To live in harmony (Jayne Olurunda).

Posted on May 31, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 1 Comment

I had a funny conversation once. I was answering a New Yorkers questions on Northern Ireland. He asked me if there was any hope for here, would we ever have real peace and a normal healthy society. I said yes. His response was that the only solution he could think of was to put all the bigots on an Island and let them fight it out. I laughed as I responded – we are on an Island!! That is the thing about here, geographically we are small yet in terms of morality many of us are worlds apart. 

 

I won’t name the exact year my parents met, let’s just say it was long before Ebony and Ivory ever hit the charts! Anyway like most couples back then they dated and married. They worked hard, bought a house and had children. How about we throw in a few obstacles… let’s say my Mum was white and my Dad black. Did love conquer all back then? I believe it did or at least it tried. Then it was a case of sticks and stones. Lots of bile was levelled at my parents but they were a strong unit and for the most part they laughed it off. After all, they had their friends, they had their professions and they had hope, hope for their children and the future. Times were changing.

 

Fast forward almost forty years, let’s stop in 2014. Does the hope that my parents had still exist? Did times change? Yes times did indeed change but in the aftermath of the troubles they didn’t necessarily change for the better. Now as regards racism it is a case of more than sticks and stones. We have two racist attacks every day, words may not harm (although that is debatable) but damage to a person or their property certainly can.

 

I grew up amidst questions as to where I was from etc etc I’m sure everyone has heard it all before. But how about I turn it around? How about I ask you to be born somewhere, to grow up somewhere, to know no other place yet not feel a part of that somewhere? It’s ok though because Northern Ireland is for all, the Good Friday Agreement spelled out equality quite clearly, didn’t it? Cue our First Minister and his remarks. I believe what he said implied so much more and all the apologises and back tracking cannot take away the upset he caused. When one group is persecuted and this is condoned by our First Minister it has a domino effect on all minority groups, it hurts us all. 

 

Dare you speak out if someone makes a derogatory comment? Ideally yes, but for too many it’s no. This isn’t any surprise considering when people do they are vilified. I have watched people demeaned with caustic remarks like I get ‘racism’ because of my beliefs or my politics. My response to that is NO you don’t. You cannot suffer racism unless you are a different race. You do not wear your politics or your political views on your skin or features. If you are condemned for them or abused for them then that is wrong, but what is more wrong is telling someone that racism is the same thing as political abuse. Yes dislike someone for their politics or stance you certainly have every right to do so. I simply do not see how an individual’s race has anything to do with this. I am not going to be condescending here and say everyone is the same, because quite clearly we are not BUT I will say that everyone deserves the same respect, the same baseline.

 

Last month I went to a meeting in Belfast City Hall where racism was discussed. Oh wow was it discussed! I was compelled to take the microphone, something I do not do lightly. We had people saying that they wouldn’t allow Belfast’s name to be tarnished, that racism needs to be tackled and what they were doing about it. The packed room was essentially a meeting for the cities groups to congratulate each other on their efforts and discuss the great work that they do. It was a press call, ‘look world, look how seriously we take this’. I am still waiting to see the outcome. Yes it is great to condemn racism and maybe even to have meetings to see who can condemn it the most. BUT it is simply not enough to merely condemn racism any more. We need to do something about it. I told the audience that day that ‘Belfast was a horrible city’ and do you know what? I don’t retract that. Right now Belfast is a great city for bigots, if it isn’t a racist attack it’s sectarian. Belfast has potential I agree and I do not dispute that. Now and again with events like the Giro we see snippets of how great this place can be but too often we are drawn back to becoming the hate filled cess pit that we are becoming known as. 

 

It is time that the people of Northern Ireland stood up and were counted, time to show the world a different side to Northern Ireland. For too long our decent people have sat back, left or contemplated packing up. There is no point in running away from Northern Ireland because right now wherever you go you will have to admit where you are from! Stand up, speak out and reclaim your city, your dignity and your global respect. Northern Ireland is not full of bigots, but unfortunately the bigots shout the loudest. For once let’s drown them out and I sincerely hope in the next election that we vote them out. Let’s show that Belfast can be a rainbow city that it can actually be ebony and ivory and green and orange!! I won’t go so far as to say living in perfect harmony but right now any harmony would be a start.

 

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Belfast: Memories of the late sixties : Ann Allan

Posted on May 30, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 2 Comments
Thinking back on my days in Belfast in the late sixties brought back many memories as to how alive the city was in those days. After my spell in East Belfast myself and a few of my friends moved to the university area. Thanks to a donation from my father, we were able to put a months deposit on a flat in Cromwell Road. I think it was a tenner. It was a peculiar setup with us renting the ground and second floor and three other girls had the first floor. The landlady was a buxom woman from Donaghadee, a staunch Presbyterian with a pint sized husband who followed at heel, occasionally muttering ‘yes dear’. It was obvious within a week we were not suitable tenants. However we had signed a six month lease and we were going nowhere.
Our local drinking hole was the Regency Hotel and many nights saw us heading out for a drink. Unlike today’s youth I had my first drink at 17 and that was either a Dubonnet and white lemonade or a Babysham.
One of our ex Lord Mayors, Dixie Gilmore had a shop on the corner of Lawrence Street. We lived royally on Cadbury’s smash, vegetable roll and baked beans from there. His beautiful Sri Lankan wife would let us owe a penny or two till the end of the month. Dixie became Lord Mayor in 1987. When payday came round we treated ourselves at the Quic Snac ( wonderful omelettes) at Shaftesbury square. A newly opened restaurant opposite the Black Man called the Scandia was the’ in ‘ place to go and the Chicken Maryland and the Strawberry Pavlova ‘ were to die for’. I  still miss the Skandia. Other popular eating places were the Chalet D’Or, (gorgeous pork chops) Cotters Kitchen ( great home cooking) and the Wimpey Bar in Wellington Place. Their hamburgers and their waffles were delicious. I think they were the first place to introduce tomato sauce in a plastic tomato. Oh! The sophistication. McD’s were such a disappointment when they arrived. Tasteless meat in cardboard.
Lots of groups visited Belfast in those few years before the troubles started. Older readers will remember Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich, the Troggs, Merseybeats, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Manfred Mann and Cream. The Beach Boys,  Gene Pitney I could go on and on.
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When there were no groups playing this was the era of the show band. The Astor and the Orpheus echoed to the beat of all the big bands , such as the Freshmen, the Hilton Showband and The Miami Showband ( many members tragically murmured in 1975).  I think Monday night was Astor night and Tuesday and Thursday were Orpheus nights. Wednesday night was the Queens Hop in the student union.
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Which reminds me of something and I blush even thinking about it. Surprisingly while the future hubby was still at school in Newry and I was up in Belfast I did have a few admirers.  One such admirer invited me on one occasion to The Queens hop and with permission from my beloved I agreed to go. On the day of the hop I had had a temporary tooth fitted and set off feeling that it was quite secure.  While dancing with my date I noticed he was looking at me peculiarly and as I leaned over to him smiling to ask over the loud music what  the problem was, my temporary tooth became dislodged and fell on the floor. I felt the colour rise and madly searched the floor for my tooth. It wasn’t hard to see cause in those days they used ultra violet light for effect. The down side was that it showed up everything white including white underwear and yes a false white tooth. Can you imagine the effect every time I had smiled, my one tooth had been shining like a beacon. No need to ask If ever saw Gerry again. No, not that Gerry.
When not out enjoying what the city had to offer we sat up at night playing Whist and Poker. Falling into bed at 2 pm and hearing the alarm at 7 to get up for work or uni.
Towards the end of our tenancy agreement one of my friends who was at art college decided to have a music session in the flat. Unfortunately it went round the art college like wildfire. Yes we managed in those days without Twitter. I think it was called face to face communication. So many turned up they were singing out in the street.   Bodhráns,  guitars, tin whistles. Boy the craic was good. It was like St Patrick’s Day in the Holyland. Mrs H was phoned by an irate neighbour and she arrived next morning to find a couple of her armchairs halfway up Cromwell Road and about 6 squatters of indeterminate character sleeping off hangovers in the front ‘parlour’.  We were giving our marching orders.  The shame of it. Still we were young and within a few days we had secured a new home. We moved in above the late John Anderson, a well known hairdresser in the sixties in Belfast and another chapter of our lives had begun.
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Racism – How Lo can we go?

Posted on May 29, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 1 Comment

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Today, the interview given by MLA Anna Lo has added another blow to those whose hearts are heavy at the unfolding racism row dominating our airwaves this week.

That a consummate politician with a public profile in Northern Ireland, who has lived here since 1974 (this is her home as much as anyone else’s) – to be announcing that she is leaving politics and considering leaving here altogether, speaks volumes.

She’s likeable, and has attracted something which tends to be difficult for Alliance, a huge chunk of the Nationalist vote in South Belfast.  She did that by breaking down barriers, and through sheer hard work.

She does not deserve to be attacked, bullied, followed, kicked, demonized, or to have bullets sent through the post.  She does not deserve to have insulting and disgusting public remarks made about her.  No one does.

Northern Ireland is a sick, sick place, and contained within it are some sick, sick people.  People who lack in educative awareness, who have no respect for diversity, whose minds are entrenched in every ‘ism’ .  Sectarianism.  Racism.  Xenophobism.  People who don’t want to think outside their own confines.  They are afraid of change, because change for them is unfamiliar.  They’re comfortable with the ghetto.  And those minds are fanned, and that thinking endorsed and ignored by ill thought out weasel words from people within this society who should know better.  People in positions of so called leadership.

Anna Lo is also afraid, and she has stated that she feels vulnerable.  We’ve known it since witnessing disgraceful catcalls at her on our TV screens, through her interviews, and through watching vile and disgusting comments on social media sites.  And, apart from an #istandwithanna twitter hashtag, which lets face it does nothing only give us an outlet to vent frustration;  what have we done about it?

As ridiculous as it may seem, Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers have still not published the long waited for Race Relations Strategy.  Not.  Good.  Enough.

For too long, race attacks have been carried out across the board here, in both Nationalist and Loyalist dominated areas.  However, the recent escalation of attacks has undoubtedly come from some pockets of Loyalism, who, not content with holding the rest of Northern Ireland to ransom over flag protests at huge cost to the taxpayer, have branched out in their irrational fear and hatred of anyone else who isn’t “on their message”.

Where are the responsible leaders of Loyalism?  The PUP, TUV, DUP, UUP, UKIP and anyone else within the Loyalist community who should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Anna Lo?  Where are the UDA and UVF representatives within communities?  Where are they when they are needed to send out a message to the more ignorant members of that community to stop?

They need to lead from the front, and unequivocally condemn it.  Not to do so is an absolute abdication of influential social responsibility.

This is not about politics.  It is about an inexcusable campaign of bile using minions to deliver a message that Loyalism is supreme, and that everyone else is inferior.  It is not about political opinion which of course everyone is entitled to, either.  It is racism dressed up as “freedom of speech”.  Pure and simple.

Anna Lo deserves our support.  She has served all of the people in her constituency without fear or favour.  She is entitled to have views on issues such as sovereignty here, as much as the next person.  If you don’t like it, don’t vote for her.  Plenty of people do, and did. On this issue, she has become a figurehead for every person in Northern Ireland of a different ethnicity or religion ; people who regard Northern Ireland every bit their home as much as we do.

We owe it to her, and to them to tackle racism properly, starting with a tangible and workable race relations strategy which actually makes a difference.  No point in blowing hot air about it, politicians, by voicing support on Twitter.

Plenty of hot air in Northern Ireland as it is already.

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Vixens response to Robinson / Mc Connell’s comments.

Posted on May 28, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — Leave a comment

Today,  a great writer and poet, Maya Angelou has died. No better poem of hers can convey what Vixens feel about the ongoing row over Pastor Mc Connells recent remarks on people of Muslim faith- and subsequent comments by the First Minister Peter Robinson – than her poem,  ‘A brave and Startling Truth’…

 

A Brave and Startling Truth – Maya Angelou

 

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet

Traveling through casual space 

Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns 

To a destination where all signs tell us 

It is possible and imperative that we learn 

A brave and startling truth 

 

And when we come to it 

To the day of peacemaking 

When we release our fingers 

From fists of hostility 

And allow the pure air to cool our palms 

 

When we come to it 

When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate 

And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean 

When battlefields and coliseum 

No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters 

Up with the bruised and bloody grass 

To lie in identical plots in foreign soil 

 

When the rapacious storming of the churches 

The screaming racket in the temples have ceased 

When the pennants are waving gaily 

When the banners of the world tremble 

Stoutly in the good, clean breeze 

 

When we come to it 

When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders 

And children dress their dolls in flags of truce 

When land mines of death have been removed 

And the aged can walk into evenings of peace 

When religious ritual is not perfumed 

By the incense of burning flesh 

And childhood dreams are not kicked awake 

By nightmares of abuse 

 

When we come to it 

Then we will confess that not the Pyramids 

With their stones set in mysterious perfection 

Nor the Gardens of Babylon 

Hanging as eternal beauty 

In our collective memory 

Not the Grand Canyon 

Kindled into delicious color 

By Western sunsets 

 

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe 

Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji 

Stretching to the Rising Sun 

Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor, 

Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores

These are not the only wonders of the world 

 

When we come to it 

We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe

Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger 

Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace 

We, this people on this mote of matter 

In whose mouths abide cankerous words 

Which challenge our very existence 

Yet out of those same mouths 

Come songs of such exquisite sweetness 

That the heart falters in its labor 

And the body is quieted into awe 

 

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet 

Whose hands can strike with such abandon 

That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living 

Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness 

That the haughty neck is happy to bow 

And the proud back is glad to bend 

Out of such chaos, of such contradiction

We learn that we are neither devils nor divines 

 

When we come to it 

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body 

Created on this earth, of this earth 

Have the power to fashion for this earth 

A climate where every man and every woman 

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety 

Without crippling fear 

 

When we come to it 

We must confess that we are the possible 

We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world 

That is when, and only when 

We come to it. 

 

Maya Angelou, 1928 – 2014

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PART THREE – POLLING DAY

Posted on May 27, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 2 Comments

Ever wondered just how Sinn Fein manage to know who has voted for them on polling day, and who they need to still get out?  The answer lies with a car, a pen, a post it, and a caravan. Yes, a caravan…

Remember the SInn Fein caravans you used to see outside the counts?  As time has changed, and Sinn Fein has gone for the respectable look, some have been replaced by Gazebos, but the operation to get votes out, is still done in the same way. 

Every polling station allows some party workers to mark off sheets inside the polling stations as voters come in.  Those sheets are not allowed to leave the room.  But SF need the info on them so they know who has voted, and who they need to rap on the doorstep to get them out to vote, offer lifts etc.   

The answer?  Post it notes, with the numbers written on them, and smuggled outside to the caravan  / gazebo / office.  There, they are given to a central person who marks them off a chart sheet – and compared with whether a person is a green or a yellow.  Come 6pm, Sinn Fein put a last push on going out to the doors,  and basically trying to trail their green voters who havent made it to the polling station out.  That’s where the car comes in, they’ll even try to take you there themselves. 

So, there you have it, no excuses now if you are a political party, you have the very basic information to ensure you have a blueprint to canvass courtesy of the SF model.  We may revisit the topic in more depth at a later stage, but come the next elections, parties now have no excuse! honestdigest@outlook.com   

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Vixens guide to election canvass – Stage Two – ANALYSING THE VOTE

Posted on May 27, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — Leave a comment

STAGE TWO : ANALYSING THE VOTE

So, we’ve covered how to canvass using the TORRENT model, and now comes the important bit. What do you do with the information?

Step 1. Collate.

You need to collate your Greens, Whites and Yellows first. Obviously, you will want to know the numbers. SF break this down by areas too – so that they can vote manage their transfers in order to get their maximum number of candidates over the line.
Once you have your number of greens, these go to a list, and an eye is kept on them on polling day to ensure their vote has come out (We will cover this in stage three).
The Yellows are the ones to concentrate on, because these voters need to be swayed before election day. These will be tracked and canvass teams sent back once, maybe twice in order to try and move them to greens.
The whites are basically a lost cause in terms of the election you want their vote for, but that doesn’t mean that Sinn Fein will ignore them as a party. They will ask, at the canvass what the persons main objection is, or if they have any difficulties. And this is where the constituency service comes in. Put simply, SF will try to woo the voter for the next election.
Now, back to the numbers. SF have been building up an overall picture of their vote for years. What better way for them to hone their electoral intelligence than to track votes? The party had a computer database devised by a Newry man in 2000. That database can not only search electoral areas by roll, but it can also give the numbers of green white and yellow votes – it gives the party the clearest picture yet, of where exactly their vote sits at, based on info given on the doorsteps. And it can be tracked election to election.
It’s probably not done by other parties, who usually will only go on information from the previous election, but Sinn Fein have honed their approach.
In addition to the collation of numbers, vitally important for polling day (and we will explain why in Stage three – ensuring your votes come out), Sinn Féin will run a media campaign, a poster and leaflet campaign, and this year a very effective social media one. However, as the recent election shows, particularly for NI21, media campaigns alone will not win votes. Your vote will be won – or lost, on the doorstep. Parties sometimes forget this.
Groups of voters will also be targeted. First time voters will receive individual letters, and a knock at the door all of their very own, and material will be dispatched through the letterbox. Parties, again take note. Few people read the election post material.
We could write all day about this stage of the canvass in more detail, but have just simplified the basics. In part three we will look at how Sinn Féin approach polling day – and how they ensure their vote comes out…

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Part One – How to get your vote out!

Posted on May 27, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 2 Comments

STAGE 1 – CANVASSING THE VOTER. 

As election fever subsides, and parties begin the postmortem, VIxens has decided to offer some advice to those parties who haven’t managed to bring their vote out, or manage it well.  Sinn Féin are unquestionably good at not only reading their support, but in translating it into votes, so we’ve used their model to explain.  So, how do they do it?  Parties take note… 

Sinn Féin firstly have good number crunchers, good strategists, and people who they can call on to canvass.  This is helpful when standing in multiple areas.  All parties who wish to fight elections seriously need it.  But what Sinn Féin have, which most other parties don’t, is an election canvass model.  A seriously good one.  It’s called TORRENT. 

Torrent was devised by the late Sheena Campbell, a party activist, shot dead by the UVF in 1992.  Named after a crucial by election in the Torrent ward in Dungannon, Sheena, who was the campaign manager developed a simple, but highly effective way to approach an election.  Work was broken down into manageable chunks, tasks assigned, but the key to torrent was RECORDING.  Put simply, Sinn Féin recorded how people were likely to vote. 

Here’s how Torrent works. We’ve broken it into a street to make it easier to understand.   Imagine you are a canvasser.  First off, Sinn Féin will give you a list (printed off their internally designed computer database, based on the electoral register), of the names of all eligible voters in that street, by house.   

Beside each name are columns as below. 

Address 

Name 

Green 

Yellow 

White 

Comments 

Call back? 

1 …. street 

Ms A Anyone 

Mr B Anyone 

x 

x 

 

 

 

want a street light fixed 

y 

2……street 

DR Who 

Mrs Who 

x 

 

 

x 

 

 

Disagrees with Abortion Stance-  SDLP voter 

y 

3….street 

MR C Whatwemean 

 

 

 

x 

Raised the Jean Mc Conville case, wont vote SF. 

no 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the first case, MR and MS Anyone are both ticked in the green box.  Both have been assessed by the Sinn Fein canvasser, having rapped the door, as solid Sinn Féin voters.   

The second house, Dr Who is ticked green, again a solid voter, but Mrs Who has told the canvasser that she doesn’t agree with Sinn Féin’s stance on abortion.  The canvasser thinks that she can be swayed to vote Sinn Féin, though, so she’s ticked as a yellow.  Callback Is ticked on this, and Sinn Fein will send a woman in a few days to try to sway Mrs Who, to explain the abortion policy, and to at least get a 2nd preference off her if she wont give a first. 

In the third house, Mr C Whatwemean has given the canvasser a headache.  The canvasser knows straightaway he will not give a first preference vote to Sinn Féin, and ticks the White box.  The canvasser will double check whether there are any other votes in the house, and ask to speak to those voters in case Mr Whatwemean has a differing view from the rest.  They will also be colour coded. 

For this canvass, Sinn Fein will send a team.  It can be done with a team of four to six people per estate or street.  Sinn Féin do it well because they will look for large numbers of canvass teams and put them all into an area together – this gives the street the impression that it’s a slick organisation, and voters are more likely to vote with those seen to be taking the elections seriously.  Having large numbers also gets the canvass done more quickly.   Most political parties have not caught up with this yet, and some take their vote for granted.  TAKE NOTE!  A leaflet through a door, or a once round with a high profile candidate is not enough.  Neither is a rap two days before an election.  

(STAGE TWO  – ANALYZING THE VOTE – COMING NEXT) 

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NI21 All that Glitters. (Jayne Olorunda)

Posted on May 25, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 2 Comments

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Even as a teenager I had been interested in politics, I even studied it. Then an interest was all I had. I had my own personal battles to deal with. In those days I depended on our politicians to rectify or at least properly address their root cause. In my twenties I spent years contacting political parties and politicians. I was my own little pressure group!  Little did I know that my incessant pleas would fall on deaf ears, or that their reactions would lead to my conviction that there must be a better way? When life became really unpleasant for my family I vowed that if things ever improved, I would let no other family suffer. If I ever had the chance to make a difference I would seize it.  The only chance I could imagine would involve joining and standing for a political party. Yet I had no party to identify with. Unless I was prepared to stand as an independent, it was unlikely that I could ever make a dent on our political landscape. As such I put my ideas on the backburner. 

In the interim I watched our politicians squabble and bicker and dare I say sectarianise new generations. I became angry and wondered would there ever be a true shared society here. All the while new people from all over the world were coming to live here because of the ‘peace’ we apparently had. I’m sure they learned quickly, especially at key times of the year, that this peace was fragile. Their very presence here ignited another form of hatred, one that flourished in our fragmented society; ‘Racism’. I believed then (and still do), that if people from Northern Ireland cannot live with each other then it is unlikely that they will ever be able to live with anyone else. I acknowledge that the vast majority of people here want normality and indeed live in normality BUT these people are silent. I have yet to see their desire made clear at the ballot box. Over the years when each election result was announced, I would feel my hope for true progress diminishing. Thirty years since my father suffered untold racism and died at the hands of sectarianism, we were still voting green and orange and worse…. the far right had raised it’s ugly head. 

I turned my back on it all, instead I concentrated on caring for my mum and raising the plight of the hidden victims in Northern Ireland. I wrote a book about my family’s experiences and it opened many doors. I woke up one morning in September to find myself on the front page of the Belfast Telegraph, featured in the News Letter, The Irish News and later The Irish Times. I was even interviewed live on BBC’s Evening Extra. Suddenly people were concerned and interested in my story. For that I was pleased but I must admit a little cynical. It seemed it took publishing a book to make people sit up and listen.  

Each political party was talking about victims and how much they cared. The duplicity inherent in their words, (for I had seen first-hand how disinterested they were) meant that politics became more than something I watched from the side-lines. Gradually I was becoming involved and even consulted. Alongside other victims I spoke with MLA’s, I went to the Haass talks and perhaps naively  felt that at last our input would be valued! In hindsight I expected too much from our politicians. When the Haass talks failed I felt physically sick. I asked myself time and time again would this country ever reach a consensus. At that moment as far as I was concerned the answer was a resounding no.  I reached an all-time low.  

It was around this time that I met Basil McCrea. He talked to me about his party and after that meeting I never looked back. I joined the party and became immersed in a group of wonderful people who all had the same ideals as me. My spirits were lifted and for the first time in a long time I felt a changed Northern Ireland could be a reality! When the party announced its stance on victims my heart broke, I could no longer look my mother and sister in the eye. Yet I mended quickly when I looked back on unsuccessful attempts to reconcile the past. To me the past could never be reconciled, nothing would bring our loved ones back. 

At the same time NI21 members dropped like flies as the alarming lack of organisation came to the fore. But the devoted remained, our only agenda was change so we battled on. The candidates were eventually announced a month before the election. To my dismay I was told I would be standing in an area I knew little about! Tempted as I was to throw in the towel I thought no, this is more than the individual; – this is about change. If NI21 can make it, if we can get a few council seats maybe just maybe less families would be left like mine. If all else failed I could stand up and say ‘I tried’. 

After a succession of obstacles, including having no marketing material, a last minute switch resulting in a humiliating appearance on live TV, I figured I’ve done it now. I’ve made my bed so I may lie in it. I walked the streets of Ormiston day after day, armed with my photocopied leaflets and two faithful companions. No posters or marketing material for me! Soon my lack of resources didn’t matter as the responses on the doors spurred us on. It really seemed that people wanted change. Yes we met a few who favoured the green and orange ways but let me be very clear on this, they really were the few. For the first time ever I felt that Northern Ireland was crying out for more, Northern Ireland wanted change and its desire was almost palpable. On my final day of canvassing the news broke that the party was to re-designate.  Even before any further stories emerged I knew that it was game over. For this election anyway.  

The human side to all of this is a tragedy. Forty six people put themselves forward, they stood for change in the most public of manner. How is their courage, their determination and for many their struggles acknowledged? With a blow big enough to knock all but one of us out of the running. We had been let down by our leadership and for my part I was devastated. What was it all for? NI21 never ceased declaring that we need to end political squabbling and work together. The irony was that the party couldn’t do itself what it berated others for!  

For my part, I am sorry to the 11,000 plus who voted for NI21, but I also commend you. I couldn’t do it. I am ashamed to say that I couldn’t bring myself to vote for my own party. Do I want change ‘yes’ is NI21 the best vehicle to allow this? I am not convinced. In an ideal world NI21 would regroup, learn from its mistakes and move on. But when has Northern Ireland ever learned from its mistakes? If it had, we wouldn’t have needed an NI21 in the first place!  I have learned a lot over the past month, I have met some fantastic people and will always be encouraged by the will for change that existed amongst the people of East Belfast and beyond. Will I continue with politics or will I drift back to the side-lines? I don’t know any more. To me if a party that fights for change creates division then how can a divided government create change? I think I will lick my wounds, hope for change and maybe one day (like what remains of NI21), I will rise again! For now at least I can say ‘I tried’. As for NI21 or indeed any new political party? I don’t know … watch this space!  But I would urge caution to anyone who is drawn to the exterior façade of any party and ask them to remember that all that glitters is not gold. Sometimes it’s patent and can cause severe irritation and pain!  

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Liberal… (to a certain extent) (Roisin Daley)

Posted on May 24, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — Leave a comment

As a Catholic growing up in a predominantly Protestant town, often prone to bigotry and sectarianism, I learned as a child, to ‘hide’ and sort of down play my own background and identity, and if anything, I came to loathe my Catholic-sounding name, which I felt, made me stick out like a sore thumb, as people made assumptions that I was some kind of fervent, tricolour waving papist. (when in fact I was just a lonely teenage girl with badly dyed hair). It was through traveling, that I came to fully understand what a needless and ridiculous charade prejudice and sectarianism is. This was particularly evident when I lived and studied in England, where I was surprised by how people seemed to warm to me. They thought my accent was charming, and my name was unusual… and made me feel like some kind of beguiling exotic specimen to be consulted on things.  It was a very refreshing experience. I felt more secure in my own skin and  cultural identity than I did when living back home. When I returned to NI, I sort of realised then that bigotry is a basically deliberate, dehumanising act. It often spreads when in the company of homogenised groups, of an ‘us and them’ mentality, it is fed on insularity and fear. it is tribal, it is defensive and it attacks those who come near its periphery and attempts to justify terrible things… I was surprised at my own bit of bigotry recently when I learnt that someone I know who works in the arts, is actually a devout Christian who believes in Creationism. The reason being that I always thought that Creationists were kinda the enemy in Northern Ireland (lead by their leader Nelson McCausland, who seems to hate most things, and forms of culture if they aren’t ‘orange’ ) and that they therefore deserved to be mocked for their beliefs. In saying this, I’ve always thought that a person’s faith is a private matter – which should be respected. Yet, somehow in my head this didn’t apply to Creationists. Not that I’d ever met one before, but that didn’t stop me from ridiculing their beliefs in the company of others. The more I thought about how this person had never mentioned it to me, (or the fact that they were religious at all) or to anyone else, I began to feel a bit bad; no wonder they didn’t say anything, they would have just been mocked by all and sundry, and myself included – probably throwing the first stone. I thought about the past, and how I’d felt excluded and paranoid because of my own background and I came to the realisation that, perhaps I wasn’t guilty of being a bigot, but maybe I was guilty of just harbouring the same set of allegiances  as everyone else around me. So although its a reallllllly obvious thing to say, that you would probably learn from watching an episode of Sesame Street,  its worthwhile noting that its important to mix with other people who are from different walks of life, if anything, to stop yourself from becoming an intolerant buffoon. Or some kind of lazy opinionated Daily Mail columnist/arsehole. Or Katie Hopkins, who actually make money from hatred (How entrepreneurial of her.) Really, no one wants that. So to quote an old Northern Irish advert; If you catch yourself thinking like a bigot – catch yourself on. 

 First featured on http://belfastvulture.tumblr.com/

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Muddied Waters – NI21 (Ann Allan)

Posted on May 22, 2014 by vixenswithconvictions — 3 Comments

Tonight we see another casualty of the cut and thrust of political life, with the news that NI21 chair, Tina Mc Kenzie has resigned from the executive. I’m saddened by that.  There was so much hope for NI21, and its hard to see how it can recover.  I wish Tina all the best with whatever direction she takes in the future.

I came into politics late in life. I had watched from afar for many years but was put up off by the ‘them  and us’ mentality and thought that most politicians had in their own way perpetuated the problems in Northern Ireland. I despaired when The DUP and Sinn Fein became the biggest parties further polarising us and, as a result, when I could be bothered to vote, I voted Alliance.

Thirty years down the line nothing much had changed. We were no better off and apart from Naomi Long, whom I admire very much, there was no one in the Alliance party that I could see who could change things. I was in favour of the union with Britain.  I no longer considered myself as being part of any religious group but I wanted also to have the Irish element of my identity represented.  In other words I saw myself as Northern Irish. Alliance didn’t tap in on that desire so when John Mc Allister and Basil McCrea jumped ship from the Unionist party and formed NI2I I  thought, here is a party with whom I can identify.

I became a member, attended meetings and threw myself wholeheartedly behind them.  I wasn’t  completely happy. On many occasions through FB, Twitter and face to face, I criticised their administration. Ad hoc decisions were made. They seemed  to drift from crisis to crisis. Things were not going well on the ground and the party seemed in some ways leaderless. One leader was running around like a blue-assed fly and the other not sure where he was. Most candidates will be unaware of what was going on. I canvassed for Jayne Olorunda, who started her campaign in a positive frame of mind.  I watched as that changed to disillusionment.


What went wrong? For me a close observer and at times privy to discussions with some of the players I can give you my opinion.
The party launched too soon. The candidates and those trying their hands at administration were inexperienced and did not have a clue about running a campaign. Due to egos and internal disagreements some candidates were left to fend on their own, never having fought  an election before. There was baggage that should have been dealt with so that there would be no skeletons in the cupboard when heading to elections.  There appears not to have been much integrity about what was the right and what was the wrong way to act in certain circumstances.  Although the decision to change designation was a positive step towards non – tribal politics,  the timing and the fact that candidates were not informed or involved in the decision with only two days to go  before the election was, I think, ill judged.


For two leaders to have such a public spat was embarrassing and unprofessional to say the least. Did they have no thought for the 47 young hopefuls who had thrown themselves behind the party with so much enthusiasm and gusto? They should both be ashamed of themselves. I very much doubt that  either Basil or John  now command the respect of those who gave up so much for them. I don’t know what the future is for NI 21. I for one will be very wary about ever again dipping my toes in already muddied waters. Two egotists not able to survive in the UUP and not able to survive together have trodden on the hopes of many potential NI 21 voters.

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