Borders between Neighbors – in Belfast and the US

By Morgan Kauffman, DIS Cross Cultural Communications student, spring 2015

While in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it is apparent there is a divide between citizens. Since the seventeenth century, Ireland has been divided, and latest in the 1960s, Belfast went into a specifically conflicted era dividing the town through violence between Catholics and Protestants.The era lasting until a peace agreement in 1998 is called “The Troubles” and began with human rights marches on the catholic side being met by violence from British authorities which fueled paramilitary movements and terror conducted by both sides.

Growing up in the United States, there are clear divisions as well, however, they involve social classes. There is an impoverished, or lower class, followed by the middle-class, upper middle-class and upper class, or wealthy. And as an American citizen visiting Belfast, societal divisions are even more apparent, but also much different than any class division in the US. In both Belfast and the US, such divides clearly affect the citizens’ attitudes and interactions, or lack thereof.

During my visit to Belfast, my class and I were given a tour of Falls Road and Shankill Road, opening our eyes to the historical division between Catholics and Protestants in one of the most troubled areas of the Northern Irish capitol.

Falls Road is the main road through a reknown Catholic or republican sector of Belfast neighboring the rivaling Shankill road, the main road running through a very Protestant or loyalist sector. In addition to different communities, beliefs and even murals depicting opposing views of who were the victims and who the perpetrators throughout the Troubles, the city is divided, ironically, by “peace walls”, which are scattered throughout Belfast.

The peace wall dividing Shankill Road and Falls Road is pictured above.

While on our walking tour of these two areas, I was shocked when the division between the two areas was so strict that we changed from a catholic guide to a completely new guide, who was protestant, when crossing into this area on Falls Road. However, even though this wall technically divides the two areas and shows the transition from one area to the other, it signifies the current peace process, which was solidified by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 .

In contrast to the violence in Ireland, the divisions i my homecountry the US seems much more peaceful. Growing up in the US, class divisions become more and more apparent. In a capitalist society, where wages can differ heavily, social classes are created and cities can be divided.

For instance, the city of Dallas, Texas is divided into numerous districts. With capitalism running American society, economics divide cities. For example, there is the affluent “Park Cities” district comprised of Highland Park and University Park. These Park Cities median household incomes are $152,000 or more, placing Highland Park and University Park residents in a higher socio-economic class in upper class.

In contrast to the Park Cities sector of Dallas, South Dallas is not known for its affluence. South Dallas’s median household income is below $45,000 placing its residents in a lower socio-economic class and potentially impoverished in some cases.

Different neighborhoods – different schools – different views of the world
With clear divisions in both Belfast with its religious societal divisions and socio-economic divisions dividing citizens in the US, interactions and attitudes among the different groups can be affected. For instance, in Belfast, there are three different types of school a child can attend, depending on their religious denominations or family’s attitudes towards the peace process and integration.

A child in Northern Ireland can attend a state school, an institution that is state-funded making it largely, but not exclusively protestant. In addition to state schools, a child could attend a catholic school, which is also state-funded but is based on catholic ethos.

Finally, families have the option to send their child to an integrated school, where parents can introduce their children to a shared community where both Catholics and Protestants lead their lives amongst each other. I

ntegrated schooling gives Northern Ireland hope for a shared community. However, with tensions still apparent, many citizens of Belfast look down on integrated schooling; they see it as a place for students who “have not proven themselves academically”, according to Dr.Leon Litvack, a member of Belfast’s Community Relations Council and active participant in improving lives of the citizens of Belfast who have been affected by the conflict.

Only six percent of children in Belfast attend these integrated schools. As a result, although conditions have improved considerably, division amongst citizens of Belfast still exists.

In comparison with the Belfast’s divisions, the socio-economic differences in the US also divides cities and people. FA child living in a more affluent part of town, if they do not attend their state-funded public school, they may attend a private school, which they would pay to attend. In contrast, citizens of a lower-income city may not be able to afford these privileges. With more affluent students attending private schools and students of lower-income families composing a larger part of a public school’s populations, societies are similarly divided.

All in all, both Belfast and societies in the US exhibit clear divisions.

Such divisions create attitudes and hostility towards each side of a society: Many adults who grew up during the conflict are now instilling those similar views into their children because they grew up with such values themselves. Even though a peace process has been underway, divisions are still inevitable due to the history of the conflict.

In addition, some lower-income societies can feel hostility towards those of the upper class at times. When one see’s the opportunities another is offered and does not understand how such privileges were afforded, it can cause the feeling of inequality that also were part of sparking the conflict between empowered catholics and more privileged British protestants in the dawn of the Irish conflict.

An example from the US: South Dallas has a high crime rate and is to be avoided.

I have personally only been to South Dallas in order to participate in a Habitat for Humanity charity project building homes for impoverished residents with my sorority. Overall, even though Belfast and cities across the US share many cultural differences, they share the fact that both societies are divided in their own ways.

This forces us to ask ourselves: How are we to avoid stereotyping and creating expectations for a society in order for peace and equality to be attainable?