In the second of a two part series about Global Exchange’s history in Ireland, our co-founder, Kevin Danaher shares the inspiration behind our delegations during an interview with Reality Tours intern Kathleen Reynolds.

Kathleen: What were your most memorable events on a Reality Tour to Northern Ireland?

Kevin: There were a lot of them… So we go in this one place it was actually called the Felons and to be a member of this club you have to have been a convicted felon, so you think whoa this is a bunch of tough guys. So we walk in there are a few guys over at the bar they look at us and they wave at me they call me over they say you’ve got the head of a Celt are you Irish I said my father was born and raised in county Limerick. For four hours these guys just regaled us with stories about this and that. These were just two working class guys but their knowledge of Irish history was incredible… if you put them up against normal Americans knowing American history it would be no contest. You could see the political element of it because so much had been taken away from them that at least the history was something they could hold onto and feel fervent about. It is almost like the way some guys follow football teams, or soccer teams, or baseball teams and they know all the details. That’s the way these guys were with history.

Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder of Global Exchange

We kept meeting these kind of people over and over again you know just regular people.  It resonated with me because my father was that kind of guy.  He was functionally illiterate he had no schooling to speak of, was too poor had to work and yet he was probably the smartest guy I’ve ever known. He was a good man,  just the kind of person who was a friend. If you need a shirt he’ll take his off. That’s pretty easy to do. Everybody could do that if they wanted to, if they set their mind to it. Irish are really good role models and we engage good decent working class people.  These are the kind of people based interactions that make up my favorite memories.

Kathleen: What about pressing issues in Ireland today?

Kevin: The reunification of Ireland is a big deal because you’ve got centuries of separation and barriers. The Irish free state invested a lot of money in its’ education system. It created a very well educated work force that was also a low wage work force so it attracted a lot of transnational corporations, credit card processing the Intel computer type companies… you had this well trained workforce that would still work for low wages and it was part of the EC. They used to call Ireland the Celtic Tiger because the economy was growing like crazy in the early 2000’s. The main issues that I stress people examine now are economic independence and local green economy.

With this 2008 crash a lot of people got screwed. Now there are a lot of young Irish people who are leaving. They’ve got good education and skills but they can’t get jobs in their country. Look you can get your political independence if you don’t get your economic dependence and control your economy the political independence doesn’t mean much. Boom and Bust is the nature of Capitalism it’s a cyclical system.

Thanks to Kevin and Kathleen for sharing a bit or the story behind Reality Tours to Northern Ireland.  Many of our delegations were set up to examine the history of colonialism, peace and conflict resolution, economic development and coincided with the West Belfast Arts Festival.  They continue today. If you are interested in an alternative journey to Ireland, check out last weeks Blog What Inspired Reality Tours to Ireland and a past participant’s story To Belfast and Back with Global Exchange.
TAKE ACTION! Learn how to customize your own Reality Tour trip to Ireland today.

Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder of Global Exchange

In the first of a two part series about Global Exchange’s history in Ireland, our co-founder, Kevin Danaher shares the inspiration behind our delegations during an interview with Reality Tours intern Kathleen Reynolds.

—

Kathleen: What inspired the Reality Tours delegation to Ireland?

Kevin:  My father was born and raised in South West Ireland, county Limerick, so I had a very personal interest in getting trips to Ireland started. We focused on Northern Ireland because of the politics at the time. When people see a little town in Northern Ireland where the British military base is constructed in such a way that it breaks the architectural unity of the town square… They built the military base purposely so that the corner of the base intrudes and breaks the architectural unity of the town square. When you’re walking on the sidewalk you have to step out in the street to get around the corner of the military base. It was a way of saying structurally, we’re in your house you can’t do anything about it and we’re going to be here forever, look how permanent this structure is. Well, as a matter of fact that military base is gone now and the British are leaving Northern Ireland. That’s the end of an eight hundred year process. The first Norman Invasion from England was 1169. The Irish put up a good fight.  They kept out the Roman armies, which is an amazing achievement because they were such crazy fighters but the British subdued them.

If you look at populations, the only country I know of that has half the population today that it had 150 years ago is Ireland.  Most people when asked that question respond- Ethiopia, Rwanda whatever, no it’s Ireland! So many people died or were chased away, like my father at the age of 21. He was the only one (in my family) who had the opportunity. An aunt offered to take him to the US and he jumped at the opportunity, but he cried every day of his adult life. He was homesick for Ireland. He didn’t really want to leave which is true of most immigrants. People don’t leave out of desire to go see the bright lights of LA. It’s family necessity. It’s to try to earn an income and send money back. In the 1930’s my father was making 30 dollars a week and he sent 5 dollars of that back to Ireland. It really made the difference for that family. It helped the children to survive. I had a real personal empathy for what had gone on in Ireland. Ireland is a country with people who took English, the colonizers language and made it into an articulate tool of resistance. Some of the greatest writers in English happen to be Irish. Very fun loving people, it’s easy to make friends. Another thing too, there’s a very deep sense of history. Everything else was taken away from them but they held onto their history. There’s a quote from someone… after one of the rebellions in the 1800s he said “you fools you’ve left us our Fenian dead but as long as we hold these graves Ireland un-free will never be at rest.” That sense of standing on the shoulders of those who gave up their lives in the struggle. After 800 years the British are leaving and Ireland will eventually be unified.

Kathleen: Bobby Sands died in the Maze prison of Northern Ireland some 31 years ago. Can you explain the significance of Bobby Sands’ legacy?

Kevin: They used to call it going on the blanket. Political prisoners took off their clothes stopped eating and just wrapped themselves up in a blanket. People were willing to give up their lives consciously by starving themselves to death and it would draw these massive support movements to support people like Bobby Sands. People like Bobby Sands understood that it’s the mass mobilizations, mass movements that make revolutions, it’s not individual leaders or genius, it’s large numbers of people. In order to get them motivated sometimes leaders have to take arrows in their back.

—

Since 1997 Global Exchange has offered departures to Northern Ireland. Many of our delegations were set up to examine the history of colonialism, peace and conflict resolution, economic development and coincided with the West Belfast Arts Festival.  They continue today. If you are interested in an alternative journey to Ireland, check out a past participant’s story To Belfast and Back with Global Exchange.

TAKE ACTION! Learn how to customize your own Reality Tour trip to Ireland today.

Jane in Iraq, Embedded with the Marines in Anbar

Our guest blogger today is Jane Stillwater, a woman whom the folks here at Reality Tours have known for over a decade. We might tease her as being a “serial tripper”, and tell her not to worry about sending in  her registration as she is in the database, but in all seriousness we honor Jane for her adventurous, compassionate spirit and for being a true citizen diplomat!

It’s wonderful to read on Jane’s blog about how each journey has impacted her. Her blog begins with: “Imagine a world where EVERY child is wanted, nurtured, protected and loved.” Jane is preparing to take her 6th Reality Tour this summer.

—

In the last ten years, I’ve participated in five different Global Exchange Reality Tours  and each one of them has been both awesome and jaw-dropping. GX has taken me to Cuba, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and Belfast! And I’ve gotten to see places and meet people there that nobody, not even the locals, hardly ever get to see or know.

Jane Stillwater, Reality Tours Alumni

And I’ve also been able to come back home and write about what I have seen and to help tell other Americans that Iran, Cuba, Afghanistan. etc. are not filled with evil terrorists and boogeymen but rather with just ordinary people like you and me, trying to make a life for their families just like we do.

So when Global Exchange recently announced that it was sponsoring a new trip to Uganda on July 2, I was SO there! Signed up immediately. The trip will focus on efforts in Uganda to stop human trafficking and eliminate the use of child soldiers — what’s not to like about that?!

—

Jane, you are a welcomed addition to any Reality Tours trip!

TAKE ACTION!

• You can read more about Jane’s hopes for our upcoming Uganda Reality Tours trip on her blog.
• Learn more about our powerful advocacy delegations that examine human trafficking, child soldiers and human rights.
• Interested in going on a Reality Tours trip but low on funds? Here are 3 free resources to help you fundraise:

1. Financial Scholarship Application  
2. Fundraising Tips
   
3. Fundraising Pack