Tegan Ross & Floor Blommaart
https://youtu.be/Lr_hoT63o1U?si=xpPg9WDTShqHFNi_
Our project explores why peace walls still stand in Belfast 27 years after the Good Friday Agreement. We travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland to speak to locals, experts, and former paramilitary members about the ongoing divisions in the country.
For our package, we include a written article with images, a timeline infographic, and a video focusing on a personal perspective. We focused how Belfast can move past division with the peace walls still up, and what keeps these physical and mental barriers up.
Our main character, Paul Crawford, lost several family members during the Troubles. By telling the story through his perspective, we aimed to create a human centred and emotional story to fit news values. Pauls perspective on grief, memories and the peace walls helped give a face to such a complex story. We got the chance to really follow him around and see how a local navigates the city.
One of the article’s central themes is that peace barriers, both physical and mental are still influencing residents’ everyday lives. We try to show this through the interview on Bombay Street with Pauline. She provided verification for our claims and explained that there are still problems when living next to a peace wall. We conducted this interview after we met with Paul, which was helpful when thinking of questions to compare with life directly next to a peace wall and just a local.
This story can highlight to an international audience how identity and history can continue to shape lives. It shows the idea of peace is something still ongoing regardless of politics. We tried to combine different perspectives from real people to show how the city navigates post conflict.
Our article can be accessed on: https://resonance.mediajungle.dk/2025/06/11/beyond-belfasts-peace-walls-lies-a-splintered-city/
Our video can be accessed: https://youtu.be/Lr_hoT63o1U?si=xpPg9WDTShqHFNi_