Are community relations really getting worse? Young people have their say
■ NI politicians are blamed for raising tensions ■ But young say situation is not getting worse
FEWER people believe community relations in Northern Ireland are improving — but what do our young people really think?
A report this week painted a worrying picture of the future, with less than half our young people feeling relations have got better in the past five years.
The Northern Ireland Good Relations Indicator showed that the proportion of young people who believe relationships have improved fell from 52% to 46%.
But what is to blame for the decline? And on the streets do young people feel the situation is getting worse?
Yesterday we took to Belfast city centre to find out.
The answer to the first question is all too clear. The main responsibility lies with our politicians.
The answer to the second seems to be “no” but that our politicians are threatening to undermine 20 years of reconciliation by petty feuds and the embarrassing inability to form a government.
Reid Donaldson, a 20-yearold optical assistant from Donacloney, Co Down, said: “Community relations are not getting worse in my experience but what I do see now is a lot of talk about culture. It stirs people up in a way this country doesn’t need.” His friend Hanna Maguire (19), also from Donacloney, said she has noticed a difference between school life and her new student life at Queen’s University.
“We’re both from an integrated education background and perhaps that has helped our outlook. Now I’m at Queen’s I’ve noticed young people are more engaged in politics and there are going to be different views. Topics like Brexit haven’t helped, by putting border issues into the limelight.”
Daryl Young (28), from Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, and currently
unemployed, said there are more important things to be focusing on. “There’s been a negativity about Northern Ireland these past couple of years and that’s down to our politicians not working for the people,” he said.
Michael Smyth (30), from Loughinisland, Co Down, has watched community relations develop through his links with Belfast-based martial arts club SGB and doesn’t want to see the years of progress undermined.
“The club’s young people there are just that — young people, not Protestant or Catholic,” he said.
“I have friends from a different religion, a different culture, who vote for a different political party, but to me, and to the people I know, we’re friends.”
Lewis Teer (19) and Emily McCormick (17) feel there may be a difference depending on where young people were brought up.
“I’m from Portstewart,” said Emily.“ItwasaquiettownandI wouldn’t have seen any community tension at all.”
Lewis, from Cliftonville, north Belfast, said relations are still not how they should be, adding: “Yes, there are still areas where community relations are bad
around the city, but they’re definitely getting better.”
Ballymena friends Daniel Buick and Jane Kyle are both 18. Daniel said: “Where we
both lived, we would have been classed as being in a minority, but I’d like to think that hasn’t influenced my friendships.”
Jane added: “Perhaps the fact
nothing changing at the top of our country is why there’s a negative reaction further down.
“Division keeps politicians in a job.”