Corrymeela Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts by Daniel

What was Corrymeela?To me Corrymeela is a sanctuary, a place for peace where the affected and victimised can go to find asylum and peace in a world that is all too rife with division, and predujice. Corrymeela is a place where one can gather their thoughts and rest their feet before continuing on the long road of life. I had never experienced a place like Corrymeela before, and to be honest I didn't know such a place could exist or that the idea for such a sanctuary could be visualised then materialised. The vision for this sancturary had been created by a group of peace activists of northern ireland when the troubles in this country were beginning to unfold with the need for a place where all sides of the conflict could meet and peacefully talk. These peace activists pooled their money together in 1969 and bought a piece of the Irish countryside for 6,000 pounds. They built Corrymeela with their own hands and the sweat that dripped from their brow was theirs alone. This dedication to piece still exists as much today as it did then. Corrymeela has been host to a number of peacemakers, and dignitaries alike, which includes names such as Mother Theresa, and the Dalai Llama. But the most important people that visit Corrymeela are everyday citizens which go to experience life without borders, class, or divisions to enjoy the very existence of life.

I was very moved when I arrived at Corrymeela, it was overwhelming to see the sunset over the Irish sea with storms in each direction but not one cloud above my head. I guess you could imagine this being a perfect metaphor for this sanctuary, a place without storms only calm, and peace. Tears came to my eyes as I reflected upon the great opportunities that have been afforded to me while so many in the world may not have the chance to be able to take in such beauty. Corrymeela does strive to bring people from all over the world to its doors to experience what it has to offer, and it is very successful in accomplishing this. Over the week at being in Corrymeela I had the opportunities to meet people from Ghana, Germany, Israel, Palestine, India, El Salvador, and Northern Ireland, everyone with the same vision of peace, each one with a different road to follow.

Earlier in this Blog I reffered to Corrymeela as a 'Resort of Peace', i was wrong in this assumption, it is not a resort. A resort is a place where one goes to disregard the troubles of the world while being served cocktails with little umbrellas. Instead, Corrymeela is a safe place for people to share their story together, learning about themselves and eachother. It gives permission to imagine, to hope, it provides a place for people to think outside the box, and asks the question, "how do we start to live in a new way?" Corrymeela is a community where poeple come together equally, to learn and share experiences.

What I hope can happen is that this shared vision for a shared future between peoples can be passed along over the great Atlantic ocean, through the plains of North America and to the desert of New Mexico to our own Corrymeela where we can bring our people together to share that common story that is within all of us. We can start this vision today, and we can make it a reality tomorrow. All that is needed are hands to help build such a sanctuary then together we can celebrate the vision of peace.



I look forward to seeing everyone at home, and at CLPS very soon and cannot wait to share my experiences and teachings with each and every one of you. Remember we all hold the capacity to bring peace to all our hearts.

June 9th, The PUB group

June 9th-

When we arrived at Corrymeela we were greeted by youth from the Pub Group, a diverse group of youth from all around Nothern Ireland that meet and talk about issues that affect their communities and train to teach others in their age groups about issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, safe sex, and diversity. They talked about their experiences growing up in Northern Ireland and the importance of youth voice. I interviewed them and they explained to me the reason they became so involved with the Pub groupand Corrymeela was because they were taken seriously and were part of the decision making process.

June 11th

June 11th-
Jake
The Rathlin islands have a rich history filled with with myths and legends and also sadness. They are located in between Ireland and Scotland and have a population of close to 100 people. William the Bruce, The scotish king who defeated the english after six defeats was said to have hid on the island and found inspiration from a spider in a cave after watching it try to get from on side to the other six times before it was finally successful on the seventh time. During the sevententh century all of the families living on the islands were massacred because of a feud. I am not a historian, so the dates and information might not be accurate but when we went on a boat trip around the island and had some tea and fresh scones, I felt something very special on that island that I have never felt before. On our boat trip we saw many birds and even a few puffins! It was a great experience!

June 2nd

Jake
Today we started off the day with a very informative meeting with CRJ and Alternatives. These organizations are doing truely ground breaking work in Northern Ireland. They both are working with ex-prisoners from both sides of the conflict to help them in many different ways and training them to be mentors to at risk youth in Northern Ireland. Both Jim from CRJ and Tom from Alternatives explained to us about restorative justice and how they are working with the whole community and even the police! this was very interesting to hear because I have never heard any organization that works with both ex-prisoners and police to better a community in a constructive way that looks at the future instead of the past.

Sunday June 7th 2009

It's Dan once again with another post!

I finally got a little bit of free time to go out into the Irish countryside outside of Ballycastle to enjoy the most beautiful weather and scenery that Northern Ireland has to offer. The director of Corrymeela Ronny, and our now famous guide Derick took us out to a rope bridge on the coast that was once used by fishermen long ago. Today it has become a popular spot for tourists and it is easy to see why. The waters around the bridge were crystal clear reflecting a beautiful green and blue. We took time to take in the view and process much of what we had learned the previous few days.
After the rope bridge the group and I hopped back into the minibus to go look at a castle on the very edge of the Irish coast. Much of it lay intact and it was interesting to see how some of the nobles lived in old Ireland. the castle itself was built in the late 16th century, and still featured high walls, chimney places, as well as stables and a living quarters. We are all still pretty tired from everything we have experienced so by the end of the day I think a full nights rest is well deserved.

4th of June 2009

This post is being posted by Dan.

Today I visited the Northern Ireland police academy, where the Northern Irish police force is recruited and trained. The group and I were led by a older officer who was the deputy gave presented a brief power point about the work being conducted at the academy. He emphasized the new thinking and training that has been taken away from the lessons learned from the troubles of Norther Ireland. The presentation was to show our group that the Northern Ireland police force is improving its image in being more compassionate and understanding in the various communities around the country.

After the presentation I was able to sit down and talk with a group of six recruits who looked no older than their early twenties. While we sat I was able to ask them questions that dealt with subjects from what they have experienced first hand with the police, to how they would work within the community to better enforce the law as well as improve trust of the police and the communities. The police for a vast majority of Northern Irish, have a very negative view over them because of their cold tactics towards preventing violence, and because the old police force was seen by many to be the arm of the loyalists, although both sides of the conflicts cared nothing for the police.

The young recruits seemed eager to get out onto the streets and make a difference in whichever community they would be placed. Our group was able to get a lot of insight as to what these recruits were being taught, but there is still high tensions among the populace and the police force. It is still a little too early to tell whether or not the new Northern Irish police force will create a positive image of itself, or whether the negative views that have been dominate will still continue to be the norm.

Corrymeela

These photos were taken moments after arrival at Corrymeela.


Jake, Lauren, Swechha, Dan, & Michael

Trying to take it all in...