A march of remembrance Sunday January 30 in Derry, Northern Ireland, to commemorate the death of 13 civilians shot dead by the British army on January 30, 1972. The government has apologized but the offending soldiers have not been prosecuted in justice.
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The inhabitants of Derry (Northern Ireland) applaud the departure of the procession. In the front row of this march in memory of the “Bloody Sunday” massacre, children each with a white rose in their hands. Behind them, the portraits of the 13 victims of January 30, 1972. Large blurred black and white photos. Christian wears the image of Joe Young, a thick black mane, shot that day: “We are very proud to walk here today. It is important to remember what the British government did to us that day.”
“We walk in the footsteps of the victims, our brothers, our fathers. We always demand that justice be done.”
The demonstrators are following exactly the same route as 50 years ago. They descend from the top of the city to end up in the Bogside district where the British soldiers shot and killed. On the way, we see the fortifications of the beautiful little city and the mural frescoes that decorate the houses and tell the story of the bloody past.
Glenn walks these streets he knows by heart. Those his father descended half a century ago, before being shot in the back: “It’s appalling to see what one has to do to try to get some form of justice from the UK government.”
“You would expect the system to shake justice into action but it doesn’t exist in Ireland [du nord] when it comes to the British military.”
The British government issued an apology in 2010 but the offending soldiers were never prosecuted. For some, this is the battle to be waged now. John’s uncle was killed on that “Bloody Sunday”. Five decades of mourning and contempt for the authorities: “Everyone has been touched from near or far by a tragedy here. This march brings back memories. We have come a long way since the first mobilizations. And we still have a long way to go. Look around you, look at this neighborhood, these houses, it looks like a slum.”
>> “It was only in the evening that we understood the extent of the massacre”: January 30, 1972, Bloody Sunday bloodied Northern Ireland
The names of the victims are recited on a flute tune in a heavy silence. The sky hesitates between sun and rain like the crowd, which no longer knows whether to smile at this dignified and beautiful walk or cry over this tragedy and the injustice that continues.
Derry, Northern Ireland remembers ‘Bloody Sunday’ – Reporting by Richard Place
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