The first job I had that was not paid by the hour was at a sectarian interface in Derry. It was 2008 – a decade after the Good Friday Agreement had ostensibly brought peace to Northern Ireland – and I was charged with encouraging Catholic and Protestant communities on either side of a ten-foot high corrugated barrier to “re-imagine their built environment”.
Such irenic notions soon crumbled in the face of reality. The good people – and they were good people – living along the interface didn’t want public talks and warm words from do-gooders. They wanted education, employment, and a sense of purpose. After six months, the project ended, and I left Derry. The people stayed.
I thought of that interface last week as I watched footage of a car alight in Derry. Similar riots took place across Loyalist areas of Northern Ireland. Even the death of Prince Philip did not completely quell the violence: on Friday night, missiles were fired at police in Belfast, during the eighth consecutive night of rioting.
