James King, Eamonn and Friends

CREATIVE CONFRONTATION

Today Eamonn and I held a two-man protest march in Gobnascale. We were protesting about the fact that year after year when ths Apprentice Boys hold their annual parade, the people of Top of tbe Hill are hemmed in. They cannot leave the estate. They are resricted by security cordons and the massive presence of Apprentice Boys marchers and their supporters along the neighhouring thoroughfares: Spencer Road, Craigavon Bridge and Glendermott Road. These are No-go areas for the nationalist citizens of Gobnascale.

Eamonn and I dressed up. We donned white paper sashes bearing the words, FREEDOM WALKERS; purple rope tassels, used for keeping curtains in place; and plain, cream-coloured, full-face rnasks. Between us we carried a rectangular blackboard, with the words, RESPECT RESIDENTS RIGHTS chalked upon it. We each carried a stick to bang on the blackboard as we marched along We found ourselves developing a seven beat rhythm as we went.

At the mini-roundabout junction, overlooking the River Foyle a small crowd gave us a hearty, enthusiastic welcome. At this junction there flew the most enormous tricolour I had ever seen, the size of a parachute. On the road beneath was a union jack, firmly tacked down for the convenient passage of motorists. There had been a large tricolour at this point until the day before. It had been stolen and put on top of a bonfire in the Fountain, with the sign "From On Top Of The Hill To On Top Of Our Bonfire. The giant tricolour and union jack road covering was the response.

We turned right right and paraded towards the top of Fountairs Hill - one of the steepest hills in Derry. Half way down there is an adjoining side road on the left. At this juncture we were halted by a bright white and yellow police landrover, and policemen on foot. If we had reached the bottom of Fountain Hill we would have been in Spencer Road, thronged with Apprentice Boys and their supporters. I wasn't wholly ungratified by the presence of the PSNI.

Eamonn sat on the ground and I followed suit. We placed the blackboard in front of us and continued our drumming. Because of the masks it was easy not to respood to police questions.

Eventually we stood up and ventured along tbe road to the left and to the top of Moore Street, parallel to and even steeper than Fountain Hill. We were halted by policemen on foot. They were all wearing dark blue boiler suits, reinforced hats and batons at the waist.

We moved back to Fountain Hill and resumed our seated position We edged forward on our bottoms as far as we were allowed

Liam, an in-law of Eamonn's who had had a few drinks was vociferously in our support.

Two young men sat close behind us ands a small crowd hung a few yards back. The police attempted to negotiate vith us, and Liam did the talking from our side. We retained a dignified silence. One of the cops tried the conciliatory tactic. "Look I don't want any trouble" . "No l'm not going to charge them, I don't want the paper work"

Another cop pulled the mask from my face. "Put it back on James," said Liam. The chatty one immediately picked up on my name aud used it in his appeals, "look James, I just want to get home and outa here as soon as possible "

"We're doing this for your own good James, what is it you want James?"

I sat silently io meditative mode, staring at the road and the protective black webbing round the top of the policeman's boots. I thought of the years of protestant oppressioo in Ireland; the arrogance of Orangemen ard Apprentice Boys - their bigotry and triumphalism; I thought of police brutality during house searches in Gobnascale in the past. I thought of oppressed people around the world, and in recent hisfory.

Eventually I produced some chalk. Eamonn whispered that we could slowly retreat and chalk as we went. I began to write and move . Someone told us that the press was on the way and urged us to stay. Eamonn stayed put and I chalked slogans all around before rejoining him. As I wrote, one of the cops, the senior one I think came close and whispered in my ear " If I get a chance I will arrest you for criminal damage " The absurdity of this beggars belief - as well as the vindictiveness. The road upon which I was writing had an extremeiy tough tarmac surface, considerably weakening the effect of the chalk - which would hardly last till the next shower of rain, or two or three cars drove over it.

I wrote slogans such as: RECLAIM THE STREETS FROM PROTESTANT BULLIES; WALK FOR FREEDOM; GIVE IN THIS GIVE IN ALL; OPPOSE THE ANNUAL CURFEW; DEFY ORANGE DINOSAURS.

Bv this time Spencer Road had cleared; we weren't going to sit there merely for a photo-opportunity (thongh it would have been good to give wider publicity to the Gobnascale anunal hemming in)

We literally beat a satisfied retreat, as the talkative cop shouted his thanks - nearly causing us to stay after all.

Later I cycled home. Glendermott Road was choc-a-block with Apprentice Boys, their supporters and families, street stalls and bandsmen. I felt nervous, altbough my side of the road was clear and I could freewheel swiftly along. "Would. I be recognised as an obvious alien, with yellow shirt and conspicuous bicycle hat. i did attract a couple of comments but nothing else.

Approaching the railway statior I had transferred to the pavement. I came upon two women and their several children who had been at the march and were now trying to find their way to tbe bus station, in order to travel to Belfast. I lifted one of the exhausted children onto the saddle and walked the bike down tio the railway station. Hundreds of loyalists were cramming through the doors and onto the platforms. I wheeled slowly on feelng safe in my present company. Behind the train station I directed the the two families to the bus depot ou the other side of the river, before cycling blithely ahead.

My cultural identity had been in a bit of a whirl. Although an atheist and socialist I was raised in the protestant tradition and would be perceived as such. In Gobnascale I felt perfectly at ease and safe in Eamonn's company and in a community who knew me as a friend of Eamonn's. I was totally in support of the cause of citizens rights which we had been protesting about - irrespective of religion.

Nevertheless as I sat on the ground at the feet of the police I felt ashamed of my protestant ancestors who had participated in the colonial plantation of this laud. I thonght of the unionist oppressive bigotry in this city in the days of the Londonderry Corporation with disgust and anger.

Yet when I was crossing Spencer Road at the start of my days adventure, although a little nervous I felt that I was prorbahly "protestant enough looking" not to be victimised. Also cycling back down Clendermott Road. If I had been a Catholic I would probably have been terrified.

With the two families en route to the bus station I remembered that there are many ordinary people around on a day like this. Fellow humans on a day out: a child wanting to see the bands, being delighted with a bicycle lift, easing tired legs; a weary mother struggling home at the end of a long day. Like what it must have been for my own mother walking back home from the Islandmagee ferry up Curran road, after a visit to Ferris' Bay.

I think our two-man prote.st parade was a suceesstul event. We were sufficiently unusual in appearauee to create a light-hearted atmosphere - although for children the masks could be a little threatening.

The point we were making was clear. We were lampooning the Apprentice Boys by having a small parade oarselves. This in itself is a morale booster for the cornmunity. We were humorous and non-violent. Although protesting, we were not stirring up aggravation or agression. We were in a playful mode. When we confronted the police we were doing so in a non-threatening way.

Nevertheless we were making a very serious statement. The Top of the Hill population are annually restricted and oppressed, and have their citizens rights trampled into the tarmac.

So we made a high profile protest and cheered up the local people. We have put down a marker for next year.

Media coverage would have given the issue wider publicity. We hadn't organised for that or expected to achieve anything as newsworthy as we actually accomplished. So in terms of what we had set out to do - which was to challenge the restrictions we are happy with the outcome.