How is the current situation between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast portrayed in the three texts? -What explanation

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 Questions

-How is the current situation between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast portrayed in the

three texts?

-What explanations for the situation and solutions for improvement are mentioned?

The three texts convey a shattered situation between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast since both parties are obvious about the everlasting emotional baggage connected to their intricate history. As shown in the first paragraph of the first text, Belfast is fragmented from all sides: “Within Belfast the west of the city is predominantly Catholic, east Belfast is largely Protestant, the south of the city is more mixed, and north Belfast is a patchwork of Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods.”

In addition to this, the second text rightly echoes the same predicament. The last verse of Leslie Wilson’s poem titled Peace? sets forth the existing divisiveness in clear terms: “Yet our celebrated peace walls, keep communities apart.” It’s also interesting to note that its title

ends with a question mark as if to say that the tendency to be biased discredits politicians, that their so-called peace is, in fact, a fallacy and that there’s more to this situation than meets the eye, which is one of the explanations for the situation. There is indeed a palpable lack of trust in politicians and local authorities, but also in the police: “Distrust of Belfast City Council and the Police Service Northern Ireland, as well as communities from different parts of the city, persists.” (Third paragraph of the first text), “That murky world of politics, where they always try and fail” and “Where deals are done in private, behind the secret veil” (Third and fourth verses of the second text).[pic 4]

As far as the third text is concerned, it doesn’t shy away from expressly stating in its second paragraph that despite the 1998 Belfast Agreement officially putting an end to the lengthy conflict, hostilities remain in existence: “But tensions still linger between Protestant and Catholics neighborhoods.” So, what other explanations for the situation could there be? Well, as mentioned in the last two paragraphs of the first text, there is a general sense of belonging in the sense that, for the most part, Catholics and Protestants stay in their respective communities. On one hand, it empowers them, but on the other, it makes them feel safe: “People […] maintain a more frequent relationship with local spaces which act as community hubs”, “Some residents stay in their local areas as it provides a sense of ownership and safety they may not[pic 5]

feel elsewhere.”

Keeping in mind the aforesaid underlying tensions, traces of the past constitute a major explanation since it scarred Catholics and Protestants to the extent that violence persists at the heart of Belfast: “Remnants of The Troubles remain in Belfast” (Last paragraph of the first text), “the undercurrent of savagery is rarely far away” and “It’s been that way from

ancient times, until the present day” (First and Second verses of the second text), “with some residents reluctant to bridge the gap” (Second paragraph of the third text). Finally, peace walls are a deciding factor because even though they were built to maintain a semblance of peace between Catholics and Protestants, some of them ended up being

embroiled in controversy and furthered the cause of detachment: “Yet our celebrated peace walls, keep communities apart” (Last verse of the second text), “the most controversial murals” (Third paragraph of the third text). Having said that, the texts also mention a few solutions, such as travelling, which could broaden people’s mind over time and pave the way for shared spaces between Catholics and Protestants, and arts, the latter serving as an attempt to bring the communities together:[pic 6]

“People are prepared to travel for specific activities” (Second paragraph of the first text), “some communities have repainted portions of the most controversial murals or erected new ones in an effort to continue normalizing relationships between Protestants and Catholics” and “some communities received funding to create new murals in place of older