Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TEAR DOWN THE WALLS
Communities lead the call for removal of interface barriers
CALLS were made last night for the Peace Walls at interface areas to come down.
A new survey has revealed 76% of people living in Belfast communities divided by the lines are strongly in favour of their removal.
Paddy Harte, of International Fund For Ireland, said: “Twenty-one years after the Good Friday Agreement, more than 100 barriers remain as visible signs of community segregation.
“This is preventing much-needed progress for those most impacted by the conflict.”
Yesterday both Alliance and the SDLP said it is time to bring the walls down.
RESIDENTS who live by the Peace Walls say they are an outdated symbol of division and conflict and should be torn down.
A survey shows more than three-quarters of people in the interface areas of Belfast want the barriers removed.
Findings from the survey by International Fund For Ireland indicate a steady increase in inter-community engagement on either side since 2017.
This is said to be key to building the confidence necessary to consider future barrier removal or changes at interfaces.
Around 100 walls now divide Catholic and Protestant communities in the city and ironically, most have been built in since the Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago.
While the Catholic, nationalist and republican community favours change sooner, both sections of the religious and political divide want to see barrier removal within the next generation.
Communities in these areas experience high levels of multiple deprivation and are also conscious of the stigma associated with living near interfaces.
They strongly believe now is the time to break down negative perceptions through investment in regeneration, employment opportunities while addressing housing need and creating community facilities for all.
The survey also revealed a worrying rise in anti-social behaviour and arranged fights at interfaces.
While rarely of a sectarian nature it negatively impacts on work around wall removal as they are still viewed by some residents as a security protection.
Paddy Harte, International Fund For Ireland Chairman said: “Twenty-one years after the Good Friday Agreement, more than 100 barriers remain as visible signs of community segregation.
“This is preventing much-needed progress for those most impacted by the conflict and who have benefited little from peace dividend.
“The IFI Peace Walls Programme is working hard at local level to break down the mental barriers and stigma around interface barriers, encouraging community engagement and dialogue while tackling fears, tensions and divisions.
“Much more can be done to benefit these communities with a greater collaborative effort across agencies to deliver local regeneration leading to reconciliation and enhanced opportunities.”
Yesterday both Alliance and the SDLP said it is time to bring the walls down.
Alliance’s Nuala Mcallister added: “Work needs to continue to bring down more interface barriers and create the conditions where more people can see the benefits of their removal.
“This is especially vital in North Belfast, which has more than any other
We need to create a society where people can live together withourt walls and barriers PAUL DOHERTY SDLP BELFAST YESTERDAY
area. I know some of those living nearby still feel there is something to fear and sometimes even an attachment to them but the damage they cause to the health of residents and the economic wellbeing of the nearby area is well documented.
“Many people work hard to see the barriers removed and we all need to tackle the problem head-on together if we are to create a Belfast where people can live, learn, work and play together.”
Paul Doherty from the SDLP said in 2019, “we should be building bridges, not walls”. He added: “Since the Good Friday Agreement, the fact we still have so-called peace walls dividing our communities is a depressing reality, and indictment of political instability.
“As a West Belfast representative, I work on both sides of these walls and it is clear the people living within these communities have been left behind.
“Instead of the vision laid out in the Good Friday Agreement, of reconciliation, tolerance and mutual trust, we have seen these areas become a tourist attraction rather than an achievement of the peace process.
“In September, I stood with people from the Falls and Shankill in memory of suicide victims and they stood as one.
“We need to create a society where people can live together, without walls and barriers and fulfil the vision laid out by people like John Hume.”
The DUP, Sinn Fein and the UUP did not respond to our request for a comment.