Letter from... Belfast

By Austyn Close, Senior Executive

The times they are a-changin'

Cast your mind back to when we first entered this health crisis. Slogans and chants of togetherness embedded on the idea that everyone must pull together was the peoples’ way of uniting against a common enemy. The virus knew no prejudice and certainly didn’t discriminate one person against the other. How that has all changed in light of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride month. Social injustices and longstanding, deep-rooted inequalities have been revived by a common resistance for survival and recognition right across the world. As the weeks in lockdown have rolled on, it’s become ever more clear from research that BME demographics are more likely to be affected by the virus. To add another dimension, a recent study by the University of Ulster has estimated that youth employment could jump from 8% to 26% for those aged between 16 and 24. While the young are stronger in the face of a global pandemic, they’re not so tough against labour and economic pressures. 

For the third day in a row, Northern Ireland reports no new coronavirus-related deaths, keeping to a grand total thus far under the 600 mark. It’s a sign of optimism for these shores, but the world has dramatically changed in the past few weeks to shift the narrative around the virus in such a profound way. 

The recent staging of peaceful protests in Belfast city centre for Black Lives Matter adds a new veneer to the situation in an already complex socio-politico environment. Friends of mine stood as allies in solidarity for people of colour across the world in Custom House Square. The Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Northern Ireland Executive reinforced the message that we are at a crucial point in the fight against the virus and that we must remain safe in a socially-distant manner. The fight against the virus runs parallel to the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia and much more. 

In an alternative way of looking at it, in a statelet with such a recent history of sectarian and discriminatory violence, the recent Black Lives Matter protest is reminiscent of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement (NICRA) that gripped this country’s streets during the 1960s. One that was strangely inspired by American social movements too, NICRA advocated for both calm and violent change to ensure Catholic voices were heard. These things seem to work in cycles. 

My father was born in 1965 – smack bang in the middle of this new social movement in Northern Ireland when young, social activists such as Bernadette Devlin walked the streets. The political and social landscape has tumbled through decades of change since then – The Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement to name just two of the most potent events - but never has a 50-year old man, in a 35 year career in the civil service, had to adapt to the working from home. This week, he sat by our living room window with his makeshift desk pondering, “Will life ever be the same again?”