An uneasy peace

This morning, Sunday, I made a reservation for breakfast at Harlem Cafe. It had a line out front, especially intimidating when you're a single diner.  After a 10 minute wait, I got seated with 2 Canadian women, both law students here at Queen's University.  The bathroom was as cute as the rest of the restaurant!

The ladies "restroom" (usually here they just say "toilet")

Then I went to the City Hall to get my tour of the murals. It was a wee small group: just me. Brian drove the Black Cab and talked to me about The Troubles. It was hard (and depressing) just to listen endlessly (no questions for me and took over an hour and a half) and try to understand all the sectarian violence. The gates and walls are still up, the British and Loyalist flags are still being flown, the tension is still there. Has anything really improved for Irish Catholics? 

Paramilitary Ulster mural

Orange men (the poppy being a symbol I have seen before) propaganda 

Gates and fences between Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods still here

The tourists come and add to the paintings on the 42 ft high fence (Brian said they often draw the Mercedes sign instead of the peace sign--he said they have more of that car than they have peace!)

Walls all over and what they are supposed to provide or represent: Israel, security; Palestine, separation; Shankill Road (Belfast), perception; Falls Road (Belfast), reality; Cyprus, fear; Baghdad, trust;

This gate only opens to cars once a year

The metal structure in the back of the house is supposed to protect from bottles and rocks thrown...still there

Bobby Sands, one of the heroic hunger strikers and a great writer.

"Sometimes the conflict is painted as a sectarian argument – between Protestants and Catholics – but it’s really all about politics. It’s about whether Northern Ireland should be a part of the United Kingdom or a part of the Republic of Ireland."

From:

https://www.timetravelturtle.com/belfast-peace-wall-murals-n-ireland/

Brian dropped me back at City Hall and we saw there was a demonstration in front of the building. It was Iranians protesting the government's incarceration and probable murder of a young woman not wearing the hijab. Her name was Mahsa Amini.

I had not read about her.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2022/oct/03/mahsa-amini-how-one-womans-death-ignited-protests-in-iran