives and that republican, loyalist and state narratives that they had ‘no choice’ to the actions they took are simply untrue. It may be true that they did not see a choice, it may also be true that some did not look too hard. But the fact is there were alternatives which they did not, perhaps even could not, explore because of their belief systems and conviction in the power of violence. Of course those violent responses took Northern Ireland deeper into the mire and engendered violent responses from the other sides (of the three broad entities mentioned above – republicanism, loyalism and state). However INNATE’s stand has been it is pointless to be condemning violence in any situation without showing the possibilities of nonviolent alternatives; the old Troubles slogan coming from some conservatives to ‘root out the men of violence’ was counter-productive.

However occasionally we can stumble across amazing stories which we are unaware about in antisectarian action. The Books “Q&A” with children’s writer Martin Waddell in The Irish Times of 23^rd November 2024 had one such story. Well into the interview, the interviewer, Martin Doyle said “The Troubles had a big impact on you” and Martin Waddell replied: “I had been keeping my eye on the small Catholic church in Donaghadee as there had been attempts to burn it. I saw some youths running out and laughing, and I went to check. I saw a thing like a wasp’s nest and that’s the last thing I remember.”

He continued “I was told that if I’d been six inches forward or six inches back, there wouldn’t have been a body. Apparently some sort of vacuum forms when there’s an explosion. The bomb went up and the church came down on top of me. Luckily somebody had seen me go in, otherwise I’d have just been buried. I had a big slice across my neck, but nothing vital, and was sliced across the right arm, my eardrums were burst, but I was more or less wrecked. Remember, I’d made the breakthrough, I’m now a professional writer but when I got blown up, I was no longer fit to do that. I lost several years.”

Obviously Martin Waddell did not know he was risking his life when he went to check on a church from across the main divide from him in the North. But he did. And the above was his matter of fact account of it with an extremely close shave with death and major personal repercussions. But it was a significant antisectarian action which deserves to be remembered.

There are many, many more stories of people’s bravery in standing up for antisectarianism and peace. But it needs work to uncover them before those involved die. And that work is needed to show that there were people who stood up for peace and antisectarianism throughout the Troubles, often in very difficult circumstances.

Tiocfaidh ar lá

Usually translated as ‘Our day will come’, this Irish Troubles era republican slogan could be adapted for peace purposes. While there are debates as to its linguistic appropriateness in Irish, the meaning is clear; our aims will be achieved. So long as it is removed from its previous context, and not understood in a triumphalist way, there is nothing wrong with it as a slogan. It is difficult to be optimistic in relation to peace in the world today when wars are seen as a method of resolving policy and when demagogic and xenophobic nationalism are so rampant.

We may plough on regardless, trying to build a better, more peaceful and just world when things are going to hell in a handcart, not least on global heating (where the ‘hell in a handcart’ metaphor is indeed appropriate). But how can we sustain activism when all around seems to be going in the Wrong Direction?

There are a number of answers to this and they exist on both micro and macro levels. It may be somewhat simplistic to list them in such a short form here, but needs must.

The first point, at a personal level, is to draw on our philosophical and/or religious beliefs and roots, and our reading of the past and history – which moves us quickly from the micro to the macro. We know from experience that, collectively, ‘peace through military strength’ is a recipe for disaster. Some people might well say, “Military strength was needed to defeat Hitler” but where did Adolf Hitler come from, what was the scenario from which he emerged? The answer, in longer term analysis, is surely from the mayhem caused by clashing imperialisms and war. Nationalism, antisemitism, and xenophobia were undoubtedly factors in Hitler’s immediate path to power but without that background of war, victory and defeat, his emergence would have been unlikely or impossible.

The ‘lifestyle’ precepts of both humanism and virtually all religions are in tune with ‘the Golden Rule’ – treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. People often play lip service to a humanistic or religious belief but avoid the very real implications. Killing people or treating them unjustly is not treating others as you would like to be treated.

There is of course always a danger in feeling we are right and everyone else is wrong; we may well have the right analysis of a situation but if we enter a tunnel of self-reinforcement, e.g. rejection coming to indicate we are on the right track, then there is a danger of self delusion. We always need to be analysing the appropriateness of our own analysis and actions. However it is also quite possible that we are part of a small band who have a clear and correct analysis of a situation; that after all, is how change can happen – a small bunch of people, perhaps seen as fanatics or dissidents start a ball rolling which gathers momentum. The kind of understanding shown in the Bill Moyer ‘Movement Action Plan’ outline of stages a successful social movement goes through is important in this context; the Peace People in Northern Ireland in 1976 is an exception to this rule in that it started large and then got smaller. See e.g. https://commonslibrary.org/resource-bill-moyers-movement-action-plan/

We personally also need to understand the power and possibilities of nonviolence. The ‘peaceful option’ is often quickly dismissed as impractical but there are many struggles, and the research by Sharp and by Chenoweth and Stephan (for example), which show it to be a strong and viable response to injustice and tyranny.

We should also not underestimate the power of individual, or small scale, witness. We have to be true to ourselves and our beliefs. However just as most businesses that are set up do not succeed, so most peace witness may not be particularly successful either, but if we not not try then we cannot be even moderately successful. If we sow seeds we may not be aware of where they grow or when they grow. We can stand up and not be counted. We can face clever and sustained opposition and the ignoring of our claims – the Irish establishment and media denial of changes to international neutrality is such an example where the response is always ‘things haven’t changed, nothing to see here’ when things are changing, slowly but surely, in a more negative and militarist direction.

But we can have small victories, and aiming for intermediate or even immediate goals which are very achievable, even if they are small, is important. In relation to Irish neutrality, the successful civil society challenge to the government’s “Consultative Forum on International Security Policy” and its legitimacy in 2023 was a small but significant spanner in the works for moving at that point to undo the Triple Lock on the deployment of Irish troops overseas. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72177720309217408/ Celebrating our successes is something we may not be good at but needs done so that we, and others, can see that change is possible.

The world goes through phases of tension and détente, of conservatism and relative liberalism, and similar patterns can re-assert themselves in different eras, e.g. conflict between Russia and parts of western Europe. We are currently in a phase of tension and conflict with uncritical official responses to this. This will change and indeed has to change if humanity is to survive.

There can also be some success comes from unlikely or unintended sources. An example is the fact that Donald Trump, despite his threats over Panama, Greenland (and Canada!) and despite his MAGS ‘manifest destiny’ bluster may be less likely to engage in or support war than most other US presidents. Obviously with Trump nothing can be taken for granted so this is a possibility rather than a certainty and how the Russia-Ukraine war will proceed, or end, without US support for Ukraine remains to be seen. But despite early Ukrainian successes it should have been obvious to have had an early resolution – which was possible through negotiation in the early months of the war.

The coal Miners’ Strike in Britain in 1984-85 was a bitter industrial dispute where prime minister Margaret Thatcher was trying to break the trade unions, especially the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). She succeeded with lasting negative social and economic effects for those involved and their areas. The issue of carbon emissions was presumably not a concept to which Margaret Thatcher gave a moment’s thought but the closure of almost all coal mining in Britain led to a very considerable decrease in carbon emissions and thus a contribution to cutting global heating. ‘Events’ can have very divergent outcomes or repercussions, both negative and positive.

Pablo Neruda wrote about idealism and realism (in English translation) – “I love you, idealism and realism / like water and stone/ you are / parts of the world / light and root of the tree of life”. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/46318259912/in/album-72157609617432905 Without our idealism we are sunk; without our realism we are detached and living in fairy land. In grim times such as these we need to hold strong to our idealism and our ideals because we need to be the yeast that makes things rise to a better future, indeed a future at all. We wouldn’t advise you to go around shouting “Tiocfaidh ar lá” but our day will come in the sun – and with solar power.