| Description | Interview with a group of unidentified men and women from Derry. An unidentified woman talks about how she felt when her windows were broken during the recent disturbances, her feelings of persecution, and her fear and dislike of the police since their involvement in the disturbances because she does not know what to expect from them. A man discusses seeing police with batons beating people up, and others talk about the security measures they have taken in their homes. The group give their opinion about why they think the Bogside area has been singled out for this kind of attention, and draw attention to the unemployment and poor housing there. They describe how they consider that people have been deprived of jobs in order to get Catholic workers to emigrate, and talk about the shortage of housing for Catholic families, apart from the allocation on the Creggan estate. They discuss the reluctance of the Unionist party to interfere with electoral boundaries, the increase in the number of Catholics in Derry and the rest of Northern Ireland, and the need for them to have fair representation. They talk about their belief in democracy, having to travel to England or Scotland to find work, their view that a coalition government will be the only solution to the problems in Northern Ireland, and their belief that young people now want change because they are better educated (tracks 1-11).
Track 12: silence 0.38 mins
Track 13: silence 0.40 mins
The interview continues with an unidentified man talking about respect for the clergy, the views he had about the police and the armed forces because of his upbringing, the difficulties he had in adjusting to working with English and Scottish people and how he sees life in Northern Ireland more objectively. He feels that he had no choice but to come back to Derry because of his family. He goes on to talk about his reasons for joining the armed forces, feeling glad to have survived the Second World War, and believing the propaganda published by English papers during the war at the time. He goes on to talk about his experiences on the 5th October march and the actions of the police on that day. He describes being attacked by the police, the tension amongst the crowd and their attempts to push through the police cordon, and describes the ensuing violence and police brutality and the use of water cannon to break up the demonstration. He talks about people's fear of change in society, tries to explain why people all over the world continue to confront the police despite their fear, and expresses his feeling of solidarity with other people struggling for liberation (tracks 14-21).
Total: 33.35 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0081580 |