Day 13 – May 22 – Thursday: The Troubles - Art, Politics and the Church

A continuation of the report on travels in Ireland and England. Click on images for enlarged view.



Abbie and I used the free morning to walk to the center of Belfast and do some shopping and sightseeing. Evidences of artistic touches were abundant. Even lampposts were sculpted and gilded. And there was an interesting statue grouping erected as a monument to the working women, decorated with symbols of typical (and not-so-typical) instruments used by women in their work.



















The Troubles

But the "Troubles" were not about women's working rights. The term came to be used to describe the violent period in Belfast, which began in the early 60's and lasted until recent years, when the 1998 Belfast Agreement ("Good Friday Agreement ") was signed. Today we were given a very personal glimpse into "the Troubles" by one who experienced the violence in a very personal way: Billy Stevenson's father was a commander of one of the major "loyalist" paramilitary forces, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Billy Stevenson took us to the place where he was born
and grew up in Shankill Road about the time the Troubles began.

The row houses of that era have been torn down and new housing has been built in an attempt to help erase the memories of the four decades, when "Protestant" factions in the Shankill Road area warred with "Catholic" factions in the neighboring Fall Road area, resulting in 3000 deaths in the few square blocks of the two neighborhoods. A 20-ft high "Peace Wall" was built between the two sides in an attempt to quell the violence. Odd, isn't it? Men build walls to bring peace; the Bible says Jesus came to tear down walls and make peace between men and God, between Jews and Gentiles.

Billy grew up seeing bombs and machine guns in his father's house; at the age of 6, he was given his own .38 caliber gun, and in his revolt and hatred of his father, he made up his mind to kill his father with it. At the last minute, he couldn't do it, and went to his room to kill himself with the gun. After holding it to his head for 2 or 3 minutes, he threw it down and never touched it again.

Billy's paternal grandparents were godly people, and through them, Billy accepted the gospel as a young boy. Later, his mother was saved, and wonder of wonders! His father also accepted the gospel---a man Billy had seen shoot the knees of suspected informants, and who planned bombings and assassinations.

After his conversion, Billy's father was summoned to face the council of the UVF. Billy and his mother were not sure if they would ever see Billy, Sr., again. After long hours of waiting as they prayed that night, there was a knock on the door ("at 11:32 p.m." -- he still remembers the precise time). It was his father, who said the council would let him live, but they would have to leave N. Ireland. "We're going on the mission field," he told his family. "I have served the devil well, and I will serve God better." So it was, that at the age of 10, Billy found himself in a public school in S. Korea, not knowing a word of the language. There, he and his sister grew up, and Billy eventually got to the US (where he had always dreamed of going, so he could "drive cattle, and cook beans and boil coffee over a campfire, like John Wayne"). He met Mindy, and they married and after his graduation from John Brown University, he was asked to stay on the staff. Through his contact, JBU has formed strong ties with N. Ireland and has established international studies abroad programs for its students. Here are some of the photos taken in Shankill Road and East Belfast, showing art used to promote the loyalist cause.



(left) In case there were any doubts
about which side of the "divide"
one is on.

The UVF, which Billy's father
helped to run.

The UVF planned its attacks upstairs in this pub.

This mural depicts "the Maze" the infamous prison for terrorists on both sides of the "Troubles"---one wing for the "Republican" forces and the other for the "Loyalists".

See more about this prison here.

Dry Wells

Among the curious finds of the day was this water fountain, built in the style of a church. The quotation is taken from John 4, "whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again."














But there were other "dry wells", too. We saw some church buildings with "For Sale" sign on them, and this one close to our hotel, which advertises "Stand-up Comedy Every Tuesday". There's a bar in the basement. It's a case of a "converted" church building, as another one downtown was converted into a shopping mall.



Then, there's this church, which gives the appearance of being in the process of conversion into a nature center. Dry wells, dead religion, "Troubles"....