A Day of Reflection:
Saturday, 21 June 2014 is a day for people of Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and further afield to reflect on the conflict in and about Northern Ireland and the future that is before us.
Tell us what you think
We would like to hear your comments and thoughts on all aspects of this initiative. This might include the idea of the Day of Reflection, the development of the idea, and/or your experience leading up to the Day or of the Day itself. Please use the form below to submit your comment.
Comment form
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The FAQs page offers detailed responses to a range of questions that have been raised.
Comments
- “I believe it is important we pause a moment, reflect on the consequences of 30+ years of conflict, the personal losses and hurts of the past, to take stock of where we are as a society today and raise our hopes for a better future for tomorrow. We have endured; we should celebrate peace, move forward with hope in our hearts never to return to those dark days of conflict.”
Kevin Cooper
Journalist and Trade Unionist
Member of the Day of Reflection sub-committee
- “I think this is a great idea, and a good forerunner to a more public day - well done.”
- “Firinne welcomes a Day of Reflection where HTR have invited people to take the opportunity to privately reflect as through their research and consultation it would suggest that such an initiative can benefit individuals/victims and the wider diaspora.
“Firinne fully welcomes the important factor that The Day of Reflection is offered as an inclusive and positive event with no hierarchy of victimhood that emphasises a commitment to a peaceful new society.
“Firinne will be recognising the Day of Reflection in their offices on the 21st June for personal and private reflection by placing lit candles on an ornamental tree and writing private messages as a reflecting moment to lost loved ones.”
- “I think it is a wonderful idea to have such a day. The guns may have been silenced in recent years, but the hurt and loss is still there as much as ever and the victims of The Troubles, those left behind grieving and maimed, should never be forgotten. To have gone through 30+ years of misery, all those lives lost... for what?...we have all suffered together and perhaps that is the good that has come out of this... the two communities HAVE come closer together.”
- “I feel that reflecting on the past is an important and necessary step if we are to move forward. Unless we can reflect on where we have come from we will never get to where we want to be. If we permit our children to revisit our past we will have learned nothing and will have lost everything.”
- “Let's hope it becomes a forerunner to an annual day of remembrance. I think the purposes you have outlined are spot on. Let us continue to acknowledge the hurt; remember those most deep effected; reflect on our own attitudes and there impact; and personally commitment to moving forward so that such loss should never be allowed to happen again. Thank you for this initiative.”
- “I'd like to send my own support for the Day of Reflection. As a journalist and trade unionist for more than 35 years, and a correspondent for Reporters sans Frontières /Reporters without Borders, I'd like to express my sincere hope that the event, together with the Healing Through Remembering project, will help to foster peace, prosperity, good community relations and press freedom in Northern Ireland.”
- “The Belfast & District Branch of the National Union of Journalists would like to offer its support to 'A Day of Reflection', organised by Healing Through Remembering, which will take place on Thursday, June 21st. A proposal to encourage branch members to take a moment on that day to reflect on the past conflict in Northern Ireland and their hopes for a peaceful future was passed unanimously at a branch meeting on June 1st.”
- “My brother was killed in the UK due to the troubles and I think 21 June as a Day of Reflection is an excellent idea.”
Mo Norton, UK
- “Could I suggest a perfect place of reflection in the Derry area? The Prehen Ancient Woodland which is just two miles from the city in the Prehen Waterside district is a place where people can enjoy the wonder of nature and experience the Silence, Stillness and Solitude that provide the basis for true reflection. Info re the Prehen Ancient Woodland can be obtained from: www.woodland-trust.org.uk or www.ecotrails.co.uk”
George Mc Laughlin
- “I just like to say my brother was murdered. I think of him most days, what it might be like if he was still here. He's not the only person, there is a lot more people I think about who have been murdered over the years. MAY THEY ALL R I P until we all meet again. I don't need a day to this, I have many days to reflect on my lost, maybe it helps some people out there, I don't know, time will tell.”
- “It is important that as a society seeking healing and reconciliation that we come to a common understanding of our troubled past so that no one in the future can seek to claim just cause for inflicting violence and injury on other citizens.”
- “The Aisling Centre in Enniskillen welcomes the invitation by HTR to participate in a Day of Reflection. It provides a positive, supportive, safe space for both individual expression and the opportunity to connect and share with others.”
