On a personal level, this week was supposed to be about taking photos of the life in St. Columb’s Park, catching up with friends in the city, and possibly covering the Walled City Music Festival.
The endlessly dull weather put paid to the photos in the park. But truthfully, there were far darker clouds to be concerned with.
It turned out to be a week where I, and several others, found ourselves posting Facebook status updates about how the Strand Road bomb had affected us all. It was really sad for me to note that in spite of all the positive vibes and relentless optimism that had been flowing through the city in recent weeks, some things just didn’t seem to change.
On Tuesday, one girl commented how she was not now able to get into town to see Toy Story 3, since the town was closed off until Thursday. Another guy noted, on my profile, how much of a shame it was that frightened tourists who’d just been saying how wonderful Derry was suddenly had to experience this.
Can We Learn? Apparently, not everyone can. On this evidence, you would think that Derry really is only flourishing on the surface.
But a dark side in a celebratory atmosphere is nothing new. Even in the halcyon days of 1995, when Van Morrison’s “Days Like This” was ubiquitous on the local airwaves, all was not well. Just days before Air Force One prepared to touch down in Aldergrove for commencement of the Clintons’ famous visit to Northern Ireland, a man had been beaten to death in North Belfast simply because of his religion.
The key to Derry overcoming hurdles such as this one lies in the goodwill within this city. And I know from what I’ve seen that it doesn’t have to be this way. Please let such a pointless act of violence be an aberration, and not an indication that our city is dancing on a volcano.
