'Belfast! Belfast! Got to have a belief in.....you can try, you can try to tell the world the reason why.... Belfast Belfast', that was the BoneyM song I woke up to every morning at 6.15 am when I was 10 years old. My parents played the ABBA and Boney M beats every morning until 6.25 am, after which they switched to the radio. I did not care where in the world Belfast was and why it was the theme of a song, I just woke up and got ready to go to school.
I learnt best at school the things that were not explicitly taught at school. My marks were always poor, in sports and extracurricular activities I was at best graded 'average'. But I learnt at school, that to be a part of this world you did not have to be an expert in science or maths but had to be aware of the things that went on in the world. So I spent time pouring over the Readers' Digest and newspapers, and once again I read about Belfast.The Senn Fien, the IRA, the protestant order of Orange Men, and Gerry Adams stood out in every article I read in the early 1990s. There was news of the Irish peace process and the many acts of violence that disrupted it. Around 1997, news about Belfast was not really the focus of the India media. I heard nothing about Belfast on the news and my mind was full of Sierra Leon, Rwanda, Burkino Faso and Congo
Several years later, after many jobs and marriage the opportunity came to travel away from India.The desire to see the worlds I had heard so much about was kindled and my wish list grew. Wishes need to be worked on and prayed for!! A few years later we landed in Belfast. Belfast was beautiful, small, laid-back enough for us, friendly, and struggling to leave its troubled past behind.
Week after week we stepped out of our house to discover something wonderful about this city we had only known for its violence. This was the city that gave the world C.S.Lewis, The Titanic, Gulliver's travels and even had a leaning tower of its own- The Albert's clock!!. The numerous parks and museums, the mountainous terrain, the beaches near by. the excellent public transport system, the stunning city hall and parliament buildings, and an ever growing international community-all took us by surprise and thrilled us. The numerous active Bible-teaching churches were another joy to discover and associate with. We fell in love with Belfast and are proud to call it home- well at least for the present.
Week after week we stepped out of our house to discover something wonderful about this city we had only known for its violence. This was the city that gave the world C.S.Lewis, The Titanic, Gulliver's travels and even had a leaning tower of its own- The Albert's clock!!. The numerous parks and museums, the mountainous terrain, the beaches near by. the excellent public transport system, the stunning city hall and parliament buildings, and an ever growing international community-all took us by surprise and thrilled us. The numerous active Bible-teaching churches were another joy to discover and associate with. We fell in love with Belfast and are proud to call it home- well at least for the present.
