| Description | Unidentified men from Derry talk about their experiences of having to travel to Scotland and England for work because of the lack of employment in Derry and their feelings about segregation and discrimination in the city.
One man talks about his experiences of travelling to Scotland at 14, the lack of employment opportunities in Derry, and discrimination against Catholics in the city. He mentions segregation in schools and says that people can tell what religion you are from the school you went to, the existence of problems for a long time but the British government not wanting to do anything about it until the civil rights movement started, and talks about the common experience of having to travel to Scotland to get work and living in poor housing (tracks 1-6)
Another man, a joiner, talks about the lack of work for young men, the dislocation of families and the breakdown of relationships when men have to travel to gain work, the poor rates of pay on relief schemes and the difficulties in feeding a family on low wages (tracks 7-8)
A docker joins the conversation to talk about the decline of Derry as a port because deep sea ships and cargoes now go through Belfast, the need to build more bridges for the city, high levels of unemployment on the docks, his involvement in labour organisation in the city and his disillusionment with politics because nothing changes (tracks 9-10).
Track 11: Silence 0.46 mins
Track 12: Silence 0.41 mins
Track 13: Test tone 0.06 mins
The docker continues to talk about the one party system and one party government and the difficulty in changing anything. Another docker joins the conversation to talk about the civil rights movement in Derry and perceived discrimination against Catholic communities in the city. Another man talks about the activities of the B Specials, and takes Charles Parker to show him the division of the city along religious lines, pointing out Catholic and Protestant areas, the Bishop Gate, Derry Jail, the ancient city walls and the Derry Diamond where people were executed. He describes the poor housing conditions and poverty that many people in the city, both Catholic and Protestant, are living in due to high rents and unemployment. He goes on to discuss the war memorial that foreign correspondents have been shocked by, and the different feelings that people have about it (tracks 14-18).
Track 19: Silence 1.15 mins
Track 20: Recording setup 0.17 mins
Track 21: A man talks about the obvious and visible divisions on religious lines that can be seen by children wearing school uniforms and by adults wearing pins and badges, the feeling of not being able to talk freely about anything to do with politics in a public environment 2.12 mins
Track 22: Silence 0.32 mins
Track 23: Recording test 0.12 mins
Track 24: Silence 0.41 mins
Total: 32.58 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0080680 |