14.4.04
The Guardian
Self-imposed apartheid
Plans to end segregated public housing in Belfast are doomed, writes Mary O'Hara
Wednesday April 14, 2004
The Guardian
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the body responsible for public housing, is taking radical steps to tackle the deep-rooted religious segregation of working-class communities. It proposes to build two housing estates that it hopes will be populated by both Catholics and Protestants. It's a laudable attempt to combat what has in the past been seen by the authorities as an insurmountable problem. Sadly, it is almost certainly doomed to fail.
At the latest estimate, 92.5% of public housing in Northern Ireland is divided along religious lines. In Belfast it is even worse - 98%. But it isn't just the numbers and geography that present obstacles to change. It is the cruel fact that both sides of the divide still fear and distrust each other. In these circumstances, any serious attempt to redraw the population map of Northern Ireland would constitute social engineering on a grand scale. It is a brave soul who takes on this task.
Segregation has been a fact of life in Northern Ireland since long before the recent wave of Troubles began in 1969. But it tightened its grip as violence and civil unrest took hold and it was in the working-class urban districts now targeted by the Housing Executive that polarisation has been sharpest. These areas, which include the notorious Falls Road and Shankill Road enclaves in west Belfast, have been hotbeds for the worst violence of the past 35 years. They have suffered social and economic deprivation, and have been recruiting grounds for paramilitaries.
The housing authorities have had a significant role in the planning of new housing estates in areas like these. The authorities oversaw the construction of estates across towns and cities in the 70s and 80s in an effort to rehouse deprived families. But some of the housing developments were also planned and built on the back of security concerns that meant keeping the two sides of the community apart. Not surprisingly it fostered the entrenchment of sectarianism. The enduring legacy is entire districts fortified from the outside world, both physically and culturally.
In many cases there are just a few metres between Protestant and Catholic areas; yet they remain intractably separate. The construction of so-called "peace lines" - huge walls - physically reinforce the hostility. Make no mistake, these places are ghettos. They are ghettos in the modern sense of the word in that they are riddled with the fallout of social deprivation such as crime, unemployment and low educational attainment.
But they are also ghettos in the original sense of the term as it first emerged to describe the Jewish enclave in Venice in the 16th century, the Ghetto Nuovo. They are self-contained, culturally homogeneous communities with a strong sense of history and local identity. The people who live in them tend to have strong cultural and political allegiances.
As with the ghettos of old, these communities are not completely cut off from the outside world but they
somehow manage to remain separate. Two years ago, the chief executive of the Community Relations Council went so far as to describe the outlook of some of these areas as being a "self-imposed apartheid". People mix, of course. They go to work, they shop in town centres, and they brush shoulders with each other at gigs and in city centre bars. But for the most part, these residents want to live with their kith and kin.
There is a degree of integration further up the social scale in Northern Ireland, but this has always been the case and has little or no impact on people living in more deprived areas. The reality is that it is not normal to have regular social contact with Protestants if you live in a working-class Catholic district, and vice versa.
The vast majority of children are educated separately and never get the chance to befriend someone from the "other side". Segregation also persists because, despite the best efforts of organisations that campaign for integrated education, it is still only a very small number of parents who are willing to send their children to non-segregated schools.
Despite the peace process, the entrenched fear, bigotry and mistrust in these communities rumbles below the surface. That a number of new peace lines have been built since the process began is an ominous reminder of the ongoing tensions.
The Housing Executive has said its new approach is focused on the long term, and that ensuring people's safety is paramount. It insists it is not promoting social engineering, but simply making the most efficient use of housing and land to meet real need.
But is it really possible to expect people to take part in what is an admirable social experiment but an experiment nevertheless? Who exactly do the authorities expect to move on to these new estates? The spectre of couples in mixed marriages being hounded out of communities - or even killed - has not been forgotten.
There is no doubt that many people would love to see an end to segregation. But it is not coming any time soon and so far no one, including the housing authorities, appears to have a viable answer.
Self-imposed apartheid
Plans to end segregated public housing in Belfast are doomed, writes Mary O'Hara
Wednesday April 14, 2004
The Guardian
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the body responsible for public housing, is taking radical steps to tackle the deep-rooted religious segregation of working-class communities. It proposes to build two housing estates that it hopes will be populated by both Catholics and Protestants. It's a laudable attempt to combat what has in the past been seen by the authorities as an insurmountable problem. Sadly, it is almost certainly doomed to fail.
At the latest estimate, 92.5% of public housing in Northern Ireland is divided along religious lines. In Belfast it is even worse - 98%. But it isn't just the numbers and geography that present obstacles to change. It is the cruel fact that both sides of the divide still fear and distrust each other. In these circumstances, any serious attempt to redraw the population map of Northern Ireland would constitute social engineering on a grand scale. It is a brave soul who takes on this task.
Segregation has been a fact of life in Northern Ireland since long before the recent wave of Troubles began in 1969. But it tightened its grip as violence and civil unrest took hold and it was in the working-class urban districts now targeted by the Housing Executive that polarisation has been sharpest. These areas, which include the notorious Falls Road and Shankill Road enclaves in west Belfast, have been hotbeds for the worst violence of the past 35 years. They have suffered social and economic deprivation, and have been recruiting grounds for paramilitaries.
The housing authorities have had a significant role in the planning of new housing estates in areas like these. The authorities oversaw the construction of estates across towns and cities in the 70s and 80s in an effort to rehouse deprived families. But some of the housing developments were also planned and built on the back of security concerns that meant keeping the two sides of the community apart. Not surprisingly it fostered the entrenchment of sectarianism. The enduring legacy is entire districts fortified from the outside world, both physically and culturally.
In many cases there are just a few metres between Protestant and Catholic areas; yet they remain intractably separate. The construction of so-called "peace lines" - huge walls - physically reinforce the hostility. Make no mistake, these places are ghettos. They are ghettos in the modern sense of the word in that they are riddled with the fallout of social deprivation such as crime, unemployment and low educational attainment.
But they are also ghettos in the original sense of the term as it first emerged to describe the Jewish enclave in Venice in the 16th century, the Ghetto Nuovo. They are self-contained, culturally homogeneous communities with a strong sense of history and local identity. The people who live in them tend to have strong cultural and political allegiances.
As with the ghettos of old, these communities are not completely cut off from the outside world but they
somehow manage to remain separate. Two years ago, the chief executive of the Community Relations Council went so far as to describe the outlook of some of these areas as being a "self-imposed apartheid". People mix, of course. They go to work, they shop in town centres, and they brush shoulders with each other at gigs and in city centre bars. But for the most part, these residents want to live with their kith and kin.
There is a degree of integration further up the social scale in Northern Ireland, but this has always been the case and has little or no impact on people living in more deprived areas. The reality is that it is not normal to have regular social contact with Protestants if you live in a working-class Catholic district, and vice versa.
The vast majority of children are educated separately and never get the chance to befriend someone from the "other side". Segregation also persists because, despite the best efforts of organisations that campaign for integrated education, it is still only a very small number of parents who are willing to send their children to non-segregated schools.
Despite the peace process, the entrenched fear, bigotry and mistrust in these communities rumbles below the surface. That a number of new peace lines have been built since the process began is an ominous reminder of the ongoing tensions.
The Housing Executive has said its new approach is focused on the long term, and that ensuring people's safety is paramount. It insists it is not promoting social engineering, but simply making the most efficient use of housing and land to meet real need.
But is it really possible to expect people to take part in what is an admirable social experiment but an experiment nevertheless? Who exactly do the authorities expect to move on to these new estates? The spectre of couples in mixed marriages being hounded out of communities - or even killed - has not been forgotten.
There is no doubt that many people would love to see an end to segregation. But it is not coming any time soon and so far no one, including the housing authorities, appears to have a viable answer.
