Belfast may no longer be the focus of violence, it has been for decades, but the legacy of "the" disorders is visible everywhere in the city: miles of "peace walls" that Catholics and protestants separate communitiespolicies, murals painted by supporters of both sides and markers and monuments to people and places affected by the fighting.
Fighting is raging for nearly three decades. Thousands of people died between the riots of August 1969 and the signing of the agreement of the good Friday in 1998, a period known as "the disorder".
The central policy question was if Ireland in North, which has a Protestant majority and is part of the United Kingdom since 1920, would be part of the Republic of Ireland. Nationalist, Republican activists who were predominantly Catholic, fought for reunification with the Ireland, while loyalist Protestants and unionists have fought to keep part of the United Kingdom.
Now tourists explore the streets and neighbourhoods where much of the violence took place. There are a range of tours, operated by taxi or groups of former prisoners drivers that take visitors to key locations.
"I lived during the Troubles in Belfast, experienced most of the things that happened," said Alex Patterson, a taxi driver that disorders of the towers in the city for the past six years, "" and I transmit this information to tourists that want to come and throw a kick ?ilet better understand disorders as well. ""
It seems peace reaped dividends in tourism of North Ireland.
The number of tourists who visit the city rose from 400 000 in 1999 to 1.7 million visitors today, according to Fiona Ure, a spokesman for the visitor to Belfast and Convention Office. Tourism revenues during the same period made a peak of 100 million pounds to 451 million pounds.
There is no number hard to go and how many of these visitors on tours-related disorders, but the ERUs estimates that, between 10% and 50% of them, mention certain interests in disorders.
The Belfast Welcome Centre exists brochures at least seven different disorders across taxi tours in the city. Belfast is also home to some of the most famous political art in the world and murals representing both sides of the conflict are part of each tower.
The towers of taxi began after the ceasefire of 1994 when enterprising taxi drivers some discovered there are tourist interest in seeing Belfast West, and the murals of policies, said Ure.
Recent tour taxi two hours of Patterson cost approximately $45 and started in a residential area of the Protestant Shankill Road, where some of the most famous murals were painted on the sides of houses. Among the most well-known is an image of a paramilitary fighter wearing a balaclava and pointing a firearm. A guide describes as "the Mona Lisa of the Shankill" due to the effect that, regardless of where stand you, it seems to always as if the firearm and the eyes are on you.
Elsewhere on the Shankill Road, a mural and a plaque commemorating the dates and places of Republican against Protestant institutions during the conflict. In August 1975, Bayardo bar has been the target of an attack of gun and bomb IRA. Today, some parts of the original structure remain, built in a larger memorial to five Protestants who were killed in the attack.
Patterson stopped on how Cupar, the Protestant camp of one of the most famous walls of peace Belfast, or "peace lines". A few minutes later, he led on the Catholic side of the wall on the streets of Bombay.
Bombay Street was the site of one of the most notorious of the 1969 riots, when loyalists burned a large part of the Catholic community on the ground of the working class. Homes that now exist on the wall of la peace have metal cages built outward facing la wall as protection against any debris or la thrown across the projectiles.
In this case, the driver has produced a sample of a rubber bullet fired by British forces to hinder the control during the riots. Approximately 4 inches long, an inch in diameter and weighing no more a few ounces, the ball was supposed to be fired at a distance of 100 metres or more, but according to Patterson, were often drawn much closer.
The tour concluded with a visit to the heart of Falls Road, the stronghold of Catholic West Belfast, which includes a mural commemorating the strikers 10 who died in 1981, Office of the party Republican Sinn Fein and other political murals.
Another option for tourists interested in learning disorders is guided policies offered by groups of former prisoners of both sides of the conflict. Coiste offers only a visit detailed foot said Falls Road district, Republican point of view, then their counterparts of loyalists of the offer of ex-prisoners (EPIC) Interpretive Centre, a similar tour of the Shankill Road.
"We receive our history not to after reading a book or something like that, we actually participated directly.". "This participation, most of us have spent long terms of imprisonment," said Seamus Kelly, Coordinator of the political tour Coiste.
"It's people who are actually able to give a living history, and I still repeat that because I think it is important to people get a feel for how people became involved in a conflict, why they is involved in this and where they see today.".
Ultimately, visits are subject to closure and contributing to peace for guides that give them.
"It helps us to consolidate the peace process, to obtain an understanding of our ancient enemies." It also gives them the same opportunities. We are engaged in a peace process, so you will need to examine all aspects of how () to build peace, how () to ensure that we do return to what people describe as the bad old days"said Kelly.
Then, how to seat with inhabitants that so many sites that have been homes in the conflict have become tourist attractions? Patterson taxi driver, said tourism is better than the alternative.
"I think it's better people come here, get some insight into it, the murals on the wall, is the largest art gallery in the open air in the world, and this is how people express themselves today.". I think it is better do this with a brush in hand instead of a firearm. ?
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