This past week, the latest saga in the ongoing struggle in Northern Ireland has enraged the Catholic community. Namely, an Ulster Defense Force member (the UDF being a pro-British, Protestant terrorist organization) was given a discount bail so he could go on a vacation to the Caribbean. The UDF has been responsible for deaths numbering in the thousands, and millions of dollars in damage. However, UDF members walk free, whist their Catholic counterparts are serving multiple life sentences. As an Ulster Catholic myself, I must ask, how is this allowed: How are our boys spending life times in jail, whist the Protestants are free to roam the streets and continue their terrorist activities?
The answer is the British government. Per the Good Friday agreement, which was a quasi-peace treaty between the Catholic and Protestant groups, and the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland; the British government was to ensure fair treatment under the law for both Catholics and Protestants. This, however, is far from reality. In actual terms, as this case is evident, the Northern Irish Protestants continue to oppress the Catholics, and the government in London turns a blind eye. But this too begs a question: how can a first world nation turn a blind eye to such an obvious miscarriage of justice?
The British Protestants continue to oppress Irish Catholics, so they can still feel like they have an empire. At the dawn of the 20th century, the English ruled two-fifths of the world’s surface; they truly ruled the waves. At the dawn of this century, however, they had but one colony left: Northern Ireland. They used Irish Catholics as their whipping boys to remind themselves that they are still powerful, despite several obvious signs to the contrary. England needs Northern Ireland to keep feeling superior; they still rule some foreign place, and that feeds into their power complex. However, I, an Irish Catholic, am tired of watching my countrymen be oppressed so the English can get their jollies off.
Because of their actions, and obvious preferential treatment of the Protestants, it has become obvious that the British are not the people to run Northern Ireland if peace is the goal. If peace was truly the desired outcome, Northern Ireland-would be turned over to the impartial United Nations, who could rule it fairly and justly; but that is not even the best solution. The problems Northern Ireland faces are not superficial, but are deep-seated. A U.N. mandate would solve the superficial problems and maybe keep the area safe. However, the deep-seated problems will remain, and to solve those, we must speak the forbidden word: reunification.
Returning the six provinces of Northern Ireland to the Republic would end violence for two reasons. First, the Catholics would have achieved their goals and, thus, could lay down their arms forever. Second, the Protestants would be angry and want to fight; but without the preferential treatment they were so long afforded, they may think twice. They might even realize that since the shoe is now on the other foot, any operation they try would return to them the outrageous and unfair treatment that they once dispensed.
Above is a utopia situation. I highly doubt it would work exactly like that, the Protestants could defy logic and step up violence. But more than logical reasons, which rarely work out, the Irish community is owed reunification. Yes, that’s right, we are owed it. It is our form of reparations.
I say Ireland stands as one and sends London a bill for 700 years of oppression, a bill for services rendered, a bill for the lives of all the Irish mercilessly murdered, starved and dislocated. For 700 years, Irish Catholics have endured, but it’s payback time. On the bill, there needs to be just one sentence, said by Sir Paul McCartney: “Give Ireland back to the Irish, before they have to take it away.”
Patrick McShane is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
