The Free Derry museum down in the Bogside where Bloody Sunday took place has artifacts showing the violence, video shot during the violence and the peaceful marches, and much reading to tell the story. John Kelly was working at the museum and asked what I thought. I thought about the LaFontant coup I had been in in Haiti and all the violence and the bloodshed I witnessed. The lynchings, the maiming, the burnings were horrific and I burst into tears remembering that and seeing the photos of young people, 14 and 17 years old, killed. Then John Kelly showed me a book and on page 57 of the Images of Bogside, he shows me a picture of his nephew during the demonstration and on the very next page a photo of his nephew on the ground killed by a British soldier. John was standing across the street when it happened. I asked if the peace process was working and he said there are still tensions but Derry and especially the Bogside is the safest area in Europe. Much continues through the Peace and Reconciliation organization in Derry and through an organization at the University of Ulster, Magee Campus, called Incore, (note: I had a meeting with the head of the group and should I get a Fulbright to Northern Ireland, they would be interested in working with my on my project.) John Kelly would be interested too.
I leave Derry with thoughts of peace and harmony and good cheer. I’m back to Belfast and then on a ferry to Liverpool, where I think I will stay for a couple of days. The Beetles should pick up my spirits a bit.
Leara Rhodes 