Children of the Ceasefire: Reflections on the Border I

As we head into the home stretch of Brexit, the issue of a hard border in Ireland seems to be the main issue. The question of how to regulate the flow of goods and trade has no clear answer. Much has been made by the DUP of there being no need for a border, as trade has always been free-flowing. If that where the case one wonders why the military felt it necessary to ever establish check-points, outposts and look-out towers along it. Technology is also described as some manna from Heaven that will miraculously regulate the border, yet in the two and a bit years since the Brexit vote, no one has been able to tell me what this ‘technology’ actually is or how it will work?

I recently spent a year studying with students, many have since become friends for life, from across the world; America, Canada, India and a Dubliner whose article goes along with this one. For many of my friends, they moved and travelled to classes between Dublin and Belfast with ease, never having to show their passport or ask any consulate or embassy for permission to travel. Nonetheless, one friend was unable to ever travel down south as they could only stay in the UK. It may seem trivial, but the idea of being restricted or told I can’t go somewhere seems intrusive. I understand that we don’t live in a perfect world, but their has to be an easier way of allowing the majority of society, who just want to have a peaceful and fulfilling life, travel seamlessly across a border.

I’m old enough to remember my Dad taking me down to watch Ireland at Lansdowne Road and the near 3 hour journey from Belfast to Dublin. Now, thanks to the new motorway, that journey is halved and you can get a coffee and a bite to eat numerous times on the way down. I regularly travel down to Dublin on the train, (which while still comparatively long), is in my opinion one of the most beautiful routes in the country. Not once have I been asked for my passport or my motives for travel.

This is how travel across borders should be. Travel can never and will never be wholly unrestricted, but isn’t it the hope for all in Northern Ireland and Ireland that the restrictions of the past be removed and our freedom of movement enhanced. Shouldn’t our ideals shape our polices?

I am blessed to have spent the majority of my life post-the Good Friday Agreement and resultantly in relative peace. Whenever I hear politicians criticise the legacy of the agreement and its ability to bring peaceful governance to the country, I bring the issue down to a simple statement: ‘I have never been stopped by an Army checkpoint’. My parents tell me of the security checks across the border, the hardship of having to travel what are just a few short miles and how a man standing five feet away from you with a high-powered rifle was normal (I think we can all agree, in no society should this ever be something we don’t bat an eyelid at).

This brings me back to my original point; I have never been stopped by an Army checkpoint. I’ve never see a military watchtower and I never want to either. I want the freedom to peacefully move across a border I can’t even be 100% sure I’ve actually crossed! I don’t want military, police or even a few guys in high-vis vests to stand and ask me questions as I travel to see my friends.

Over the last year many people have questioned the benefits of the Good Friday Agreement, and rightly so, we must scrutinise our past political deals and leaders or we can never identify what we need to change and what we need to build on. However, there seems to be a misapprehension that the agreement was meant to bring political stability to Northern Ireland. I don’t think this was George Mitchell, John Hume or David Trimble’s real goal, they just wanted to get guns out of peoples hands, the rest could come later and frankly, for the most part it’s worked. Violence still happens, our politics is crumbling, but I’m not scared when I walk in town. I’m not discriminated against in the workplace, (though filling out questionnaires on your background and religion every time you go for a job is annoying), and most importantly, unlike my mother, my father and the majority of people in our society over the age of 30, I’ve never been stopped by an army checkpoint.

As a child of peace, I’ve still grown up in a society with far too much violence and division, but my life and my interaction with society is far safer and better than my parents and grandparents ever had. A hard border can only damage this, and hinder my freedom to lawfully and peacefully travel across this island, which the Good Friday Agreement endows to me. The simple message to our politicians and leaders is, I’ve never been stopped by a military checkpoint, please don’t make me have to.

By William Clarence – from East Belfast, and a graduate of QUB and the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin.

Image by Eric Jones, licensed by Creative Commons.

Soapbox

This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.