It’s Cliché but its True

by Melinda M. Smith
I am currently getting a fire hose approach of education on the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Some might call it murder and some might call it manslaughter, both being side effects of the concoction of politics and religion. The side effect was a sign of deep trouble. As recent as July 2013, petrol and blast bombs were used in a Belfast riot and seventy-plus people were injured. With all this stated, I have never felt more security or sincerity in all my travels as I do in Derry. I feel this says a lot about the Irish, because I have driven the United States coast to coast, and I have traveled to six out of the seven continents.

One Derry morning I went for a 7am run in the dark with my roommate. We did a 45minute run along the Foyle River and across the Peace Bridge. The people we encountered in the pitch black were seemingly working, on their way to work, or out for their morning exercise. I have not once seen a homeless person in Derry, and that is surprising to me since I was told the unemployment rate is 40%. There were no eerily loitering people out on the morning of the jog, only people, seemingly with a purpose. One older gentleman uttered an, “Ello.”

Eileen, the shopkeeper at The Donegal Shop, spent over an hour with a group of five of us Gonzaga students. She hand wrote out each of our wool wash and care instructions on the back of a postcard. She offered up personal suggestions for local places to eat. She even drew a map of the places she suggested, and the places she suggested were the farthest thing from a quarter of a mile away. She inquired with what we were doing in Derry. Once she found out we were educating ourselves on the ‘Troubles’ and studying peace, she then went into an excited yet humble fifteen minute diatribe about a recent movie she helped create called ‘Together in Pieces.’ The movie is an effort to showcase the murals and the architecture of Derry, and these artifacts help elicit discussion on what people want for their vision of Ireland. Eileen told us the film might be shown in the Washington DC film festival, and she did not even want to tell her mom this, for fear her dream might not come true.

James Greer, a Protestant Unionist, spent a morning telling his side of the ‘Troubles’ tale. His perspective was captivating, and I thought one of the most intriguing things about him was his ability to acknowledge people and engage them in the story. He required us to be in an inclusive circle as he told his story told. As his story unfolds, he started to recognize people he had seen before. He stopped his story midsentence to humbly apologize for not saying hello, and he proceeded to give each individual a proper welcome. He had no walls up when it came to communicating his story. He literally shared his words with us, and he invited all of our questions. I hope the vulnerability of this human being touched us all.

Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, 
people will forget what you did, 
but people will never forget how you made them feel.” My human interactions in Derry have left me with genuine feelings of being welcomed home. The Irish are quiet luvley ey tell ya! how you made them