Northern Ireland

3. Seeing, recognizing, or witnessing is an attribute that helps us better understand others as divine beings, as children of God. The Gospel Library also describes witnessing as “someone who gives such a statement or evidence based on personal knowledge; that is, someone who bears testimony.” In Mosiah 18: 8-9 we are called upon to be “willing to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places” What did you learn about the ways we can be better witnesses of humans, their stories, and of our God during your experiences in Northern Ireland? Share a small experience.

I think one way we can be better witnesses of humans and their stories is by truly being there to listen to their stories, and by trying our best to see any given story from as many perspectives as possible. During the Theater of Witness, I believe it was Fiona who talked about how sometimes Americans or other outsiders will come into a situation like the Troubles and think they know the best way to “fix” everything. I myself had an opinion about the Troubles when I went into Northern Ireland (despite knowing next to nothing about what actually happened), but I found that as I heard more individual stories and learned more about all of the various factors that contributed to the start and end of the Troubles, my personal opinion dwindled. I realized that it wasn’t fair for me to have an opinion about what “should” happen, because who am I to decide what’s best for the people of Northern Ireland? Even if I did supposedly have the “solution,” it wouldn’t matter because it isn’t my life; it isn’t my story. I think that the best way to become a good witness of humans is to understand their perspectives; not to go into a situation with the goal to “fix” it, but with a goal to understand. My experience in Northern Ireland taught me how important that understanding is. 

1. How did the stories of women and men in post-conflict Northern Ireland expand your understanding of justice and reconciliation?

Every time we started a tour, I was shocked by the fact that the people leading the tours were great friends and yet had been on opposite sides during the Troubles. It didn’t seem possible for people with such drastic differences in opinion to tolerate being around each other, much less choose to be friends. I was especially shocked because of the current political climate in the United States. I am used to people disliking and even hating one another because of differences in opinion. I myself have fallen victim to that mindset, choosing not to spend time with certain people if I knew they had different political opinions than me. Spending time in Northern Ireland made me realize that reconciliation doesn’t always mean that perfect justice will be had. For example, reconciliation required the release of all of the prisoners, both unionist and republican. Reconciliation meant learning to listen to each other and recognize that they were all grieving instead of seeking vengeance for those that had been killed. It made me recognise the importance– and the power of– forgiveness. While there is still a long ways to go as far as reconciliation in Northern Ireland, I was increasingly impressed by their ability to listen to one another and respect one another even though a lot of their baseline beliefs contradicted one another.