THE importance of community spirit has rarely been greater given the treatment of some people considered ‘different’ over the past week.
Much has been said, and will be said again, about the disturbing and distressing scenes that have played out on our streets since last weekend.
But it’s also important to take note of and reflect on the positive community spirit that exists within society here.
That was evident on the Falls Road in Belfast on Tuesday night when residents literally stood shoulder to shoulder with a shop owner to face down shoplifting youths who were harassing him.
It was also on show when residents of Sandy Row came to the aid of a foreign national who was attacked by a mindless thug the evening before.
Given the financial pressures on the PSNI’s budgets, the need for this kind of societal unity against bad actors within their midst becomes more and more prevalent.
At the same time as all of this has been playing out, we have had a prime example of an open and inviting community event in West Belfast.
Féile an Phobail – literally ‘festival of the community’ – has grown over 36 years into Ireland’s largest such celebration and it should be considered a model of what can be created with vision and a lack of prejudices.
Since this year’s festival opened on August 1, people of different backgrounds and cultures have been prominent, displaying examples of their songs, food, art and more.
A Celebrating Diversity event championed the multi-cultural and multi-lingual society we live in. A Cooking Of The World workshop enabled people to discover and try culinary dishes from around the globe.
Last weekend, almost at the same time as the stand-off and anger on display outside city hall, the festival’s flagship carnival parade gave a colourful contrast as multiculturalism and difference within the community came to the fore.
Today, the festival has a dedicated ‘Palestine Day’ planned with talks, stalls, a screening and solidarity lunch part of the agenda.
And tomorrow is the Feile’s International Day; a free event featuring cultural experiences from countries such as Greece, Albania, China, Poland and numerous others.
The key here is that those involved in these events – and the scores of others - have been given the space to be themselves, and been embraced by the many people attending Féile who welcome them within a society that needs heterogeneity to thrive.
The problems we’ve seen on our streets aren’t necessarily a failure of community, rather they’re principally of leadership and education.
Those with influence should step forward and unite their communities rather than allowing people with malfeasant positions and ill-informed opinions to drive a deeper wedge through them.
