Let the community get on with it

By Sean Mag Uidhir
So the so-called Republican Network for Unity, which is in fact the complete opposite of that, have threatened to picket a multi agency meeting being held fortnightly in Ardoyne Community Centre.
The warcry of the RNU and the mind boggling amount of other microgroups in Ardoyne has been that the district has been going to the dogs and that no one is doing anything about it.
However while members of the RNU have been sitting moaning over their pints about the state of the place community activists, the political parties, the schools, representatives of local residents' groups, the churches, youth workers and local housing associations have been sitting down with all the statutory providers who have a duty to deliver proper services to our community.
The statutory bodies include the Housing Executive, the PSNI, Social Services, the Fire Service, Belfast City Council, Belfast Regeneration Office, the Department of Social Development and Community wardens, everyone of them with an important role to play in making Ardoyne a safer and better place.
To date local people have raised concerns about the delays in bringing empty homes back into use, the destruction of the car park at Havana Way, anti-social behaviour at the Brompton Gap, the use by children of bongs while on their way to school, alleygating where people feel that entries are being used for drug abuse, the sale of drink to underage children, the problems associated with Orange parades as well as the recent abuse of police powers during July when plastic bullets were fired.
These are only some of the issues raised so far in these meetings with people trying to make those with a responsibility in tackling these problems accountable be that the PSNI, the council, the housing bodies.
At present the multi-agency meeting is one of the most democratic forums in the area with ordinary people telling those who are falling down on the job how their needs can be met.
This is a genuine example of putting power in the hands of the people.
So if I am reading RNU's position properly their problem with all of this is that the PSNI are present at the meetings.
If this is the case I could suggest a number of other forms that such a protest against the PSNI could take.
First I would start at the long trusted and tried protest against the PSNI and that would be to start at the barracks, any PSNI barracks.
That way they could make it very clear that their protest is not against St Gemma's School or Holy Cross Boys, that it isn't against the SDLP and Sinn Féin, that they are not opposed to the district's youth clubs, the Old Ardoyne and Jamaica Ardglen Residents, Fr Gary or Fr Ciaran Dallat for that matter, the Women's Group or the Ardoyne Association and on top of that their problem isn't with the council or any of the other statutory bodies.
However, if protesting at the barracks is too difficult and the protests are going to be against a community, which has already voted overwhelmingly for engagement with all statutory bodies then could I suggest how to take the protest all the way.
Let's picket the monastery as we all know that Fr Gary has been working with the police in taking illegal drugs out of circulation, often supported in doing so by the fellow travellers of the protestors.
Then let's picket every pub, club and off licence because they've been working with the cops for years to get and keep their licences and the membership books of the clubs and all their details are all handed over for inspection.
When we put the clubs out of business we can then picket the homes of the car owners, as they're regularly working with the cops producing licences and documents. Next up has to be anyone whose home has been burgled as they report it to the cops to get their insurance.
Then there’s the victims of assault, as other than being carried into the hospital they too have to report it if they are to get their compensation.
Then there’s all those hundreds of people in Ardoyne who have already phoned the police this year to report crime.
The next group could be a little bit tricky but hey if RNU's out to get anyone in the community working with the cops we can’t stop now.
Let's picket the victims of rape, abuse and sex crime who also have had to work with police in locking up the rapists, the paedophiles and the perverts.
You could really have a run at all of this with a little thought but I suppose it's easier to just walk round from a club, which has a great relationship with the police, to protest at all those people in the community who are trying to make the area a better place for all.
Still given that we have already had one micro group threatening all the community workers in the area earlier this year it is little surprise that some Einstein in RNU thinks that the way forward for the people of Ardoyne is a protest against the community, another fine example of the U in Unity.