Long Kesh Prison

As I wind down and reflect on my trip to Belfast, I feel that it is hard to choose any particular activity that we did as a clear and distinguished favorite.  However, I do think that one of the most meaningful experiences we had during this trip came on the second to last day in Belfast.  We were able to take a tour of the Long Kesh/Maze prison, where former paramilitaries and political prisoners were held during the Troubles.  We were even fortunate enough to be guided by one of the former Blanketmen, named for their refusal to wear prison uniforms and instead wore a blanket tunic.  We were also able to see the cells and hospital rooms of the Hunger Strikers, including Bobby Sands’ room.

Bobby Sands' Mural in Belfast

Later that evening, we had the opportunity to meet with even more Blanketmen and hear about their struggles in prison and the Troubles.  Their stories were heart-wrenching, but inspirational.  It was impressive how each man had converted his energies from armed conflict to supporting their local communities, through activities such as teaching Gaelic or running community aid agencies.  The events of this day brought us as close to understanding the Troubles as we possibly could.  I surely will not forget these unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences!

Well that is simply the trailer, and the movie is extremely gripping, as well as emotionally trying. Be warned, but I still highly recommend it.
So we visited today, and I remember feeling a chill run down my spine as we rolled up in the van. The first thing we saw, was a concrete wall, standing twenty-four feet tall, and laced, like lights on a christmas tree, with razor wire. The guard towers stood stalwart at equal distances along the wall, much like sad giants who had witnessed terrible woes inflicted on those who had graced Long Kesh with their presence. I remember that the first thing I said, when we drove up, was “there are ghosts here.” I don’t even believe in ghosts, but that is the feeling that swept over me as we got out of the van.

As we walked through the air-lock gates-double door systems for checking cars at points of entrance-it set in that this wasn’t a normal tour. I could feel the tension in the air, and you could just imagine guards stationed at each locked door, each tower, and each guardhouse. There was even a military pillbox outside of the front gate. The whole situation became even more real, if that were possible, when we stepped into the H-Blocks. These blocks are in the shape of an H:

These blocks were designed in America-eke-and built to accomodate 100 prisoners in four separate wings, with a conjoining recreation center, and two separate yard areas. Well as we know in America, the nicety of prison planning is not so appreciated by its inhabitants. The IRA prisoners would be brought in, in their minds as POWs, and instead be treated as common criminals. In protest, the men would refuse to don a prison uniform, and were instead stripped of their clothes and offered a blanket. This is how the term “blanket men” came around. The next step when the protest escalated was the “dirty” protest in which the men would defile their cell walls with excrement. They lived in these conditions for sometimes up to 16 years, and their cells would be routinely cleaned, only for them to proceed to dirty them up again. The purpose of these protests was that the IRA wanted political prisoner status for their interred prisoners, but Margaret Thatcher and the British government would not treat them as anything but common criminals.

When it appeared that both the blanket and dirty protests were not making any headway, the IRA escalated their tactics, and initiated a Hunger strike. The first attempt failed when one of their members succumbed to a coma, and the strike was called off. However, under Bobby Sands leadership, the IRA initiated a second Hunger Strike, in which teams of men would systematically starve themselves to death until the British government granted them political status. Bobby Sands, the main character of Hunger, succumbed to starvation after 66 days. Many men followed. But eventually, the British government quietly gave in and granted the IRA political status.

I think that the Hunger Strikes exemplify how a people who have made a resolve, say freedom from tyranny at all costs, will do whatever it takes to ensure that end. Bobby Sands for example, was convinced along with many others at Long Kesh, that their sacrifice would evoke change both in the prison system, as well as in the entire UK regarding Ireland. The men who died in the H-Blocks were convinced that they were stronger than the British government, and that eventually Northern Ireland could, and would be free.

How the men lived in those small cubical spaces, smeared their walls, and lived without any activities besides pacing their rooms, is beyond me. I was informed that when your mind is so set on a goal, you find the innate ability to zone out all of your surroundings, and all of the violence around you. This was the only way that they made it, their dream for a united and free Ireland.

“Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”
-Bobby Sands

So far this week we have had all of those experiences and then some.  Yesterday we were given a tour of Shankill Road and the Peace Wall by a Protestant man, Alfie, who’s son completed suicide a few years ago.  Not only were we able to hear how the conflict has impacted the other side, we also heard how the increase in suicide has impacted everyone here regardless of a Catholic identity or Protestant identity.   And then there is the phenomenon that is this Peace Wall, separating the two groups and helping to maintain the peace by keeping people apart.  There are hand written messages all over the wall, most of which express a wish for peace.  Many express a wish for the wall to be torn down.  Some express violence toward Catholics.  For now, though, there is still too much fear of what would happen if the wall were torn down.

“There are a million things I would die for.  There is not one thing I would kill for!!!”

It’s called a Peace wall, it’s full of messages of hope, and yet we still find messages like this.

P.S.  The title is a line from the movie Shrek, just in case anyone hasn’t seen it.