Light and darkness

Here I am in Northern Ireland, with its recent (and still partly unresolved) history of conflict and tragedy. And I'm reading the terrible reports from Afghanistan, particularly from women who are staring real horror in the face. Among many shocking aspects,  among the most disturbing are their descriptions of how some of their own male neighbours and relatives are welcoming the Taliban's approach to removing women's rights. That last phrase seems too watery for what is being reported.

I'm not suggesting that a long-term US/Western presence would have been the right policy. But wasn't there scope, after 2001, for a different kind of international solidarity, a different way forward to build a strong civil society? Not this toxic mix of defending 'Western' interests and failing to tackle corruption, warlord power and inequality?

Anyway. Back to Northern Ireland and a more optimistic note (yes, really!). July and August are the season for loyalist marches, bonfires and flags decorating unionist areas. Something that has been divisive, to say the least, in recent history.  We visited a small neigbourhood in Larne which has all the characteristic arrays of union jacks and references to past battles. There are new elements coming in though. A mural celebrating the work of the women's group in the area (the 'factory' women's group). Another, headlining community campaigns against drug misuse.  Small steps, good steps, beacons of light.