By Karen Meyerson, Paths to Peace

In September, I had the good fortune to visit Scotland and Ireland. While touring Northern Ireland I was pleasantly surprised by this thriving, beautiful city. This was in direct contrast to the pictures I had in my mind from news accounts of the terror and violence that had plagued Belfast for the past 30 years.

Our tour guide, a Belfast native, gave us a brief history. He explained that the peace was brokered by the United Kingdom, headed by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, the United States, headed by President Bill Clinton and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, the Unionist government of Northern Ireland, and Sinn Fein, the political party of the Irish Republican Army. Sinn Fein represented the Catholic Republicans or Nationalists.

It involved years of negotiation, compromise and diplomacy, which included bringing all factions to the table, even those that considered each other mortal enemies, criminals and terrorists. There were many setbacks, but all participants persisted. Our guide explained that the peace was brokered by the politicians, but the driving force behind the peace process was the people of Northern Ireland, who had had enough of senseless violence. Ultimately, all those involved agreed it was time to put down their guns, and they all did what had to be done to make that happen.

Being inspired by this visit, I wanted to learn more about the history of the violence and the process that brought peace. The Northern Ireland conflicts are a tangle of interrelated, complex issues. After the 1921 partition of Ireland, 26 counties in the south gained independence from Britain and became the Republic of Ireland. The six northern counties, known as Ulster, remained part of the United Kingdom and under British rule. Since that time they have had a deeply divided society &8212; mostly divided by religion, with 55 percent Protestant (mostly Unionists) and 45 percent Catholics representing the Nationalists, wanting a united Ireland.

In the 1960s a civil rights movement began a campaign for more political and social equality for the Catholics, who felt oppressed in Northern Ireland by Unionist rule. This led to the British Army being deployed to Northern Ireland to restore order in 1969.This was perceived by the Catholic Republicans as a symbol of oppression: &8220;British Troops on Irish soil.&8221;

This led to the rejuvenation of the militant republicanism known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, better known as the IRA. Of course most Unionists and Nationalists were moderates, but the extremists on both sides led to violence and terrorism, known in Northern Ireland as &8220;the troubles.&8221;

The violence continued until 1998 when the Belfast, or Good Friday, Agreement finally put an end to violence and instituted a joint governing body of Unionists and Republicans. Over 3,500 people had been killed and countless others maimed both physically and psychologically over the three decades of violence.

The turning point for &8220;the troubles&8221; came when violence had reached its peak. In April of 1976, in broad daylight , a suspected terrorist fleeing in his car was shot and killed by British soldiers. The car careened out of control and hit the Maguire family killing three of their children and critically injuring the mother, Anne, who unable to overcome her grief, eventually committed suicide. The core reaction of the community was one of pure anguish at the needless deaths. Over the next few days a grass-roots peace movement spontaneously emerged with local women going door to door with petitions for peace and an end to violence.

There were protests all over Northern Ireland against the continuing violence. A local woman named Betty Williams and Anne Maguire&8217;s sister Mairead Corrigan went to the media, and their appeals for peace resonated around the world. More than 100,000 people joined the initial movement, and Betty, Mairead and journalist Claren Mckeown became the leaders of a movement called The Peace People.

That year Betty and Mairead won the Nobel Peace Prize. Their work shows that ordinary people anguished by senseless violence can use nonviolent methods to induce governments to negotiate and create peace.

Over the years The Peace People have tried to heal divisions, create debate and empower people to work for peace in a peaceful milieu in many troubled areas of the world including the United States, Palestine and Iraq. &8220;The only time ever available for making peace is now, and now is the time for all of us to play our part.&8221;

First Declaration of The Peace People

– We have a simple message to the world from this movement for peace.

– We want to live and love and build a just and peaceful society.

– We want for our children, as we want for ourselves, our lives at home, at work, and at play to be lives of joy and peace.

– We recognize that to build such a society demands dedication, hard work and courage.

– We recognize that there are many problems in our society which are a source of conflict and violence.

– We recognize that every bullet fired and every exploding bomb make that work more difficult.

– We reject the use of the bomb and the bullet and all the techniques of violence.

– We dedicate ourselves to working with our neighbors, near and far, day in and day out, to build that peaceful society in which the tragedies we have known are a bad memory and a continuing warning.

&8212; www.peacepeople.com

Albert Lea resident Karen Meyerson is a social worker and small business owner. She is also a member of Paths to Peace in Freeborn County. A column by a member of the group appears on the last Friday of every month.