In 1985, I decided to travel from La Havre, France, to Derry. I took the overnight ferry and landed in Rosslare. From the dock, I headed to Cork, by train. I booked a hostel, saw Madonna’s film (Truth or Dare) and got a good night’s sleep. The following morning I was on a train to Belfast. I slept, in a youth hostel, on the Protestant side, near a cemetery. I would travel to Derry the following day.

The next morning, I walked from the Protestant side, through the large green gates (for locking down the area) to the Catholic side. I needed to purchase something small, like toothpaste, and the only store I knew was Marks & Spencer. What I didn’t know was you couldn’t walk from the Protestant side into the Catholic side and then enter a store, wearing your backpack, in 1985!

Once through the door, I was thrown to the floor, while my backpack was removed. All the items inside were also thrown onto the floor. Then, the backpack was thrown on top of me. I smiled and thought, “I’ve just got tossed in Belfast!” I repacked and ran from the store, right past the sign that read “Check ALL Bags Here!” I made my way to the station and caught the first train to Dublin.

Thirty eight years later, I have finally made it to Derry. Derry (also known as Londonderry) is the only (remaining) completely walled city in Ireland. Walking around the wall was the first stop on my to do list. It quickly fell to second place, as the Derry Girls mural was just a few steps from the gate. The “girls” are everywhere! I’ve never seen the show (I was in the Peace Corps, when it first aired), so I’m watching it now.

Like Belfast, Derry has connections to the US Civil Rights Movement. For example, Martin Luther King the Third, spoke at Guildhall Square, in 2013, and was present for the Peace Flame lighting ceremony, by both Catholic and Protestant children. The flame went out, back in 2017, but it is burning once again. The location is just across the street from the Peace Bridge.

Spanning the River Foyle, the Peace Bridge was designed to improve relations between the largely unionist Waterside (on the east bank) with the largely nationalist Cityside (on the west bank). I had no idea that I could have walked across, from the train station, when I arrived from Belfast. The city’s bus terminal is just on the other side of the Peace Flame Park.

I’m so happy to finally be here. It’s been great! This entire trip to Northern Ireland has been amazing. I’ve had conversations about race and racism that I could never have in the United States. I grew up in Detroit. The 1967 riot happened two days after my eleventh birthday. In Northern Ireland, I don’t need to convince any one of anything. The folks here simply get what my life was like as a child.

I’m almost happy that I chicken out, in 1985, after being tossed in Belfast. That being said, every time I told that story to someone from Northern Ireland, on the Camino, they always said the same thing, “Belfast, in 1985? You’d been safer in Derry!”

Now that I’m here, I not only feel safe … I feel at home. XOXO—- GGT