Shaunak Varma

Getting out of the doghouse…

Last weekend, Ama told me that if I didn’t post a blog entry by Tuesday, I’d be in the doghouse. Low and behold, it’s now Saturday evening, meaning I’ve been in the doghouse for fourish days. I looked at the calendar today and was amazed to see I’ve already been in Belfast for more than a month and am down to just over three weeks left. Coming into the trip, I had these ambitious plans to update everybody with what I’m doing this summer with frequent blog posts. Obviously, my plan has not really panned out. However, considering I’m already halfway through this experience, I figure it is time to tell you guys a little about my awesome summer so far. Also, I really wanna get out of this dang doghouse.

Ironically, I think I’m going to spend most of my blog post talking about the two days in the past month I was actually not in Belfast. A few weekends ago, we went to Derry (if you are Catholic), Londonderry (if you are Protestant), or Stroke City (if you don’t watch enough South Park and thus are all about political correctness). Visiting the town gave me a much better historical perspective of the conflict in Northern Ireland. It is where Bloody Sunday took place in 1972. Bloody Sunday is not just a good U2 song but also a day on which 14 Catholic Civil Rights protestors were killed. This day, along with other factors, sparked a very turbulent time in Northern Ireland history. Frequent bombings and shootings plagued the country for thirty years. The organization that I am with, Healing Through Remembering, works on helping people remember and deal with past violence and trauma from this period, known as The Troubles. The group’s theory is that only by understanding the past can one heal and prevent history from repeating itself.

I saw this theory at work firsthand in Stroke City when I watched a documentary about the making of Theatre Witness. Some people from Northern Ireland joined this production in which they told stories about how The Troubles impacted their lives. It was really cool to see people of such different backgrounds – Protestant and Catholic victims, people in paramilitary groups, and a police officer – to discuss the past and their heartbreaking stories in spite of their extreme ideological differences. By the end of preparing the production, the people in the play not only seemed to be able to work together but also seemed to have developed a strong bond with each other. I think there are really cool lessons to take away from this. In spite of how bitter people can be towards other factions, it seems that when people are forced to interact with others, they can all get along and even like each other. People are people, and as society becomes more and more desegregated, preconceived notions that people have about others start to disappear and we can all just get along ☺

Cheerio for now. OUTA THE DOGHOUSE OOOOOOO SNAP!