Falls Road Stories IV - a photo on Flickriver

            Belfast.  Northern Ireland.  The city is a microcosm of a much larger historical issue.  Pardon me for the oversimplification...

Northern Ireland belongs to the United Kingdom, a protestant nation.  It comprises 6 of Ireland's (the island, not the nation) 32 counties.

The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, has 26 counties and is very much Catholic.  It takes up about 80% of the island.

From the Irish point of view, they dream of the island being completely Irish (one island, one nation sort of thing).

Yet, the British have, for a few hundred years, been making sure the northeast corner of the island is staunchly protestant and pro-crown.

This leads to political and religious conflict.  For years (I believe 1969-1998 when a peace accord was negotiated by George Mitchell of Bill Clinton's White House.

To say it's an uneasy peace is an understatement.  (Look no further than the current Brexit.  Biggest sticking point?  Border of Northern Island.)

In Belfast, it feels a bit like I imagine Berlin did from 1961-1989.  That, however, wasn't a religious conflict as much as Berliners being pawns in the bigger Cold War of the day.

Her in Belfast, there is a "ground zero" section of both Protestants & Catholics.  Like Berlin, there's a wall that separates them.  The Berlin Wall, I believe, didn't average much more than 10 feet in height.  The Belfast Peace Wall...3 to 4 times higher.  (My guide said they were known to throw things over the wall here just in hopes of hitting/hurting someone.)

If you're reading this particular post, the picture you're looking at falls into one of three categories:  Catholic "Ground Zero" (Falls Road) are the images that look more like they tell a history, Protestant "Ground Zero" (Shankill Road), where the street art looks more like memorials or militaristic, and three images of the actual Peace Wall that separate the two sections (that don't seem to advocate for one side or the other).

Downtown Belfast in the 1980s was a city that was bombed relentlessly, a desolate place.  Nowadays, it's more of a neutral zone, but there's a strong tension underneath it all.

There are still Protestant and Catholic restaurants.  There are black taxis that serve only one side or the other.

I was on a black taxi driver where, though the driver didn't explicitly say it, but I came away with the distinct feeling that he was quite involved in the Troubles.  I won't say which side I believe he belonged to.

Even with the edginess and my short time in town -- just a few hours, at most -- I though Belfast had a strong spirit that I identified with.  It struck me as a fascinating place.  As a photographer, I was quite impressed by the city.

Taken on: July 16, 2017

Tags:

Belfast

Northern Ireland

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Sets appears in: • Belfast • Belfast Street Art

Camera: Nikon D7100, f/5.0, 1/500 sec, 29mm (=43mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	29mm (35mm equivalent: 43mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Fine Weather
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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