From Naomi - Northern Ireland Day 2

I didn’t really know much about the conflict in Northern Ireland before today, so today’s session was really insightful and eye opening for me.

The morning started with a few talks on the history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, the struggles with equality, and we learnt a little about what the YMCA is doing to bring the different communities together through youth work and outreach programmes.

We then went to Londonderry YMCA and met their General Secretary Willie Lamrock , two of their youth workers and a few of the young people that attend the youth clubs. It was lovely to see and hear about the work they do to unite communities.

We then headed into the walled city where Willie gave us a walking tour around the walls of Derry Londonderry. Earlier in the day we had talked about the so called “Peace Walls” that divide the communities to stop violence, on the tour we got to see them for the first time (for most of us). We could clearly see which parts of the city were dominated by which communities, and I found it quite shocking as I had no idea this conflict and divide was still happening.

Conflict and divide in communities is a big issue in so many different countries and I feel as though it is not talked about enough in England. A lot of us are not knowledgeable about more recent history or current affairs, is this down to lack of interest or lack of education? Maybe the two fall in together. Im going to go back to my YMCA to see if we discuss history or current affairs with the young people we interact with, and if not, how we can bring these discussions into our work.

I am looking forward to the rest of the week, and learning new things everyday.