FRIDAY past was the eighth anniversary of the death of our friend and leader Martin McGuinness. Like many others, I am sure, I was perplexed as it dawned on me that eight years had passed since we lost him. In my head I thought it was five or six years ago. But as we people of a certain age should now know, time waits for no-one. I remember as if it was yesterday dashing to the hospital. Even though we were anticipating his death there was nonetheless a numbness, a shock to be told that Martin was gone.
Of course, the love of his life, Bernie, and their children and grandchildren and his siblings were the ones most effected, yet in their grief they knew that Martin mattered to a lot of people, particularly from his other family. His republican family. And they let us grieve with them. Grief is the price we pay for love. There are layers of feelings, unpredictable and unique to each of us personally as we adjust to the absence of a loved one. And it can affect each of us differently.
I miss Martin to this day. He and I had so many adventures together, funny episodes, fraught and turbulent and dangerous experiences. It is still difficult to accept that all that is gone. But accept it I do. In fact, I am philosophical about death. I remember Martin remarking one day that he didn’t expect to live beyond his mid-twenties.
"Jeepers," I exclaimed. "I was exactly like that too."
So to have such an active and much longer life is a blessing. For me it is also a matter of wonderment. We have lost so many friends, particularly during the conflict. Many never survived beyond their mid-twenties. Some were even younger. They died suddenly, violently. That’s the way it was. And our enemies died the same way. So did many uninvolved people. Victims of all the combatant forces, including the IRA. I regret that very much. So did Martin.
Some like the H-Block hunger strikers died in a public contest of will with a cruel establishment much more powerful than prisoners with nothing in their arsenal but an unbreakable integrity. And yet the prisoners defeated that establishment by giving up their lives. They didn’t want to die but that was the risk they took. So they went bravely before us. They taught us how to die.
Those of us, like Martin or myself who were privileged to have such comrades and friends, could only marvel at their bravery. We lived with death for decades. And against all the odds we survived the conflict. We helped bring it to an end. For that we are thankful to, and for, Martin McGuinness. We were lucky to have him. I have been blessed with my friendships, including some who have died recently. Colette’s two sisters Anne and Mena and sister-in-law Belle gone in the last few months. And Ted. And Bik.
Life is like a lottery. Few of us can determine how it will end for us. Martin died bravely. He battled against his illness stubbornly and resolutely. His concern was for Bernie and the weans. The ancient Irish believed that the spirits of the dead live on in places which they loved. In rocks. Trees. Rivers. I believe that friendship is one of the most important gifts any of us can have. If a friend goes off to live in Australia they don’t cease to be our friend. So too with our friends who die. They are still our friends. They are still part of our lives. That’s how it is with Martin McGuinness and me. I remember him with great fondness and pride. He is still my friend. So is Ted. And Bik. And many others who gifted me with their friendship. Including the ones who are still alive. Martin valued their friendship also.
A courageous advocate for Palestine
FRANCESCA Albanese is the Special Rapporteur for the United Nations in the Palestinian Territories. She is a remarkable champion for human rights and international law whose moral integrity and deep-rooted humanity are an inspiration. Her leadership on Palestinian rights, her unremitting and courageous criticism of Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, are an example for all of us who seek a just peace between the peoples of Palestine and of Israel.
Last week Ms Albanese was in the South of Ireland addressing universities, giving interviews, attending the massive pro-Palestinian march in Dublin on Saturday and meeting a wide range of individuals and groups.
Do you know who refused to meet her? The Irish government. Apparently all of its 15 Ministers and 23 Ministers of State were too busy. Shameful.
This is the same government that is stalling on the Occupied Territories Bill or on introducing decisive economic and political sanctions against a rogue state engaged in genocide. In addition, if Micheál Martin has his way, the Irish government intends accepting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This conflates Judaism with Zionism. A criticism, any criticism, of the state of Israel will be defined as antisemitic. This means that Ms Albanese’s reports on Israel’s war crimes or this article or the marches in solidarity with the Palestinians can all be defined as anti-Semitic.
Is our outrage at the bombing of hospitals and the killing of babies to be dismissed as antisemitic?
The total now killed in Gaza is over 50,000. 18,000 are children. Netanyahu’s claim that his war is about defeating Hamas or securing the release of Israelis held by Hamas is a lie. Hamas is stronger now than before. Israel’s murder campaign and demolition of Gaza has radicalised a new generation of Hamas fighters. Moreover, Israeli hostages are more likely to be killed by Israeli actions than by their captors.
So, this is not about defeating Hamas. This is about Netanyahu’s determination to hold on to power. He does so with the support of a right-wing Zionist cabal that intends forcing the Palestinian people out of their homes in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But he also does this with the active endorsement and through the provision of weapons and funding from the United States, the British government and other western allies of Israel. President Joe Biden boasted of being a Zionist while President Donald Trump describes himself as Israel’s protector. The genocide in Gaza is as much the responsibility of America, Britain and the EU as it is of Netanyahu.
Where are the voices of condemnation from these governments of Israel’s extermination strategy toward Palestinians? They are silent.
The Irish government must take a stand against the genocide. Francesca Albanese reminded it last week that international law, irrespective of the Occupied Territories Bill, requires the Irish government to ban goods and services from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. This responsibility derives from the finding by the International Court of Justice that the occupation of Palestinian land is unlawful and trade should not continue. Is this the real reason why none of the 38 government Ministers in Dublin could find the time to meet Ms Albanese? That it wanted to avoid being told face to face that it is failing in its human rights duty? That it is not fulfilling its moral and legal responsibilities under international law?
Francesca Albanese is an inspiration. I applaud her courage and her stand in defence of the human rights of the Palestinian people and of international law.
The only answer is unity
There are at least 50,000 people in Belfast reliant on PIP (Personal Independence Payment). Given that levels of disadvantage and poor health indicators are higher in West Belfast, it's safe to assume that many thousands of families in that part of the city are especially vulnerable to British government cuts to the PIP system.
Over the years Labour governments have shown scant regard for their socialist roots. Often they are just a pale imitation of the Tories, who care even less. They especially show no empathy when it comes to the North. Year after year the British block grant fails to meet our basic public service requirements, whether in the provision of health, education, housing, agriculture or the environment. The Executive scrambles to stretch a finite budget.
£5 billion is to be cut from PIP. Billions will now be spent on armaments as Europe engages with Russia in a new arms race.
The reality is that English interests are not our interests. No London government gives a damn about the people of the North. Or any part of Ireland. There is only one long-term solution – a new shared Ireland in which we have control over our own affairs and can manage our taxation and public service expenditure in our interests and not those of England. Free from London rule.
