Pat Finucane and why we need to inquire

David Cameron's decision not to hold a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane will prove to be a further divisive issue in the conflict about the conflict in and about Northern Ireland.

Similar to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, a lot of attention is being paid to what the family want and how acceptable any measures proposed are. While this attention is not entirely misplaced, it ignores or at least distracts from the societal issues that are at stake. The impact on the family was extreme, but what the circumstances and subsequent considerations (Cory, Stalker/Sampson etc) indicate is of concern to everyone in the UK and perhaps even beyond.

The reasons for finding out what happened do not only include identifying any wrong doing and bringing those responsible to justice, but also identifying why the institutions failed to recognize that wrong doing took place and failed to establish necessary processes for reform that would minimize the possibility of something similar happening again.

The Patten Commission recommended far reaching institutional reform of the PSNI without acknowledging that such reform was necessary. The problems were assumed, rather than identified and agreed. Without this understanding, how can we state with confidence that the current institutions have addressed them satisfactorily. Staff members whose alleged transgressions have gone unrecorded are then free to progress in these institutions, perhaps continuing in the belief that abuse of powers will go unpunished.

For both individuals and institutions a culture of untouchability can then develop, as the independent judicial process and other accountability checks become irrelevant. This culture might well be identified in the recent furore surrounding the former Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

It is essential that all understand that rules are enforced, especially those that believe that they are on the side of righteousness. The law is the law regardless of what side you are on and individuals and institutions breaking it should be brought to justice, and reformed or removed. UK government could then be an example for others who would also benefit from internal scrutiny.

The 'Killer'

'Add a killer slide' 

Confusing words indeed to receive in a work email, that had no bearing on an invitation to go tubing in Laos. Nor did it have any bearing on the work that I do. Working for a humanitarian agency, words like 'killer' are not uncommon. they can refer to fistula, postpartum hemorrhage and a variety of other reproductive complications that produce the high maternal and infant mortality rates we see across the developing world.

Growing up in a conflict prone zone, where people did kill each other on a regular basis also makes you a bit wary of using the word too easily, especially in formal contexts. But this context was asking me to 'kill' by powerpoint (as opposed to causing death by powerpoint) by producing a slide of such high impact that it would render the audience dead; presumably. Or rather that they would support my ideas without reservation.

Corporate language is able to adapt and thrive in offices, hotels and conference centres far from those that might be suffering from the literal meaning of the words used. Examples of this I am sure are many, though of course they are never meant to be taken seriously.


The purpose of raising it here is to rail against myself as well as others. I should get out more and see how the world really is without the benefit of my invisible knapsack. And for the commercially corporate there is by and large no incentive to look at things outside of your job description and this gap produces the sheltered life and the insular language that allows the pretence that the horrors of the world aren't happening.


They are.

a Day of Reflection for the conflict in and about Northern Ireland

I grew up in a place where people killed each other. This happened regularly. Beyond the deaths there was violence, intimidation, threats and no end of personal unpleasantness that perpetuated the situation. The situation improved after the Good Friday Agreement, but it did not change everything and many things are yet to be sorted out to everyone's liking.
It might be easy to say that we should all forget about it and move on, but forgetting is impossible and even if we all wanted to do it we couldn't. So in its place we try peace initiatives, cross-community work and power sharing. These aren't great but no-one expected the problems to be solved overnight.
In all of this, too little has been done to remember the suffering of so many that the conflict produced. The Day of Reflection offered by Healing Through Remembering is an opportunity to do this. (FYI I have worked for them in the past and continue to support what they do.) 

The Day of Private Reflection on 21 June is a day to acknowledge the deep hurt and pain caused by the conflict, to reflect on our own attitudes, on what more we might have done or might still do, and to make a personal commitment that such loss should never be allowed to happen again. 

It is not the only one. And having an inclusive day will not receive the support of all. But it is something and I hope more can come from it. I hope you do too.


Click here to mark the Day on facebook and here to follow on twitter.

on the skin conditions of ostriches

Holidaying is strange thing, that often leads to strange things. So when the opportunity to ride an ostrich presented itself and a friend gleefully offered to pay for it, animal rights and environmental concerns were overridden and I duly stepped on-board the exploitation train.
If you look carefully at the picture you will see two thing. 'As skin conditions' written on the sign and a rather poor skin condition on the poor bird's rear end. The two things are connected and presumably the ostriches are a risk when they are not feeling the best.. This is my interpretation only, the possibility of being wrong doesn't lessen the burden of guilt. The poor thing seemed incredibly unhappy, and would only run when pushed, and I am guessing something was done to it to stop it biting.
A bit like that camel I met on the Great Wall of China, ostriches are brought to tourist attractions in Vietnam for the sake of making a quick buck off the eejit that will do it for the craic. I am not alone in having done it, but with any luck a bit more thought will be paid next time to the plight of the animal. The fact that this experience was pretty lame (you couldn't even steer the thing) will no doubt help this.


Click here for video on facebook, apologies if you need to be logged in etc.

sings Finnegan's wake

while driving a motorbike across the Red River on the airport bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam.

An open letter to Ruth Patterson

Dear Ruth Patterson,

Having voted for you in the recent assembly and council elections can I first congratulate you on being appointed Deputy Mayor of my home city of Belfast. I voted for you to the chagrin of the person responsible for delivering my proxy vote because I support the increased profiling of female politicians, particularly in the DUP.

It is disappointing to hear therefore that you were unwilling to acknowledge my friend Niall 0 Donnghaile following your joint appointment to the offices of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor. I do not consider such attitudes as being conducive to the cohesive, integrated and shared society that the DUP and other political parties purport to be building.

I would be grateful if you could explain your position, and give consideration to taking actions that would lead to a more exemplary outward perspective of the leadership emanating from Belfast City Council.

yours faithfully

Angus Lambkin

when money stops the world going round

Buying petrol the other week, the guy in front of me had his 50,000 Vietnam Dong (2U$) note rejected for being potentially fake.   He had no other money, his tank had been filled and a stalemate was inevitable. Neither side was for moving and no more petrol was being dispensed without a resolution. I took the suspect note, replaced it with one of my own and we all set about getting on with rest of our lives. My own involving the exchange of said note in a suspect bar a few hours later for a suspect whisky and red bull.

So why is this interesting? For the poor, balancing budgets is a constant challenge with often no ability to access cheap credit regardless of the ability to repay. Hence people walk the world mentally counting the money in their pocket against what they need. Shame accompanies this, particularly when a sale is refused for insufficient funds and generally speaking it puts a downer on quality of life.

And the cure can be very simple. A bit of extra cash to smooth over the rough edges of life is likely enough to be highly beneficial to the vast majority who don't own a credit card.

There a plenty of organizations queuing  up to provide those of us with spare cash with opportunities to make the world an easier place for others to live in. And presumably more of these situations exist that are directly accessible and eyes should be live to this possibility.

Both a borrower and a lender be – the alternative is taking the Mail.

A quick word of thanks to my numerous benefactors without whom I would be hungry, thirsty and far from home on a much more regular basis. Special thanks this month go to Adam Kirk @kirkmeister, Alec McCormack and Magdalen Lambkin. A historic debt of gratitude is due to one Haflidi Saeversson, and of course to my parents.

the Peace Process, the IFA and the FAI

So the 5-0 beating of Northern Ireland by the Republic of Ireland is likely to do little to quell the controversy over players born north of the border choosing the Aviva in Dublin as their home ground. According to a FIFA ruling they can choose who to play for and generally there is a tendency for catholics to choose to play for the Republic if they are invited to do so.


I have commented jokingly before that in the event that the ruling was changed, a birthing exodus would likely occur. While this might not be en mass, I think it does reflect the mentality of many that simply do not consider the Northern Ireland football as representative of themselves.


When growing up, and going to Northern Ireland games, I always considered this as an expression of my half-protestant self. Attendance was open to me as a result of mixed marriage rather than a peace process driven decline in sectarianism, though this has taken place. Most catholics continue to support the Republic of Ireland, albeit with some exceptions. The quote below being from a case in point.

 I just have grown up supporting N.I insted of Republic. To say that tho, would never go to an N.I game. Would feel too uncomfortable.

Not necessarily a representative sample but research on this would be interesting. And I do know catholics that go to Windsor Park, but then again the likes of myself would.


The peace process to my knowledge has effectively ignored these issues. While recommendations for catholics to join the PSNI has been given by the SDLP and Sinn Féin, this has not happened for the Northern Ireland football team. I have seen no desire to tackle the issue from any of the political parties, and in the absence of this I think it wrong to oblige young people to play for a team that they do not support.


The argument is often given that the investment in training warrants a return from the player. This obligation is not placed upon other professions. Public sector trained dentists are lost to the private sector. The Philippines loses professionally trained nurses to the National Health Service. And the IFA trains many players that will never represent Northern Ireland (including myself).


Northern Ireland fans are I think rightful to feel snubbed. The problem is that decisions made by individual teenagers are the focus of a much more systemic problem and this should be acknowledged. Reversing the FIFA ruling will not affect the footballing aspirations of many young catholics. Leadership on this issue, similar to that that brought peace might generate cross-community support for any agreement that is reached, but in the absence of this the current situation while perhaps not ideal, does allow choice in national expression; a component integral to the peace process.

By virtue of my grandfather, I would be entitled to represent the Republic of Ireland regardless of FIFA intervention. By dint of age and being unable to kick back doors with the bin men, a call up is unlikely. 


I admit that I would heed this call, but I think that both the current situation and its proposed remedy are not ideal and I would support efforts to bring about a workable solution.

This is the only photo I can find of myself wearing the shirt. It does get worn though, most recently  during a hurling match at the South East Asian Gaelic Games in Ho Chi Minh City.

Abortion and it's malcontents

SA: Safe Abortion
LTFP: long term family planning
STFP: short term family planning
VSC: vasectomy
MAOOC: medical abortion out of centre

This is me presiding over a strategic plan that will involve the delivery of 1.2m abortions in Vietnam in 2015. 


The smile is not connected to the plan, but it is indicative of the office culture in which organisations working on reproductive health including safe abortion find themselves.


I have been trying to write about it for a while but am unsure how best to position it. Coming from Belfast, the issue of abortion is not approached easily and this photo is likely to be seen a highly offensive to the pro-life lobby. I offer it not to antagonise, but to create a fuller understanding of how complex the various activities of human beings make this world.


Apologies to those that are offended, and hope that opportunity is afforded to discuss the issue.

Gaelic Football is alive and well in South East Asia

on living below the line

So I follow charities, I am interested in what they do and how they work. I also tend to do the easy things that are suggest. I sign petitions, send the odd email and even make the occasional donation. When the campaign to 'live below the line' came along, I thought I would sign up without looking into it too much. Essentially it asks people to live on no more food than can be bought for $1.50 a day for five days. 

I am going to give this a go, largely because I nearly do live on a $1.50 a day at the minute. Lunch costs me a dollar here in Vietnam, breakfast 25 cents and a bit of creativity will surely get me through to breakfast the next day.  I do this because I want my money for other things and not out of necessity so it's all too easy.


But I figure I will use my onlineness to generate a bit of attention for the campaign and of course for me. Afterall it is a good cause and 'Giving is good, as long as your'e getting'.

on why where he's from is still ...

I took part in the making of this video for my last job,  Healing Through Remembering work across a variety of ways to encourage people to talk about the past with a view to doing something about it, with peace being the aim.


Click here to like follow them on facebook.

by Bùi Thuỳ An

on being a suit.

I was once stoned in Newtownards while wandering around in a shirt and tie trying to sell an appalling product for an awful firm in an unsuspecting and not particularly enfranchised neighbourhood. The kids thought I was from the welfare department and was coming to take children away from their parents. I tried to explain that my presence their was actually much more insipid but they weren't quite for turning.

Another experience involved screaming kids in a flat in Beijing, where I was paying a house visit for the UN Refugee Agency. These kids thought they were being deported back to Pakistan and didn't quite get that I wasn't from the delightful Beijing Bureau of Public Security.

Now in Vietnam, I get to put the boogie woogie shoes and the best clothes to use with a little bit of appreciation or at worst apathy. I sang and danced at a reproductive health gala for migrant workers and at the end they got their collective groove on on stage for the grand finale. I probably would have gotten up anyway, but I think it made the factory workers happy that they were able to pull be out of my grey suited existence and get me to live a little.

A suit can mean different things in different places - wear with care.

turned 30 and his cousin Ciara baked him a cake

working with Migrant Workers

Christmas Eve 2010, and I get up at 6am to fly about 500 miles to a city called Danang in the middle of Vietnam. I was back in Hanoi by 3pm, and managed little more than a walk around a factory clinic, lunch and a swim in the sea at China Beach.

I was there to oversee a project providing sexual health services to migrant workers, and a documentary about the project was also made on that day.

I appear about 3 mins in, and am standing pretending to understand what I am being told by a number of clients visiting the clinic.

It's all in Vietnamese, but well shot and gives an idea about what I am doing here.

Enjoy if you have 13 mins to space.

on catholics, the police and everything

“Police Officers in Northern Ireland should be recruited on the basis of being the best person for the job. Nowhere else in the democratic world would have tolerated such discrimination for so long.”

If it wasn't so topical, it would be as easy to attribute the quote below to a modern Unionist as to a1960's civil rights protester. It is well known that there is no agreement on why the Patten Report which recommended increasing the number of Catholics in the PSNI was ever needed in the first place. However, if Tom Elliot's statement above does little to understand the rationale for reform, the Sinn Féin rebuke below does little to acknowledge that significant reform has been achieved.

"Here we have another patrician announcement by another absentee British Government minister"

The requirements set by the PSNI have meant that many students from integrated schools have joined the ranks. Surely this could be further encouraged as one means of creating that cohesive, shared and integrated society that we of course all crave.

of giants and hillsides

A lot will be made of the Sinn Féin performance in the general election. Nationalists are likely to herald it as stepping stone on the way to a United Ireland and Unionists may well perceive it similarly. The result is likely to create further political discord however it need not be viewed so negatively.


Political discourse in the Republic of Ireland has done little to understand Unionism over the years. While developing the necessary machinations of a fully functioning sovereign state, all-Ireland nationalism receded into rhetoric and little constructive work was done to consider how stated aspirations and actuality might meet.


Enter Sinn Fein as a now significant all-Ireland party that have the seldom applauded ability to work with the Protestant and Unionist Community in Ireland. This day to day experience cannot but generate an improved understanding of what is realistic and desirable for the Island of Ireland and an appreciation of the fallout of pushing too hard in any one direction.


How far this understanding will go remains to be seen, but it cannot but help political reconciliation if Unionists and Nationalists are able to discuss these issues with people they know rather than the barbarians at the gate.

Medical Abortion in Ireland

A woman walks into a hospital in Ireland with complications resulting from a Medical Abortion.

She has just flown back from Britain where the aborifacients Mifepristone and Misoprostol have been legally administered by a licensed facility. She receives treatment and is fine.

Another woman purchases the drugs online and administers them according to instructions on the Island of Ireland. She also experiences complications, is treated in a hospital and is fine.

Will these women be questioned as to where the Medical Abortion was administered and be obliged to provide evidence of this?

Is it in the public interest to insist that this evidence is provided?

Is it in the public interest to prosecute the woman who administered the Medical Abortion in Ireland?

What would be an appropriate punishment if she was convicted?

Despite a UK ruling that both doses be administered in a licensed facility, this is likely to a conundrum for policy makers, enforcers of the law and pro-life activists in Ireland in the coming future.

It would seem I am not the first person to consider this issue as the drugs are advertised online. The issue has previously been considered in the ROI here and and in NI here.

The Irish Language

In light of recent movements to have the Irish Language removed from the list of compulsory subjects for Leaving Certificate takers in the Republic of Ireland it seems appropriate to comment.


One of the few joys of being in Vietnam for St Patrick's day this year will hopefully be the lack of 'Irish' people feeling the need to justify why they don't speak Irish. Insecurity seems to me to be an important motivation for people expounding on the irrelevance of the Irish language today. While Irish 'nationalism' has created a strong cultural identity in Ireland, not speaking the Irish seems to undermine it. Simply speaking Irish therefore undermines the 'Irishness' of others and hence the stoical defense of their own lives.


But insecurity is far from the only reason. If personal experience (ie education) of Irish is bad, and it often is, then abstract Celtic notions are unlikely to fill the void. Irish enthusiasts would do well to acknowledge this in their endeavours, as all governments should acknowledge that people generally don't like doing what they forced to do.


I do think the Republic of Ireland needs to address this issue, and making the langauge optional but attractive might prove to be a useful way of achieving progress. However, for those who wish the language dead, the significant role the language plays in the economy, arts etc should not be downplayed or ignored for the sake of your emotional insecurities.

Egypt

The world is watching Egypt as it takes to the streets demanding basic rights. I watched CNN's coverage of it last night and it seemed clear that they are hedging their bets as to the outcome. The interest is clear, they favour stability and by inference the status quo. While acknowledging that major change may be about to happen, they concentrate on looting, personal security and economic damage. The message is clearly spelt out that those with vested interests should be concerned and should support a return to the status quo if not to a compromise that retains significant components of the status quo.

There seems to be two distinct sides. Those that have nothing and are now galvanised that they can have more, and those that having something and worry that they could lose some of it. The haves therefore only back a revolution when it is clearly going to happen, as they risk loosing out if the exisitng power structure remains, regardless seemingly of the merits of the revolution.

The human rights oriented world lamented the situation in Egypt due to rights abuses. The property oriented world now laments the situation in Egypt due to property abuses. These two sides seem unable to communicate with one another at the required level to bring about a situation that is to their mutual satisfaction.

As more emphasis is put on the security situation, pressure is brought to bear on those that have property to loose, in the hope that support for the status quo will be increased. CNN being a hawkish company does not surprise, but what will likely be important to the outcome, is the influence of the hawks in international governments circles.

Property may not be theft, but it puts a brake on idealism.

most of the world does not run on time

To not be upset when  one's 15 hr bus journey turns into a 21 hr one would have been easier had a friend not recently complained about being delayed in an airport in Iraq. 'Harden up' is perhaps not an unfair response, but for those for whom the trains run on time, being delayed is an inconvenience worthy of remark.

I was reminded of a Louis de Berniere moment when he described a fictional but normalesque journey in latin america with the expression 'despite everything running perfectly to time we still arrived 7 hours late'. No I bit the lip and resolved to not complain.

Arriving too late to check-in  I wandered towards the bridge spanning Song Han in Danang. Attending a sung mass along the way was a peculiar delight, as was having the company of a 20yr old nurse who ran across the road to hear me play the whistle on top of the bridge. Then I set off to get breakfast and find the surf that at least a few websites had informed me there would be.

The surf was there but not a sinner on the beach, and closed were the guesthouses I had read about. And so began a lonely walk along a beach with grey/brown waves breaking on one side and half constructed resorts looming over the other. Most of my thoughts cursed the unpredictability of the world, in that it had the impudence to surprise me with an alternative to my expectations.

I hardened up, but it took a few clicks walking the beach and a swim. But my reaction was to head straight to an internet cafe to order me another large glass of predictability. Change location for something predictable.

I could always just walk out the door and see though.

doesn't give much money to charity, but he would have you do so

I am a slacktivist. Interested in charity work, I spend a fair bit of time online posting links to various causes, signing petitions and generally increasing the amount of low quality information in the world. I have no idea what good it does, and whether anyone else actually appreciates it, or goes the extra mile and takes the time (or gives the money) to move whatever cause it is on its way.


Clicking buttons doesn't make it happen, but it makes me feel like I am doing something, and it is free. The alternative of donating money isn't nearly so appealing. I have less, and find it difficult to see any return. The shrapnel I throw into charity boxes probably costs more to count and process than it is worth and the odd fundraiser attended is the only bit of light in the sad affair.


In an ideal world more of us would be like Toby Ord who will donate $1m from an average salary over the course of his working life.


This would all be well and good if he wasn't such a boring ...