We the People

Whilst visiting the UK, Ireland and Cyprus, I noticed and felt a good deal of sadness, hard to pinpoint what exactly, just a general air of malaise.

I also picked up on an extreme sense of loneliness and a certain amount of disconnect from the world. 

Presently, the world seems to be a hostile and unfriendly place.  Nastiness seems to be the new norm.

Spending time in Belfast and Derry highlighted divisions created along religious preference.  Catholic areas, Protestant areas, slogans and walls, depicting pain and anguish and hurt, north separated from south and people from each other.

It is not my intention to be maudlin and sad, or even to make you feel the same.

However, ambling about visiting museums, riding on trains and the odd bus trip I started thinking…

We, the people, need to push back on this hard hostile world.  We should not make it easy for politicians to divide us and then rule us with their fear-mongering lies.  We need to tear down,  and we need not be afraid to challenge dialogue that divides, as well as walls and holidays that commemorate historical events that are divisive and impede healthy dialogue that will most certainly lead to healing. 

How? 

Every day show kindness to friends, family, neighbours and strangers.  Smile or share a word of encouragement.

When we visited Harrods, I decided that I had seen enough of the clothing, make-up, food, décor, while George continued to explore , I found a comfortable spot in the art gallery, just sitting there minding my own business when a lovely young man started chatting to me, who  is responsible for exhibiting a wonderful and eclectic collection of work from various artists. My accent piqued his curiosity as well as my fascination with various pieces of art by the sculpture Lorenzo Quinn.  He told me that Lorenzo was Anthony Quinn’s son.  

By this stage George had returned and it was time to continue exploring.  “Just a moment, I have something for you” said my newfound friend; he proceeded to give me a book detailing some of Lorenzo Quinn’s work.

We smiled at people on trains, on the bus, we engaged with Uber drivers, shop assistants and waitrons. Every single time we made eye contact and smiled the response was always positive – a smile in return.

This may sound terribly corny and maybe it is, however we had so much fun smiling at strangers, showing kindness, starting random conversations and sharing a joke or two. 

We stood at one of the most prominent Peace walls in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Incidentally, in the 1920’s and 30’s temporary walls were erected in Belfast, the purpose of these walls was a preventative measure to minimise violence between Catholics (nationalist, who identify as Irish and Protestant  Unionists who self-identify as British).  The wall we were standing at separates the nationalist Falls Road and Unionist Shankill Road areas of West Belfast and played a prominent role in the conflict known as “The Troubles”; that eventually culminated in the Good Friday Agreement. 

Whilst chatting to a random stranger (a Canadian whose wife is of Palestinian and Irish heritage), he tearfully stated that the murals are so moving, “hopefully, one day all of this will make sense!”

A really funny thing happened when we were viewing the murals.  George asked this lovely elderly gentleman if he wouldn’t mind taking a photograph of the two of us in front of one of the murals.  Setting everything up and handing him the phone we set about posing for said photograph.  Our esteemed photographer smiled and ostensibly “snapped” away.  He handed the phone back and took his leave.  George suggested that we check the quality of the photographs before we leave…

Oh my goodness, we laughed and we laughed. 

You guessed it – not a single photograph!  We couldn’t get over the fact that he kept saying: “these photographs are perfect, just perfect!”

During our stay in Derry, we visited an Italian restaurant. A young couple sitting at the next table, leaned over, and asked us where we were from; a lovely conversation flowed from there.  They were celebrating their wedding anniversary, they offered a few menu suggestions and mentioned that she was Catholic and he was Protestant, both sides of the family were accepting and understanding, however they both know where they are welcome and where they are not!  I felt confident enough to tell them about my grandparents. 

Whilst visiting the quaint and interesting village of Vouni, a hidden gem in the heart of Cyprus, we met a very kind woman who owns an interesting little street café.  

Whilst chatting to and laughing with her we decided to order a cup of coffee.  She shared snippets of her life, how the village was becoming a tourist destination and the fact that she looks after and takes care of about ten dogs and many, many cats.  When it was time to settle our bill and leave, our new found friend stated that the coffee was a gift, we were kind and gentle with her.  No matter how hard we tried to pay her, our friend was adamant that we needed to accept the gift.

We enjoyed so many wonderful moments of love, kindness and compassion with people from all walks of life and religious persuasions.

I pray we enter the season of “peace and goodwill” with joy in our hearts as well as a willingness to address hatred and discrimination with kindness and tolerance.

I wish you peace.