This picture was taken when we went to Northern Ireland, in Belfast. It’s one of the multiple “Peace Walls” put up in various cities to separate feuding Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. Visiting the walls themselves was profound–it made the chasm between the disparate groups in Northern Ireland a reality. What was most poignant to me was how many of the messages on this particular wall were about peace. They ranged in tone everywhere from funny to sad, loving to angry, hopeful to pleading–and yet all of them clearly expressed a wish for peace. I was glad we had a chance to contribute to the wall. Though only a symbolic gesture, I hope that the things my friends and I left for others to read will have the same effect as they did on me.
Photo used with subject’s permission.