In our Northern Roots series, we speak to readers originally from Northern Ireland but currently living elsewhere, or vice versa – or who’ve spent time away from Northern Ireland. This week’s interviewee is Isaac Byrne  who grew up in NI and now lives in Monterey, California.

 

1. Tell us about yourself. When did you leave Northern Ireland and where did you go? What do you do now?

I left Northern Ireland in 2015 to study at UWC Atlantic College in sunny southern Wales. Atlantic College is part of a network of international six forms, with 9,500 students from over 90 different cultures living in 18 campuses around the world. Being in Wales was a life-altering experience for me. Being born and raised mixed race in Northern Ireland made me painfully aware of my ‘other’ status. However, Atlantic College felt like it had 88 more cultures than Northern Ireland, and also gave me access to many new experiences. In 2015 I also worked for a Refugee advocacy NGO in Berlin, where I attempted to help the first wave of the so-called refugee crisis acclimatise to their new homes, and have been fortunate to have been back since to work in the humanitarian sector.

After completing my studies in Wales, I took a quick hop over the pond to Vermont to begin studying at Middlebury College. Vermont, which is located in the North-Eastern corner of the USA, is beautiful but very cold. The word “Baltic” gains a whole new dimension when it’s -26 degrees outside and you’re trying to walk through knee-high snow on the way to your first class. I conducted research about American airports, (which I know sounds super boring) but hopefully it will be published later this year.

Right now, I am studying for a semester at Middlebury College’s post-graduate program in Monterey, California. This semester I am studying non-proliferation and counterterrorism studies, and also heading up some research for the Centre for Terrorism studies out here.

 

2. What do you think when you see the Northern Ireland of today, in the news and on social media?

Honestly, even though we are not internationally known for our optimism, the news still looks pretty dire. With the tension surrounding the issues of Brexit, abortion rights and equal marriage, it is not hard to see that things are pretty tense right now. On top of this, the old fault lines of sectarian violence seem to be heating up again.

Yet, I also sense the spreading of a great deal of apathy back home. Over 1000 days have passed without an Assembly. Campaigns like We Deserve Better, and the growth of the Greens and Alliance shows that at least part of the Northern Irish people have become tired of the deadlock and want to create real change.

I have noticed that whenever I see Northern Ireland in other countries’ news media, it always appears far worse than the news I get from home. I think this is partially because they very rarely interview real people living in Northern Ireland. Instead, they tend to boil home down to its worst component parts, and only really take notice of the province when everything is going wrong.

 

3. Are you hopeful for Northern Ireland’s future? Will Brexit make a difference?

I would love to say that I am hopeful for the near future of Northern Ireland, but the idea of a no-deal Brexit really scares me. While a hard border is of course hugely worrying, it’s all the other things that really make it hard to be optimistic.

To me, it seems like the concept of power-sharing at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement is close to breaking point. All the other times that the NI Assembly was closed, it felt like political actors were at least putting a lot more effort in to make a deal happen. I never thought I would say this, but I miss 2007…  At least then we had the ‘Chuckle Brothers’.

Despite all of this, I do find a glimmer of hope. I feel like my generation, those born after 1998, have the possibility of creating change that those of previous generations could not. I am also given hope by the next generation of political movers and shakers who I believe can make a difference on the hill.

 

4. Do you think you will return to Northern Ireland? What could convince you to come back?

I personally feel like it’s my moral obligation to return home. I know that many people made sacrifices for me to be able to do what I do, and I want to repay them. Obviously, job opportunities might get in the way in the short-term, but as far as I’m concerned, all roads lead home eventually.

I must admit though, that I am nervous about returning to Northern Ireland if it all kicks off again. As a person of colour, I am not sure if the small non-Caucasian community would be subject to racially motivated attacks. It was not all that long ago that the number of race-related attacks outnumbered sectarian assaults in Northern Ireland, and NI still has one of the highest racist assault rates in all of Europe. If a nightmare scenario panned out, and sectarian groups did deliberately attack ethnic minorities, then I might seriously think about not returning home for a while.

At the very least, I am harbouring a dream of being able to retire on Rathlin Island, so that I can escape the world and be alone with the Puffins.

 

5. What can Northern Ireland learn from the place you live now?

From being over here in the USA, I feel like I have learnt a few lessons. The past cannot be dealt with passively. It must be confronted, challenged and discussed. In order to forgive and forget, we first must admit that our ancestors were far from perfect and that we must commit to not repeating their mistakes. Equally, progress is impossible without a greater integration of the wider population; segregation only builds fear and suspicion.

6. If Northern Ireland had a president with sweeping powers, and it was you, what would you do?

I feel like there is a lot of things that desperately need doing back home. My first move would be to end segregated housing and education while also investing in the NHS. I might see if there was any way that we could limit the usage of petitions of concern at Stormont.

 

7. What would you like to see more of on Northern Slant?

I have to say that I am a big fan of your work, and it is a real honour to be part of the ‘Northern Roots’ series. I also really enjoy reading the political week in 5 points, so I guess more stuff like that would be great. If there was anything that I would like to see, it would be a more diverse writer base at Northern Slant. As Northern Ireland changes and becomes more vibrant and diverse, it will become essential for society to make space for the newcomers’ narratives and perspectives. Platforms such as this provide a fantastic opportunity to be part of this change if they are willing to actively and consciously take part.

 

8. If you could ask three Northern Ireland politicians (past or present) to dinner, who would they be? And why?When I first read this question, I was tempted to choose three people from the past. However, I think that it is crucial to sometimes also pay attention to the future.

The first person I would invite to dinner is Anna Lo. I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone willing to stand up to racism, but I find Anna Lo’s work particularly courageous.

I would invite over Queen’s University Belfast’s Professor John Barry. Professor Barry is the father of the Green Party of Northern Ireland, and he has long campaigned on issues such as equal marriage and environmental justice. Therefore, I think he would make a fascinating dinner guest.

Finally, I’d invite Olive Buckley to dinner, if she were still with us. I have a lot of questions that I would like to ask her, chief among them, what she learned most from her experiences with NI21. I would also ask if she would support a rebirth of the NI Women’s Coalition.

I  have a lot of questions for this group. Do they think a post-sectarian society in Northern Ireland is possible? Is Brexit the end of the Northern Irish identity?

 

9. Do you have a favourite quote or mantra?

“Where there’s a will, there is a way.”

This is dear to my heart because it is my Mother’s favourite saying. She raised me by herself while running her own small business, and when I hear her say it, it always reminds me that there is a little hope left in the world. I suffer from dyslexia and often the world of academia can feel like an impossible uphill battle, but these words really help me keep going.

 

10. What’s your message for people back home?

The llong closure and Brexit alone are enough to make anyone reach for the panic button. However, I hope that we have learnt from the past and that as a community, we can protect our fragile peace.