NORTHERN IRELAND:
GENERATIONS OF CONFLICT, GENERATIONS OF HOPE

Joe Campbell is the Assistant Director of the Mediation Network for Northern Ireland, where he has worked for the past four years. Before this, he worked for with the YMCA of Northern Ireland. In this article, prepared from a telephone interview, Joe reflects on his years of working for peace in his home country of Northern Ireland.

For twelve years, I worked with young people, aged 15-25, in inner-city Belfast. These young people, both Catholic and Protestant, were mostly poor and unemployed. We did many things together: sailing, canoeing, hiking, and other recreation programs, and I learned to know many of them very deeply. However, many of them had different kinds of connections outside of the youth program, connections to the junior wings of various paramilitary organizations, Protestant and Catholic.

I found myself being drawn in further - visiting the young people in prison, working with the gangs, working on after-prison rehabilitation. I realized that I was working with the results of the violence in Northern Ireland, and I decided I needed to work with the structures of our society that cause and foster division. I now work for The Mediation Network engaging in long term peacebuilding through various programs.

Because Northern Ireland is such a small country, I continue to bump into people I have worked with through teaching and youth work. Some are doing well, and appreciate the time and effort that I spent with them. I meet people who are driving buses and doing other honest work. Some are now police officers whom I meet in the course of my current work. When I visit prisons, I meet some of the people I worked with and taught. If I meet a paramilitary leader, chances are that I know someone well who is very close to him. That's helpful in instilling confidence and acceptance.

These relationships are still very important. I feel deep connections with these people; in many cases, we've shared a wet tent in the mountains. Just yesterday, I went to a church for a mediation session and met a man holding a child. He's one of the people I worked with when he was a youth. He s a former prisoner, now deeply involved with the church.

Here we were,
family members from both sides of the conflict,
at a church to which none of us belonged,
praying together for peace in our country.
I found it very symbolic and moving.

Why do I do this kind of work? I need to go all the way back to my grandparents to answer this. My grandfather was Protestant; my grandmother Catholic. When they married in 1900, it was no easier then than now to cross that religious barrier. But they did, and they raised 11 children. The six men were raised Catholic; the five women Protestant. My mother is one of the women. So I have Protestant cousins and Catholic cousins.

I remember Good Friday 1998, the day the peace agreement was signed late in the evening. We all knew that things were coming to a head. The local Anglican Church asked people to come to pray early that morning for peace. That's not my church, but my wife and I went to join the prayers. As we were praying, five of my Catholic cousins slid in beside us. Here we were, family members from both sides of the conflict, at a church to which none of us belonged, praying together for peace in our country. I found it very symbolic and moving.

I'm doing this work for my children and their children. I want to hand my country over to my grandchildren in a better state than it is now. I'm also doing it looking back, in memory of my grandparents and with thanks to my parents who raised me with contacts and strong relationships on both sides.

I do have hope. I have hope because people can change. I've seen people change, both youth and adults. I've seen them change from a sectarian, bigoted position to one of inclusion and understanding. I've seen men who have done terrible things coming out of prison and working for peace and reconciliation. I've been inspired by women who have lost their husbands and sons but who have refused to be overtaken by bitterness, and who are working endless hours to bring about peace and reconciliation.

What gives me strength and keeps me going? I need to recognize the limits of my own ability. I need to attend to myself. I want to make a positive contribution to peace in Northern Ireland, but I need to remember I'm only one person. It's important for me to keep the rhythms of my life in balance. The work for peace is important, but that's not all of life. Life is bigger than work.

It's vital to me to stay aware of God's spirit. Daily quiet times and Bible reflections help me carry the spirit of Christ with me. These quiet, reflective times give me a bigger perspective than what I'm doing. The question becomes, what's God doing here in Northern Ireland? And what is God doing in me?

My family is very important. I m fortunate to have a good, healthy family. My family includes my wife and three children (young adults now), as well as my broader family. Recreation is also important -- sailing, teaching young people how to handle boats, gardening, doing things like woodwork with my hands. Last night I was doing some woodworking with a friend. It was nice to see results quickly; that doesn't happen when you're working with people. My wife and I are sponsors of a youth group at our church, so I'm spending several weekends in the mountains with them.

Getting away is also important; getting out of the country for a while. Holidays are important. The time I've spent at EMU has also been good. It has given me time for myself, time to reflect, and time with other people from situations of conflict who have similar experiences to mine. It has helped me to get my work into perspective.

In a long, protracted conflict like ours, the country is littered with people who were once active in peacebuilding, but are now angry, disillusioned, and bitter, who came to the work with a lot of enthusiasm and energy, but were unable to sustain it for the long haul. I need to make sure that doesn't happen to me.

It is important to distinguish the peace process from the political process. The political process is deadlocked now, but the peace process is continuing. It can't stay that way indefinitely. In many ways we're in an unsettled, undefined space right now. Northern Ireland is moving from being a segregated society to an integrated one, one that we hope will be inclusive and interdependent. We're in the middle now, and that makes the work more difficult. It's important to keep the long view, particularly in a period like the present.

Joe Campbell is currently working on his MA at CTP.