These past 7 months have been filled with much learning on my part. I have learned more about the two main football (soccer) teams here in Glasgow. The Celtics which is associated with Irish Catholics and the Rangers which is associated with Protestants. I have learned about the different marches that happen related to the two religions, The Orange Order, and the Hibernian Marches. I have spent time at both a Protestant church and many Catholic churches and I have been working with an organization that works specifically with kids from primary schools to bridge the gap of sectarianism.
Throughout the year I have talked about Sectarianism and tried to understand what the big deal was. Being from the United States where no one cares what specific denomination of Christianity you are it is hard for me to comprehend why there is so much hate between the two denominations over here. It comes from a lot of history, back in the day when the Protestants were powerful they didn't like giving jobs to Catholics, and they formed a pure football team where only white, protestant players could join (the Rangers). So like any situation where people are excluded, the Celtics were formed to allow Irish Catholic players to play football. But now that is history and both teams accept all types of people. Yet still the feelings of hatred and bigotry exist and get passed down from generation to generation.
It has been really interesting learning about this extremely prevalent issue in Glasgow and I have been lucky to be able to go to different sectarian workshops and read some books. I recently read Divided City by Theresa Breslin which takes place in Glasgow. It is about two boys who play on the same city football club but go to different schools and support opposite teams. Graham is a Protestant Rangers fan and Joe is a Catholic Celtics fan. But the book also discusses the issue of prejudice, issues surrounding asylum seekers and it aims to show the divide amongst Glasgow thats still thriving today. The book is now required to be read by every primary seven (6th grade) student in Glasgow.
One of my favorite lines in the book is said by Graham's father. Graham's father and mother are discussing Joe and Graham's friendship. Graham's mother is worried because Joe is from a different area and she doesn't want Graham hanging out with the wrong crowd. Graham's father says: "Glasgow has some of the most deprived areas in Britain. I've worked in these places, I've seen what that sort of environment can do to self-esteem. People get desperate and angry. It can lead to violence. Deprivation and all that goes with it, is what really divides this city" (160).
These few sentences really stuck out to me. I see deprivation in the people I work with every day. I see their struggles shown on their bodies. And I agree with Theresa Breslin about all the issues and differences in this book. But I also agree with her when she writes about the city being united as a city. She relates it to the city football team Graham and Joe are both on. The coach says to them, "I want you to shake one another by the hand because you are a team. Put all personal differences aside. You are a city team. From all parts of the city" (229).
I think we can all take this message to heart. We will meet many people in our lives, whether through work, school, neighborhood, or friends, and we might have differences. We might not have the same political or religious views, we might parent our children differently, and we might even drink our tea differently but we are all still human and we all still have the right to respect. We all have the capacity to love and each of us also deserves to be loved. So during this holy week and this Easter season let us remember to respect and love the differences in everyone around us!
Blessings,
Julie
Here are some pictures of the play Divided City that I went to this evening at a primary school. Citizens Theater, which is a theater company in the Gorbals is doing a project with non-denominational schools and Catholic schools to perform Divided City. The kids did a wonderful job performing!
And here are some pictures of a cake making activity at Bridging the Gap when we were learning about sectarianism.
