Should the Walls Come Tumbling Down?
Earlier this week I had a cup of tea with Trina Vargo of the US Ireland Alliance, the organisation which sends Mitchell scholars to universities north and south of the border. She is heavily involved in plans to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April next year. Her idea is to re-unite some of the key players from 1998 and hold a question and answer session in front of an audience of Mitchell scholars and young people from Northern Ireland.
Ms Vargo has also been canvassing whether there is an appetite in any of Belfast's interface areas for a section of the peace line to be pulled down at the time of the anniversary. She has visited a number of the areas and says that she has found that often local people are keener for the walls to come down than some of their political representatives.
So should the walls come down, or is April 2008 still too early for such a venture? And if not then, when? Are the walls vital for people's safety, or have they become a convenient crutch?
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My family home is on the so-called "peace line" in West Belfast. Whilst I may agree with the sentiment that people would rather not live in a divided society and see the walls removed, there has been no significant development in community relations for this to be realised within the next 20 years or so. Well meaning statements from OFMDFM and the rest of the Executive should be welcomed in tearing down stigma and prejudice, the reality on the ground differs from the ideal.
I look forward to the day when travelling between the Falls and Shankill is a matter of fact and is not subject to suspicion, secrecy and security gates, that day needs to arrive through education, trust and decisive leadership from Stormont.