Prolog
Belfast is - against all
speculations - a beautiful town which shouldnīt only be
associated with violence, bomb attacks and the sectarian fighting
of paramilitary groups. Many donīt know very much about the real
struggle in Northern Ireland, donīt know anything about the aims
of the IRA; donīt know anything about the divided life of the
two groups and why fighting still exists in a western European
country. This novel aims to change this a little bit.
The people in this novel
have never existed but the story could have happened - some time,
somewhere in Northern Ireland. The background history and the
majority of the mentioned bomb attacks and events which happened
between 1984 and 1997 are factual.
Iīve read much about the struggle and I visited Belfast at a
time when the politicians claimed there was "peace" -
but there seemed to be no end to the struggle nor to the
provocation. In August 1998 the hatred still existed on the faces
of both sectarian groups; armoured cars of the British army were
still
patrolling and I was for a second in the line of fire of a
British gun. I must say it scared me and I realized that there is
hardly a chance for peace in Northern Ireland.
The IRA is still fighting for a united Ireland like their heroes
and martyrs who had died for their cause in the past - and the
loyalist paramilitaries like the UDA is still fighting for a
Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom. There is no
room for a compromise - and thatīs because both groups are
fanatics and fighting for their country.
In Belfast, anyone strolling along the Catholic Falls Road or walking through Protestant Sandy Row will realize it. There will always be somebody who believes there is a chance for real peace in Northern Ireland under the current situation - but Iīm sceptical. Each new day will start with the same statement: ...tomorrow there will be peace!
Copyright ĐUte Oettel Fouqué-Verlag 2000 - 2007