Community Dialogue North Belfast
Introduction
North Belfast has borne the brunt of the conflict
over the past 30 years. Over 25% of murders between
1970 and 1994 have been within a mile of Cliftonville
Road. All our communities are suffering through
loss of loved ones, injuries, unemployment, segregation,
sectarian violence, shortage of housing, bad quality
housing, early death as a result of poverty, and
a host of other factors, all of which are wrecking
us.
This leaflet came from a series of
meetings between North Belfast community workers/volunteers.
We outline what we see as some of our key issues
and raise questions about them. But are these the
real issues? Are these the best questions? What
can we do about them? Only you can answer these
questions. So this leaflet is addressed to YOU.
1. Housing
Some Unionist perceptions
'We're shrinking, they're growing. As the number
of Catholics grow in North Belfast, Protestants
move out. Some Protestant estates have lost as
much as 200 homes in the last 20 years'.
'We're under siege and losing'.
'If you let one Catholic in a flood follows'.
'There's a hidden agenda to green the whole
of North Belfast'.
Some Nationalist perceptions
'Catholics need houses. Our numbers
are growing'.
'Once Catholics start moving
into a Protestant area they get attacked and have
to move out. It's ethnic cleansing'.
'Protestant estates are still
the same geographical size. They've just got better
houses with more open space, while we're crammed
into the same small space with more people. So
why are they complaining?'
'Our right to housing is being
made secondary to the Protestant desire for segregation'.
Questions
Do we want more houses, or more
space for kids to play in?
If more people owned their home
would less people move out?
Do we want to live in segregated
areas for ever?
2. Security and safety - shared
perceptions
'Fear is everywhere in North
Belfast. Parades, protests and feuds all raise
the temperature'.
'Social violence such as drugs,
killings, injuries from stolen cars, and attacks
on the elderly have got worse since the ceasefires.
Some areas are out of control'.
Paramilitaries:
'They're fighting turf wars and
they're the main drug dealers';
'They're right to act against
drug pushers they only act in response to community
pressure';
'At least they're from our community,
not like the police, and there's times we need
them'.
'Paramilitaries are accountable
to no one'.
Interface Areas
'People in interface areas -
and there are least thirty in North Belfast -
get it from both sides. And from outsiders who
move in to 'defend' them, and then disappear to
leave them to bear the brunt of the response'.
'Only those living on the interface
know what it's like to be attacked nightly in
the summer'.
'We're cooped up inside our few
streets all summer'.
'We need more neutral spaces
where we can mix safely'.
Young people
'Parents were brought up in the
Troubles, so sometimes they don't see what young
people do as violent; many parents have lost control'.
'Some youth crime comes from
boredom they want to get chased by the police.
Some of it is sectarian hatred, often based in
fear, ignorance or pain. A lot of youth violence
is within their own local areas, but it's often
the same ones who are involved in sectarian attacks'.
'Young people feel scapegoated
by politicians, paramilitaries and the community,
and no one is addressing our needs'.
Policing
'Lack of agreement about policing
makes things worse'.
'We've no choice except to turn
to paramilitaries to deal with social crime'.
'Getting new police won't solve
the problems. Social problems will still be there,
no matter what the police are like'.
