As we approach the highlight of the July marching season, it is evident that there is still a lot of work to be done in building the shared society that the Good Friday Agreement envisaged. 20 years on, Northern Ireland is still highly polarised when it comes to flags, parades and bonfires.

I have full respect for people who wish to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne. If we are to build a truly equal society then this is something that has to be embraced by all sides of the community. The wanton attacks that have recently taken place against bonfires only serve to whip up tensions. Those that took place in Derry, aimed at the Protestant Fountain Estate, for instance, serve absolutely no purpose and should be widely condemned.

Studying International Relations at Queen’s I’ve been fortunate to people from all walks of life across the world. The look of bemusement on their faces when they go through different areas that have been marked out by flags, including paramilitary flags… This has nothing to do with ‘culture’. Their primary aim is to mark out territory, they serve only as a reminder of the sinister elements that still lurk in the shadows.

In 2018 it is simply unacceptable that these elements of our society should still have this level of control over communities. It’s time for the figures of the past to get off everyone’s backs.

The Bloomfield Bonfire in East Belfast is a case in point, once again managing to get itself onto the front pages of newspapers in the lead up to the Eleventh Night. After being moved last year due to the proximity of nearby houses, comically it moved the problem up the road. A substantial size this year, it had been built on land owned by the Department of Infrastructure, within touching distance to a play park and nearby trees.

Even though members of the local community expressed concern at the size of the pyre, there was reluctance within the statutory bodies to act. This is not about bashing bonfires; I do believe that if wider discussions are held an accommodation can be reached.  It is not unreasonable that people were complaining about a large bonfire that could severely damage its surroundings.

In the end, before the Department of Infrastructure even had a chance to implement a court order to reduce the bonfire in size, it was set alight. Now, ironically, nobody will be able to celebrate at Bloomfield on the Eleventh Night, despite a compromise having been available.

The key word, often misunderstood in Northern Ireland, is respect. Attacking murals, poppy memorials and Orange Halls should have no place in the Northern Ireland we are trying to build – just as the burning of the tricolour and other nationalist emblems on a bonfire should be a thing of the past. It goes without saying that bonfires themselves should be constructed in a way that respects the basic safety of the communities in which they are located.

Northern Ireland is dysfunctional, but it is still possible to show respect for all cultures in our society. This includes respect for common sense in the first place.