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Northern Ireland Troubles

Lars BevangerDecember 18, 2006

Decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland have left many victims from both sides emotionally scarred. The European Union is helping to fund support groups to heal those still suffering from this conflict.

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The country's armed conflict is ever-present in the Shankill Road area of BelfastImage: AP

In July 2005, the paramilitary organization Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced it was disbanding as a military group, paving the way for a lasting political solution to decades of civilian strife in Northern Ireland.

Protestant paramilitary organizations have followed suit. Now, politicians from both sides are trying to agree to a power-sharing assembly, which should be in place by March 2007.

But while guns and bombs have been silenced, the emotional wounds created by what has become known as "the Troubles" sometimes take longer to heal.

Mina Wardle wants to support the healing process. She has received funding from the European Union to run a stress and trauma center in Belfast's predominantly Protestant Shankill area. The money is used to offer counseling to those having a hard time coping with the after-effects of their experiences during the Troubles.

Help is open to everyone

Wardle said her own experiences as a victim of the conflict in Northern Ireland triggered the idea to set up the Shankill Stress and Trauma Group.

Häuserwand in Belfast
The Shankill is predominantly Protestant and unionistImage: TOBBTT

"I was left completely agoraphobic because of the conflict, at one stage even for seven months," she said. "I sat in the house and thought: if I felt like this, having an education, how do people feel who had nothing and didn't understand what was happening to them?"

Now, anyone with such problems can come to the group to get help -- for instance through a painting class.

"It makes you feel as if you're not by yourself," said Steven, who uses the center three times a week. He said it was easier to get through a personal crisis as a team rather than alone.

"When you come here, you're together with a whole lot of other people," Steven said. "They know what you're going through and they help you -- and you help them."

Religion is still a dividing line

This center is open to all -- Protestant as well as Catholic. Yet Northern Ireland is still a segregated place, and nowhere is it more visible than in West Belfast. This being Belfast's Protestant heartland, those from the other side of the divide find it difficult to attend the group.

In Catholic areas, they have their own projects like this, which also receive EU funding. Hillary Heinz teaches art across the community. She said this enabled her to bring both sides together in her classes.

"Perhaps there's an opportunity for a cross-community exhibition and cross-community work together in that field," Heinz said.

A new generation fuels new hope

In West Belfast, so-called peace lines separate Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods along certain roads. These separation barriers -- concrete walls up to 15 meters high -- are reminiscent of Berlin and Gaza.

Anschlag auf die katholischen Zwillinge Dean and Sean Fegan in Nord Belfast, Irland
Many children have also been traumatized by the conflictImage: AP

But many are confident even these physical divides will go, and people on both sides will learn to know each other, once again.

Perhaps the younger generation will mark a new future for Northern Ireland. Rebecca is an intern at the Shankill Stress and Trauma Group as part of a school work placement. In her mind, there is no reason tomorrow's Northern Ireland shouldn't be free from sectarianism. The 15-year-old said she was never consciously aware of her religion.

"It didn't really cross my mind, because everyone's human at the end of the day," Rebecca said. "There's no point in discriminating someone for their religion. Everyone's just human."

The Shankill Stress and Trauma Group is part of the some 425 million Euros ($564 million) of EU money allocated to help build a more peaceful and stable society in Northern Ireland. Another 890 million Euros goes to develop economic growth through social revitalization.

The EU funding for the center ended in 2006. But the EU has decided to launch a similar program, providing new funding until 2013, to help build and maintain peace in Northern Ireland.