Sunday in Belfast

Our Sunday in Belfast was really sobering. Luisa and I learned that there was going to be a homecoming parade for the British soldiers in Belfast as well as a protest organized by Sinn Fein against the soldiers. We decided to go and as we were driving into Belfast we wondered whether it was a good idea to go to the march; there were armed police everywhere and they were searching cars before allowing people into the city- something I'd never seen before! We fought our way through the crowds and ended up in the middle of a group of extremely vocal and politically charged young men- they swarmed the sidewalk around us and filled the scaffolding above us, many armed with British flags. The street was full of people and the BBC estimated that 30,000 people were in the city for the parade and protest. It turns out the Sinn Fein protestors gathered right across the street from us and were surrounded by police with bullet-proof shields and helmets with face masks. As soon as the British supporters around us saw the protestors they threw their middle fingers up in the air and swore at them. They kept calling them f%$*ing gypsies, scum, and kept singing the song "Go home scum, the famine's over...". The blatant hatred made my stomach churn. Luisa and I made sure to stay together and at one point we thought we heard a gun shot which, praise the Lord!, ended up being a firework. As soon as it went off a bunch of guys jumped off of the scaffolding and started running, as did a few people in the crowd, so we took off towards the next street over. After discovering it wasn't a gunshot we wandered back and this time hung out a bit farther away from the crowd. I kept looking back at the corner we were previously standing on and it looked like something out of a history book- it all felt so surreal, I guess because I've only read about the Troubles in books and haven't actually experienced much of the aftermath. Luckily the soldiers made it down the street safely and were definitely appreciated by the majority British-supporters there. Afterwards though people started throwing fireworks and bottles at the Sinn Fein protestors so we decided it was fine time to head out.
I read some BBC articles and no one got hurt which I was glad to hear! Reporters were saying that this served as a test to see how the peace process is faring in Belfast and Northern Ireland. While it is definitely a lot better than it was during the Troubles, I think that they still have quite a ways to go. It was amazing though- at one point while the British supporters were yelling at the protestors (sorry if I sound rather one-sided, I didn't hear what was being said on the other side of the street; although I do know that the police kept a more vocal Republican group of protestors away from the march) an older man walked down the middle of the road with a sign that read, "Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself." It was amazing to be reminded of Jesus during such a time.
I am really glad that I went; it really got the wheels in my head turning and helped me to realize how much in prayer I need to be for the people here; especially with such a hurting past in need of healing. I am so grateful that nothing worse happened beyond angry words.