Hands across my personal divide

Casey and I went into the Nerve Centre on Tuesday knowing that we would spend a good amount of time shooting video out in the world. Actually, we started off doing the same things we did last week. The computer work was tedious, but we got it done. Then Brendan started to drive us around for our video shoot as he did last Thursday. Cara joined us with her video equipment to get footage for her personal project as well. With all of us carrying around our different equipment, we looked like the production team for a major blockbuster. First we went to the “Hands Across the Divide” statue in Derry, then to Grianan, a 2000-year-old circular structure, and finished at the Craigan cemetery.

Without any direct interaction with people who are passionate about the Troubles, I have only been able to draw unsophisticated conclusions so far. In one of our first lectures we heard two members of React, NW express their views on hope for democracy in the future through voices electrified with dismay for the present conflict. Then on Monday we took tours of sectarian murals in Belfast, one led by a former IRA prisoner and the other led by a former Loyalist prisoner. I actually can feel these extreme experiences trying to shape my study in Northern Ireland. However, I’m beginning to feel that the program doesn’t address the neutrality that I find in my personal travels around Derry. Sectarianism was definitely more obvious during our day in Belfast but since we have been stationed in Derry, it hasn’t been too hard for me to find examples of apathetic people or even peace-loving neutrals.

The Hands Across the Divide statue rests next to the old bridge that crosses over the River Foyle. It represents the two communities, Protestant and Catholic, reaching out over the river the walls. The hands aren’t exactly touching, which I think reflects the current state of affairs. You can imagine these two large stone figures embracing in the future, but at present, they are simply hesitantly extending their hands. I have seen this unconfirmed peace since I arrived in Northern Ireland. On the one hand, the Bucknell in Northern Ireland program introduced us to separate worlds consisting of Protestant or Catholic and the idea that neutrality does not exist, while my personal experience shows me that some people don’t care as much and don’t bother with sectarianism in their everyday life.


Research says that only a very small percentage of people in Northern Ireland associate themselves with neither religion. The statistics I’ve encountered suggest that at some point I will run into someone with classically one-sided views. To the contrary, the only times I’ve experienced any type of almost extreme views is during our already set up lectures. I know that the Nerve Center is a hub for gathering people from all views, and maybe this is contributing to my shielded view. One of the goals of the Nerve Center is to bring together Protestants and Catholics and help them forget their differences, I guess by skirting their ingrained tensions. I think this might contribute to my disconnect with the Troubles. While I am not encountering the dramatic experiences I expected, I think that what I’m seeing are valid observations.

I’m just now discovering that I can only blame myself for not finding stories of the conflict. I’m not reaching out and asking questions that will cut deep into the heart of the Troubles. At home, in Pittsford and in Lewisburg, I obsess over the peace I find in nature. I’ve noticed that I am continuing to revere nature before all else here as well (e.g. my reaction to Tory Island). Northern Ireland is the perfect place to see peace in nature, but its scenery does not mirror the cultural landscape by any means. I made this connection at Grianan, a summit from which you can see rolling hills and bodies of water in any direction, otherwise known as my personal paradise.

From now on I need to extract the psychological conflict that resides in an externally undisturbed countryside. I felt myself starting to do this a little bit when we visited the Craigan, a cemetery in one of the biggest Catholic housing projects. After episodes like that when Brendan could barely navigate to this famous landmark, I've given up on probing him for history on the Troubles. We were in a most spiritual place that holds so much history, but all I could do was appreciate "what meets the eye." I wanted to know personal stories and histories of the cemetery. Overall, Tuesday's shoot made me aware of the fact that I need to be more autonomous in my quests for knowledge on the Troubles. I can't rely on the contacts created for me by the program. In summary: so far I have only personally encountered middle-of-the-road views of the Troubles, but I know so much more exists out there. Right now I pledge to mimic Derry's famous statue: actively seek a wider spectrum of views and people's involvement in a continuously transforming peace process.

Honoring History

Upon entering the Café Nervosa on Tuesday, our third placement day, I ran into Mervin. He asked me how the weekend went, to which I didn’t know how to begin my response. The closest description I could formulate of my visit to Tory Island was a near spiritual rebirth. The small island (8 km across) with 125 inhabitants off the coast of Donegal seemed to have the perfect existence. My first impression was that successful poets must use landscapes like Tory Island’s to inspire their deepest inner explorations. The vast incline, almost desert-like, culminates in dramatic cliffs meeting the ocean with crashing waves. Looking back, I see that I can tie together so many aspects of my life right there on Tory Island, with all of my BUNI experiences fitting around it like pieces in a puzzle.
After my apparent display of enthusiasm, Mervin mentioned that the Nerve Centre had recently paired up with some kids on a movie featuring Tory Island. I was pleased that Mervin and I could connect over something outside of our immediate environment. The movie explores the revival of Séan Nos Nua music on Tory Island. It is an old type of music that passes from generation to generation through very informal instruction. However, just before the development of a secondary school on the island, youth interest in the traditional music started to fade. With the arrival of new technology on the island, educators started to couple modern tools with age-old Irish folk music. This technique sparked a new curiosity regarding Séan Nos Nua. I realize now that I have seen this theme of solidifying a basis for remembering one’s heritage many times.

In the lobby of the Nerve Centre there is a Digital Video Archive that was recently compiled to unite a century’s worth of footage filmed in Northern Ireland. It highlights different eras but noticeably it does not focus on any specific aspect of the Troubles (the main purpose of our course), which is something I have been struggling with during my placement at the Nerve Centre (addressed in my next post). This treasury of video stories acts as a tribute to the dynamic history of Northern Ireland. We sorted through videos ranging from an early 20th century circus visit to modern feature length films. Searching beyond my placement, I found another example of logging the past in our lecture on Belfast murals at Belfast Exposed.

On Monday morning, during our first trip to Belfast, Bill Rolston walked us through the history of murals in Northern Ireland. He surprised me in saying that no one before him decided to formally document the mural scene throughout the country. Specific murals have come and gone over the past century, but the tradition is still as strong and seemingly as effective today as when it started. Rolston described the tension between the prevalence of Protestant paramilitary paintings and the more sweeping themes of Catholic ones. Without his mural anthologies and analyses, I would not have realized the significance of changing the faces of walls. Rolston showed us a chronology through different movements and international influences that could only be recognized when comparing murals from different time periods.

Even though the story on Tory Island’s music culture revolves around a town in the Republic of Ireland that does not happen to be plagued by sectarian conflict, I decided to draw parallels anyway. This movie opened my eyes to the current passion for commemorating the past in modes other than sectarian memorials. Prior to watching it, I felt little connection to the Nerve Centre other than recognizing its relevance to my grade. After, I realized that I have the opportunity to be a part of an organization that is leading not only this city and country but the entire island (Ireland) in memorializing its past. I’m hoping to extend this principle of commemoration to our final video project in which we will highlight the impression Northern Ireland made on us as well as the footprints we left in Northern Ireland.

My thoughts up to Sunday, May 18: Northern Ireland is a cold, gray place with its peoples carrying the same description. Monday: uh no, not at all. After barely settling in right next to the River Foyle, we toured the walled city. My original dreams of lush scenery were more than satisfied on the warm, sunny Monday morning. Even though we’ve been concentrating on the sectarian conflict that has plagued the country during the past, Tour Guide Martin insisted that the past twelve months have seen a new, peaceful light. It was the first time I’d heard this, but throughout the first day I heard it again and again. The combination of the great weather, a newfound energy grace à espresso, and Martin’s cheerful tales, my first impression of Derry led me towards a serious optimism for everything to come.


After a long sleep Casey and I first set out for the Nerve Center on Tuesday morning. The trek should have been 15-20 minutes, but after journeying around the Bogside, marching up the 20% grade hill to the wall, and making loops around the city centre, we finally made it in 35 minutes. Our first day and a half mirrored my experience with the pre-session BUNI video project: we didn’t have a specific goal and oh were we plagued with technological hindrances. Even so, our mentor Brendan and the director Mervin (a wizard [read Merlin] and magical problem solver), tried to help us develop a plan. It was hard for me, confined within the 65 square foot computer room, to see how any of this could enhance my knowledge and personal experience regarding the current state of the troubles. The only two people I encountered, Brendan and Mervin, stuck to the business of Final Cut and video production tips… it didn’t seem like they were ready to delve into the serious issues that have tormented Northern Ireland forever.

Our second afternoon (Thursday), probably could not have been any more drastically different than our previous experiences. Seriously – if Tuesday was Food Lion, Thursday was Wegmans. Finally my bright cheeriness from the first day returned. Mervin gathered up a load of video equipment and sent us out into the surrounding world. We decided to take advantage of the gadgets at the Nerve Center and create a final project highlighting the Bucknell in Northern Ireland program. To catch our first reflections on Derry and its famous neighborhood distinctions, Brendan drove us over to the Waterside. He had no idea how to navigate the streets of this neighborhood clad with red, white and blue. I was shocked at his subtle admission to the blatant neighborhood segregation. Even though Brendan lives out in the country, he still comes into Derry most days of the week to go to the Nerve Center and I guess I just expected he knew how to get around everywhere. We were literally a ½ mile away from the bridge over the River Foyle, but the residents apparently remain worlds apart.


After I asked Brendan to share his thoughts on the issue, he responded, “Ay, I have opinions.” That was it – but at that moment I felt our communication lines opening up. I think Casey could sense this loosening up too, as she and Brendan joked about her eagerness to snap photos of our chauffeur. It took a little bit of initial discomfort for us to learn so much more than we expected about the other side of the river. Historically Protestants have been the “superior” group, holding a majority of power and with the crown on their side. However, my first impression of the Waterside neighborhoods was that it is a desolate, less lively community. Next we set up our video equipment in the Catholic neighborhood, Top of the Hill. I found it hard to imagine that our breathtaking view of the river was obstructed by British fortifications only one year ago. This is a place where strong tension still exists and violence has continued over the past twelve months, an otherwise peaceful time. This was another eye-opening piece of information, considering that I had neither heard of this neighborhood nor heard of recent acts of aggression. I was happy we were hearing this grimacing information from Brendan, such a fun-loving guy. His fun, colorful spirit brought out an inner-sunshine on our first rainy day.

Destination: Derry

Our journey (second star to the right and straight on till morning...) is only 45 hours away.  It's been exciting (and tiring) getting everything packed and together.  Tomorrow morning I'm off to New Jersey to spend my last two full days in the US and then finally the moment we have been preparing for will arrive!