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The Land of the Ire, or Northern Ireland is certainly blessed in many ways. It is a rich and resourceful country of breathtaking beauty. Yet under its seeming serenity, it bears a heavy cross - one that has kept its people apart for over 400 years and still keeps them polarized. It is also a land where ancient grudges are not easily forgotten.
But with the power devolution exercise of 1998, the Northern Ireland administration is committed to confining the historical enmities to the older generation. And this is why the government has begun to teach the need for co-habitation to students from a young age.
With the power devolution process, the state was keen to introduce significant changes to the system. Along with urban regeneration programmes and rebuilding of bomb ravaged cities came a new education policy that seeks to bring once segregated children together.
One of the highlights of our visit to Northern Ireland was the tour of a school which has children of all religions - and believe me, this is no easy task in a land that has been so divided.
The Edwardian red brick building of Oakgrove Integrated College in Gransha Park, Londonderry seems the ideal place from outside- truly rural but with modern facilities, a place where children could learn to mingle. Surrounded by green fields, its picture book setting seems well suited for youngsters to have fun - and learn from each other.
Marie Cowan, its Principal believes it is very important to bring the young together. 'We believe in teaching them early in life how to reduce friction and fractions so that we may enter a period of healing and progress,' she said.
As the teachers told us during our informal chats, Northern Ireland's society is sadly fragmented, and it seems to take a massive effort to create a new mindset, hence the decision to allow children to grow together.
Mrs. Cowan tells me that these are children, coming from different social levels, abilities, and what's more- belonging to different faiths.
Paul Johnson in his 'Ireland: Land of Troubles (1980) commented: ' The separate communities were divided not only by religion but also by race and not by culture as such. Before this, our children learned different poetry, sang different songs, celebrated different victories, mourned different calamities and, above all, swore different oaths'.
Derry is generally a hotbed of political activity, and the home of the IRA, the Irish Republican Army. Hence there is much Catholic activity there. So naturally, the children at Oakgrove also carry some of that sentiment, and the problems, physical, residual or religious. But as the teachers at the school collectively said, if people could be buried together, why could they not learn to live together?
Oakgrove was set up in 1992, the very first of its kind in Derry, with a handful of children and today, the student population has risen to over 800 students, a great achievement, according to Mrs. Cowan because all parents are not yet in favour of the concept of integrated education despite it being a government funded programme.
About 34% of the students are Protestant while the majority are Catholics.
' We had hostile responses, people scoffed, refused to send children here and made our children feel as if they had fallen from Mars because they belonged to a new state initiative. They refused to acknowledge that if Northern Ireland is to heal, we have to invest in our children and that means- we don't make them inheritors of ancient grudges,' noted Mrs. Cowan.
In proof of this, the College has an admission policy which strikes an overall balance amongst all traditions. There exists a reserve of maximum of 20% of places for pupils from traditions other than Protestant and Catholic, a rule waived if there are fewer applications from such students.
Catholic schools are generally known as Irish schools with emphasis on nationalist thinking, and Derry being Catholic- dominated, it was a challenge to convince parents that children could be raised in a multi-religious and cultural atmosphere without harming their identity
The integrated schools try their best to ensure their students do not suffer from any handicaps when they go into society- hence the decision to follow the national academic curricula.
We asked the teachers how children from different religious, so far polarized behaved in group situations. The tensions, they said, were originally there. But it was now the normal school scene, except that sometimes, tension was felt among students- when Loyalists were holding protests or commemorations were held.
The school interestingly, has some former IRA militants' children as well. And Mrs. Cowan is pleased that one IRA supporter who is currently serving a jail term wanted his son to overcome the 'mental limitations' and admitted him to Oakgrove. Certain families send some children to the integrated school and others to the confession school, she said.
In keeping with the theme, there is a common prayer room where all children assemble together, but say different prayers. ' We wanted them to have that essential lesson in life,' said one primary teacher.
When we entered a classroom to speak to students, the fifteen-year-olds were all ready to go home. After much prodding, a few agreed to share their thoughts about 'integration'. To their young minds, it is an opportunity to learn and play together 'with children who are of different faiths'. Young Joanna Doherty, a beautiful Irish girl whose ambition is to become a designer someday, thought it was 'cool' to be in an integrated school. It was actually better, she said, because her siblings were at confession school and did not have friends from other religions and knew little about the 'customs and rituals of other people'.
The concept of integration, as the new schools try to show is to create a plural society, to know, understand, respect and appreciate those who differ from them. ' It is to know what they hold in common as well as what divides them,' as Mrs. Cowan says. And this, in her estimation is a true and non-violent method of conflict resolution.
'I like Oakgrove because it is integrated, and you get to meet people from all different backgrounds and make friends with them' wrote Kyle O'Kane (Elington Primary)- Year 8 Pupils' Views of Oakgrove Integrated College just last year. And the school motto very correctly says: ' Self esteem for all'. And that's what the Northern Ireland government is keen on. Children who would appreciate the concept of unity in diversity.
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