This is the photograph of widower, Evelyn McDaid, of County Derry, Northern Ireland.
She is a widower because her 49 year old husband and father of four was beaten to death by a gang of sectarian rivals last week.
She is bruised and battered in the photograph because she tried to stand in the way.
I’m not using this photo to be sensational, I just want to ask the simple question: is this the face of peace?
I don’t think so.
In many ways, Northern Ireland has been treated as a success story for conflict resolution for a long time now, but anyone who has been on the ground (or even remotely gleaning the headlines) will know that this is a highly deceptive norm. Sure, the car bombs are more infrequent now, but you still have to be wary about where you get a drink – it’s still a dangerous place. Murder and arson continue to make the news daily and the perpetrators almost always carry some Catholic or Protestant affiliation that unquestionably explains their case.
The fact that the violence is always sectarian is an irritating qualifier for a country that is supposedly committed to peace, but it is not disconcerting. It is to be expected in a nation recovering from civil strife; political and personal grievances do not disappear overnight. What is disturbing, however, is the second qualifier in these acts of violence tends to be a relative youth in age.
Northern Ireland might be at peace on paper, but paramilitaries continue to target youth to keep their organizations moving on a smaller scale and with a consistently stagnant economy, inadequate education, and lack of opportunity in Northern Ireland – young people make easy prey.
The good news is there are also organizations in place combating this pervasive paramilitary presence. They do so by giving youth a voice that is respected and an avenue to engage in their newly-reinstated government in a way that will foster actual change. One of my favorites is Public Achievement, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Public Achievement is an organization founded on the commitment to build a democratic community through a civic youth work model, particularly in regions of former conflict. Their work involves developing positive activities for young people, working to improve the relationship between adults and young people and to strengthen positive interactions with the police and other community figures. These tasks are extremely relevant to Northern Ireland as it is a region characterized by high unemployment, significant distrust of the police, and prevalent drug and alcohol abuse.
Public Achievement’s most recent project is called WIMPS or Where is My Public Servant? It is a participation tool for young people to use while on the internet that provides them with a way to connect to their public servants and with a wealth of information on the progress and culture in Northern Ireland. The WIMPS mobile is a media-equipped van that travels around Northern Ireland to create hot seat interviews with Northern Ireland politicians (led by youth), report on news, and give a voice to the ideas and opinions of young people.
Take a look at their website and the interviews so far – aside from their accents being so endearing – you also have to be impressed with all that these under-18ers are capable of doing! The face of peace isn’t Gerry Adams, Iain Paisley,George Mitchell or any other politician-turned-peacemaker. It isn’t the face of Evelyn McDaid either. I think Public Achievement has it figured out best…the face of peace is youth and progress.
Public Achievement
- Public Achievement is an organization founded on the commitment to build a democratic community through a civic youth work model, particularly in regions of former conflict.
- Organization Type: Non-Profit
- Website: www.publicachievement.com
- Founder(s): Paul Smyth
- Founded: 1999
- Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
- See complete company list here
Contributor Profile: Ashley
Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth
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