Resilience and Healing

I have learned and gained so much knowledge from my time here that I don’t even know where to begin on what I’ve learned about myself and this country.

I feel inspired and hopeful for the future of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. While progress has been slow in this country, I’ve met so many wonderful people who are fighting to heal and change their country, and the perceptions of it for the betterment of all people. Not just all of the speakers from our class, but all the locals I have gotten to know during my time here. There is much work to be done, by the resilience of the people here is truly a joy to be around. When I asked about why I wanted to study this specific program, I had barely known anything about Northern Ireland and the Republic, all I had known was the suffering.

I wanted to look at the resilience of the people here, not just in terms of survival, but what have people done to help their community and themselves. What I learned is that silence and complicity is murder. Everyone we have talked to has talked about how the first step to healing is admitting what has happened and to talk about it, whether it’s the whole story or even a part of it. The moment someone opens up to anyone about trauma is when healing can begin, however, it is not the only thing you can do for healing. As well as connecting with others about your story, it’s the dialogue and conversations you have with the people around you. Education is key. Learning about both sides of this terrible conflict and recognizing everyone is a victim. As Richard Moore said, he is a victim of the conflict not of anger.

I have a lot of my own trauma, my own baggage, and multitude of issues. Some of them I have been able to heal from and move on, and others I haven’t been able to move on from. Listening to the stories of everyone at the Playhouse, especially Victoria’s when she said “we’ve been carrying the secrets of those who came before us ever since we were born” I think of my own intergenerational trauma and the secrets I’ve been keeping within my family. Once I graduate, I plan to leave to Mexico for two years to meet my family, in understanding my own indigenous identity, and to begin my healing process. Being here has made me realize how much work I still have yet to do to not be a victim of anger anymore.