The Lower Shankill Group
“Local communities would really benefit from this course especially the young as we don’t want to back to the way it was in Northern Ireland.”
“The course would help communities like mine (especially young people,) to get a better understanding of history and how politics and religion play a big part in our own history”
“I think local associations would benefit a lot from this course because there is a lot of misinterpretation about Polish people and their culture and I think this course can change ideas about their culture and would be a good thing for better community relations in Northern Ireland”
“My view has changed on Polish people and their culture because of this course”
“The group agreed that historically and indeed in certain conditions relating to present society, racism still exists and that at every opportunity this wrong within should be abhorred and every effort made to create a society free from such activity and mindsets.
It is therefore our intention to spread the learning and findings of this course to our wider communities and in doing so create a tolerance of all races and groups within our society.”
The Friends of the Somme Associations
“We believe that everybody should be able to celebrate his or her culture without fear of persecution or being vilified. As previously stated many sons and daughters of our land died to uphold these civil and religious liberties. We are therefore of the opinion that racism offers nothing to Loyalist communities today.”
The participants stated that as a result of the project:
"I think my local associations would benefit a lot from the course because there’s a lot of misinterpretations about polish people and there culture and i think the more people get to know there culture can only be a good thing for the better community relations in N.I and i say this because my view has changed on polish people and their culture."
"There is a genuine need to educate our communities regarding racism to holocaust and the opportunity not to let history repeat itself."
"I left school and never thought I would I would ‘do’ learning again as I can’t spell properly and people used to laugh at me. I don’t want to stop learning now and want to do the next part of the course. "
"I think the course will challenge attitudes open people’s eyes thinking and to help challenge racism thinks this course will make a massive dent in challenging racism as it seems to be surfacing a lot in my organisation."
"It would open the eyes to the reasons why foreigners come to live in our country. Going to Poland you could see how racism can lead to ethnic cleansing and mass murder."
"The trip was excellent – challenging physically and mentally demanding more focus in why there are so few Jews and non Catholics in present day Poland."
"I enjoyed the discussions in the course and looking at the holocaust from every perspective It changed my attitudes and others attitudes towards people from other cultures. I wouldn’t change it (the course,) as it was down to earth and I thought that the course met its objective."
The Polish Community
“This project will help build real relationships between the Polish and Loyalist community in Belfast and we will fully support its roll out”
Maciek Bator - Director of the Polish Association in Belfast
“The Polish community here in Ireland will work with this project to ensure its success in building better community relations at a local and national level”
Jerome Mullen - Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Poland
“I feel work like this will cement relationships between the Polish and British community both in Belfast and also importantly here in Krakow as locals can meet and discuss issues such as the recent shooting of a Polish National in Northern Ireland and also why attacks on the Polish community happen in Belfast. By talking together and experiencing each other’s cultures at first hand we can really improve community relations at many, many levels. The Polish Government will fully support this important project and hope it can be delivered to as many people as possible in Northern Ireland.”
Romuald Lanczkowski - Deputy Secretary General of the Senate of Poland.
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