Belfast: Beauty, Unrest, and Action

Our second weekend at Corrymeela, we hopped on an early bus and train to take on Belfast’s bustling streets and the Belfast Book Festival, which featured homemade ‘zines (handmade magazines) for purchase and for free. The main themes of these ‘zines were LGBTQ+ rights, human rights, and women’s rights.

After spending time talking with the ‘zine artists, we were out on the town. We tried new foods and saw beautiful architecture, as well as murals encouraging peace and diversity.

 

 

 

Only a few days after our class’s visit to Belfast, anti-immigrant violence broke out in the city. Belfast is forty-five miles from Ballycastle and Corrymeela, so we were far away from the city’s unrest, but we nevertheless witnessed the effects of these events in more than one way.

The Wednesday before we left the country, we had a free day, and one group of students traveled back to Derry to explore the city on their own. They received a public transit notice that trains and buses would be shut down early: officials were trying to prevent the violence in Belfast from spreading to smaller cities in the area, like Ballymena, which had experienced violent protests in the summer of 2025. Our student group caught a train from Derry to Coleraine, but needed Jessica and Kyle to pick them up in Coleraine, because their bus home had been canceled before the train arrived at the station.

The events in Belfast also allowed us to witness Corrymeela jumping to action by bringing Belfast immigrant families threatened by the riots to a place of safety and respite. Corrymeela was doing what it had done the previous summer, providing refuge when violent protests had erupted in other parts of Northern Ireland. These actions were based on Corrymeela’s mission during Troubles, when they would house children and families that needed a safe place to stay.

We ate meals with these families in the waning days of our time at Corrymeela. The contrast between visiting the book festival and gift shops to witnessing Corrymeela working to address violence and displacement shows just how important classes like this one are. The intersecting themes in Corrymeela’s mission, Goshen College’s mission, and the poetry we read together as a class taught us how to gather and support people when faced with crises like these.

Our group was never in danger or at risk, and a wonderful, positive counter-demonstration in Belfast the following Saturday helped to quell the violence. Nevertheless, we sympathize, recognize, and think about those who were displaced and suffering while we were there. We are witnessing history right now.

–Abby Aldrich

During World War II, Ray Davey, the founder of Corrymeela, witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, one of the most destructive acts of violence in the history of humanity. Hoosier novelist Kurt Vonnegut’s response to that bombing was to write Slaughterhouse Five, a difficult and beautiful bestselling novel that spoke out against such violence, instead choosing to speak for and inspire the best parts of humanity.

Ray Davey’s response to his witness of the bombing of Dresden was to start Corrymeela. This intentional Christian community developed a mission to bring people from different sides of conflicts together.

With a backdrop of stunning vistas, Corrymeela made space for these groups in conflict to have difficult conversations. The goal was to recognize each other’s humanity, and learn how to work together.

Davey’s motto, “Go and see what needs to be done,” is now inscribed on the awning in the backyard of Davey Village, our group’s backyard for the last two weeks of our stay.

 

 

These students, back in their home communities again, have brought that sense of purpose with them from Ballycastle to Goshen and other parts of the US. We feel grateful for our time spent with them. Look out for what they do, as they discover and work to improve what needs to be done in the world!

–Jessica and Kyle