HARD BIRTHING OF A NEW HUMANITY

by Mairead Maguire 6th Nov.,1991.

"As the Serb dominated Federal Army go along taking over and destroying villages they kill old people who won't move from their homes. One old lady's body was round hanging upon a wooden cross arms outstretched, brutalized. Over 200 churches have been destroyed, whole villages have been cleared and ruined, whole cities cut oli and suriounded by Federal Army troops. Innocent civilians, including little children (in one city alone, Vokavar, there are 40.000 people). Here civilians are forced to take shelter undergound as they are bombarded from the air. They have no electricity, water, food, medicines. This is the an army second only to the Soviet Union's military might, which is causing genocide of the Croat people in its frenzied attempt to hold onto 'old' style communist rule, and thereby denying people their right to democracy. Tell the World to do everything it can to stop the Federal forces and demand their withdrawai from Croatia. The Army bas killed thousands, they have even bombed hospitals, this is n

ot like Northern Ireland". These words were spoken to me by the Bishop of Zagreb, on a morning during which the Yugoslava army bad increased its shelling of Croat cities, and who had a sbort time ago bombed the Parliament building in Zagreb itself. He began to cry - yes, even Bishops cry and must surely in times like these stop to ask themselves - "has the World gone mad?"

I was in Zagreb for 3 days speaking to local peace activists and adtending the Federal Council of the Transnational Nonviolent Radical Party. I gave enthusiastic consent to the Resolutions passed by the Council urging the immediate recognition of the republics of former Yugoslavia, that have democratically proclaimed their independence, and to apply EC sanctions if Serbian dominated Federal Army does not cease immediately the bombing of Croatia.

On the return flight to Northern Ireland, the Bishops words came back to me as with a heavy heart I read that the IRA has bombed Musgrave Park Hospital, killing two young soldiers. The newspapers also carried the report that the dead body of a young man was found in a car - which earlier police has shot into suspecting joyriders. I too asked myself 'has the World gone mad?'

Humanity has not gone mad either. The deep warmth, and capacity for real compassion of the people of N. Ireland in the midst of war, and the deep warmth and capacity for compassion of the Croat and Serbs in their war (indeed this applies to people everywhere) confuses and shocks the enquiring visitor into observing with great regularity "I don't understand - the people are so kind - how can this fighting go on like this?"

However, people everywhere in their natural repulsion against cruelty and violence, and in order to meet their human need to find answers thereby making some sence out of nonsece, often rush to "blame" someone - that is anyone but themselves for the evil they see. The answers take the forms of dangerous simplicity - its the Federal Army, the Communists, the provos, the extreme loyalists, the British Army, etc., etc. Get 'rid of the men of violence' (ob how often have we heard this phrase in Northern Ireland') and all will be well, all manher of things will be well, and we 'good' people can get peacefully on with our lives. We fail to recognize that we ourselves are part of the problem. We, frail humans, are at one time capable of the greatest good and at the same time capable of the greatest evil. Change will only come about when each one of us takes up the daily struggle to be ourselves more forgiving, compassionate, loving, and above all joyful in the knowledge that we ourselves by some miracle of grace ca

n change, as those around us can change too. Therein lies our hope for a better future. So too from this struggle within ourselves to be more truly human comes the truth - life is truly sacred, love is stronger than hate. We come to realize this unseen force of love is in action in our world today, in a mysterious way helping humanity to come to a new understanding of human life and a new refusal to take the 'gift of life' from another human person. But this rebirthing of a deeper humanity - more in keeping with our spiritual needs, will not be without pain, both spiritually and on a widen level of society. The cry to Society's Institutions - both secular and religious - to respect our live and right to personal freedom, will either continue to be ignored, ridiculed as ridiculous idealist nonsence, or simply as happens in third World countries, and is happening in Yugoslavia now - met with all the violence, cruelty, war and oppression that the State can use in order to impose their idea of 'order' (I never c

ease to be amazed at Government's demand for 'order' rather than 'justice'.)

But I suppose why should this so amaze me. Once, we the people, have given the State our permission to act on our behalf, once we have allowed the 'lie' to take root that the State can uphold 'order' even by the taking of human life if needbe, it doesn't matter then if the 'price is one, or millions of lives', they will argue they are only doing the joy we pay them to do.

So somewhere, somehow, we have really got things wrong. And we are all responsible. Perhaps we can start again. Start to create societies where people in local communities learn to live together, acknowledging and celebrating their differences - without threatening or killing each other. Without being held in a ever destructive cocoon of armed state protection - or domination as in third World Countries. Perhaps we can begin to learn 'Community politics' where people have a say in what happens in their own lives, in their own communities, thereby restoring their dignity and sence of identity and belonging to each other and the earth. No, the World has not gone mad. I believe what we are seeing are butterflies bursting forth to be 'free' to shed off the 'old way' and find new lifestyle, new institutions, with meaning and a sence of real values. Some butterflies will get killed in this rebirthing, as did young strudents in the Pro Democracy Movement in China, as are people in the struggling democracies in the

Third World, and in ex Yugoslavia today, but in the final analysis a development in the human species has taken wings - it is flying and cannot be stopped.

In all this the people of Northern Ireland can take great 'hope' that here too there are many 'butterflies' with a will to be part in creating this new 'humanity' and, while no one and no thing can take away the pain of those who have lost a loved one during the last 22 years, perhaps their pain can be essed knowing that if their suffering has helped 'birth a new humanity' then the pain has not been in vain

Mairead Maguire

6-11-91