March 2001

Dear Friends,

Recent news in Northern Ireland has been dominated by outbreaks of two scourges. Both are potentially devastating. However the reactions to the two have been disappointingly different.

Three weeks ago foot and mouth disease was detected in sheep imported from England. The first case in Ireland for over 60 years sent chills down the spines of the farming community and the government. Although it poses no health risk to humans, it is highly contagious among sheep, cattle and pigs. Therefore, it is a tremendous threat to agriculture and the whole economy. In fact, it is so serious that in addition to the 200 imported sheep some 18,000 other animals that may have come into contact with them at market or were grazing on neighboring farms have already been slaughtered and incinerated in an attempt to kill the virus. Further measures to prevent any spread include a ban on the movement of animals, disinfectant mats placed at the entrances to all farms and many public buildings, any unnecessary visitors (including mail carriers) being kept away from farms, the countryside being closed to walkers, many tourist attractions closing, and most school, amateur, and professional sporting events and other large gatherings canceled to reduce the virus being transmitted in crowds. Even Synod meetings were canceled!

Foot and mouth has caught people’s attention quickly. The consequences of it spreading would be dire. Realizing this, most people have been willing to participate in a concerted effort to prevent that happening. And, although the number of confirmed cases in Great Britain has now exceeded 400, to date no further outbreak has been confirmed in Ireland.

The second scourge does pose a very direct threat to human life and its spread seems to be out of control. It is violence—and it has taken many forms. After years of politically motivated shootings and bombings, the death toll and other statistics linked to sectarian violence here dropped dramatically in recent years. However, so called "punishment attacks" by both Republican and Loyalist paramilitary groups on individuals within their own districts have actually increased. In the autumn of 2000 there was a particularly vicious feud between rival Loyalist paramilitaries along Belfast’s Shankill Road in which at least seven men died and 200 families were forced to move. That soon spread to Loyalist areas beyond Belfast. In unrelated incidents between Christmas and New Year there were eight stabbing deaths, frequently following parties. Since the beginning of January there has been at least one pipe or petrol bomb attack on someone’s home every day. Many of these have been sectarian attacks on the homes of Catholics living in largely Protestant/Loyalist districts. There have also been attacks on Catholic churches. In Derry, random unprovoked gang attacks on young men leaving city center places of entertainment have become commonplace. These are not primarily "sectarian," but the injuries are just as painful. Again, unrelated to all of this, attacks on the elderly, often as part of burglaries have soared.

There has been a devastating catalogue of seemingly "unrelated" violence. But is it really or is it all part of the legacy of 30 years of violent conflict in this society: Violence which as part of "the Troubles" was too easily viewed as "understandable," "an acceptable level," or even actively condoned.

This awful legacy of violence caught my attention forcefully a few weeks ago. The morning news stated a body had been discovered in waste ground in North Belfast. The victim had been shot in the head in a "paramilitary-style" execution. That afternoon a phone call to our office confirmed that the victim was the 29-year-old foster brother of one of my colleagues. He had also been a 9-year-old boy at the first Summerfest I organized in 1981. The day Mother Teresa was our keynote speaker he didn’t have a piece of paper when she passed by, so he asked her to sign his hand—and then didn’t wash it for days. The loving care of a wonderful foster family hadn’t been enough to shelter him from the contagious scourge of violence in this society. He had become involved in paramilitaries in his teens. He had been in and out of jail. He had done something to annoy his former cohorts. And, now he was dead. But for most people, like myself on many other occasions, his death was quickly forgotten and life went on "business as usual."

Just like foot and mouth, violence spreads rapidly. But it is difficult to get ourselves or others to participate in a concerted effort to prevent that happening. This month I have had several meetings with colleagues from various denominations here who have responsibility to stimulate and steer their church’s peacemaking efforts. Many good things are happening, but by and large their experience is that, in spite of the awful spread of violence in recent months, peacemaking remains very much a marginal concern while "business as usual" goes on, even in the churches. And then the news also came of another school shooting near San Diego.

Soon it will be Holy Week. Luke reports that as Jesus approached Jerusalem he wept over the city, saying "if you only recognized on this day the things that make for peace" (Lk: 19:42). Will he still be weeping this year as he looks over Belfast, San Diego, and wherever you are—or will he rejoice in seeing his people engaged in the concerted effort needed to rid our communities of this scourge?

Faithfully yours,

Doug and Elaine Baker

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 77