Institute of Political Studies Conference.
It was with some trepidation that I recently attended a conference at the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, QUB. The conference was funded by the PSA. There were academics with PhD’s and Masters Students from far and wide. Indeed, I would argue that ‘locals’ were in the minority! A number of papers, due to be formally published next year, were presented. The intriguing one for me was Peter Shirlows paper titled; “Was it worth it? The Implication of Conflict for Paramilitary Combatants”, as it was focused on loyalist paramilitary prisoners.
A lot of academic language was used, e.g. heterogeneity of feelings, references to Habermas, Goffman and Kutz. There was also discussion around shame and guilt. One surprising statistic referred to, was that 60% of paramilitary prisoners had lost a family member through the conflict. It applies to be but only in that it was a distant relative and it was very early in the troubles. There were prisoners I knew that had lost close relatives through the’ troubles’.
According to Shirlow, released loyalist paramilitaries can be roughly divided into 3 main groups; those who cope, those who don’t cope and those with a mix of both. Shirlow talks about those who travelled down a restorative road and contacted to victims. This has had a beneficial effect for both parties. He spoke of’ neutralizers’ who had rationalised their actions as being part of the war, i.e. defending their people etc. They had adjusted to the outside world and adapted well to society. He had interviewed quite a few ex-prisoners and found that some had resorted to isolation and ‘the bottle’. They had not coped well practically or emotionally.
I can only comment on those UVF/RHC life sentence prisoners in the special category compounds of the Kesh. I think it is instructive firstly to say that I do not know of one instance of those prisoners being convicted upon release of another serious crime of violence never mind killing someone. I definitely know some lifers who went on to commit ‘ordinary’ crime which was more to do for personal gain. During discussion one day in C.21 I asked quite a few prisoners to consider how many of their friends had been reconvicted after their release. The figure was an amazing 5%. This was for 1981-ish. The British reconviction rate is over 60%. I cannot speak for those prisoners in the H Blocks given that we had little, if any, contact with them.
Looking back on all my fellow prisoners and considering these categories I would say that it is a fair reflection of the situation. I also thought the topic was handled in a balanced and non-sensational manner. I have no formal contact with other life sentence prisoners but meet in a variety of settings and at various times. Some have done well and some have not. Interestingly no UVF/RHC special category lifer has taken his life since release. Some have died through medical conditions such as heart attacks and cancer while others have succumbed to the bottle. I would contend that those life sentence prisoners have, by a majority, done well after release. Many I know personally had stayed away from any politics. Many have started and raised families. Many are grandfathers. Most have been working since release. In C.21 there was a very strong work ethos if you consider the arts/crafts, fitness and education as stand-in work. Compound 21 was a continuous personal development existence. The rough came with smooth. Some lifers have gone into management and directed their own business. Some went back to their community to carry out youth work. But by far, and more importantly, none have advocated the violence they once practised in the 1970s. Quite the opposite. Some have openly advocated non-violence as the way forward.
So why do some succeed post life sentence and others do not? I personally think that everyone has to look at their motives and rationale for engaging in the extreme violence of that period. Everyone has to live with their decisions and actions. If you believed in what you are doing then you live with what outcomes come along. Prison is prison but you are there for different reasons than those of ordinary criminals. I fully acknowledge the hurt, pain, suffering and damage inflicted and I truly wish none of it had happened but it did. What is often forgotten in the debate is that the very hurt, pain, suffering of our community was the motivating factor for many of us. As Davy Ervine pointed out– the events of the 21st July 1972 was the focal point, the Rubicon, for recruitment into the loyalist groups. It was all downhill after that.
So was it worth it? Such a question can be looked at from a personal, community or social perspective. Personally speaking, absolutely not. I get on with my life worrying about family, my job, friends, health, etc. and so on. But I also live with the events of the ‘70s until my dying day.
James.
