<h5>In late 1972, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a mother of 10 children was suddenly kidnapped from her home by a group of masked people and has not been heard from since. It wasn't until 30 years later that her body was found on the beach, and a dusty mystery was gradually lifted. </h5>
The non-fiction novel "Say Nothing: A Murder in Northern Ireland" by American writer Patrick Laden Keefe, recently published by Gezhi Press, attempts to present the tragic modern history of Northern Ireland to readers by revealing a murder case.
A few days ago, Sha Qingqing, deputy director of the Historical Documentation Center of Shanghai Library, and Zheng Shiliang, executive editor of Shanghai Book Review, visited the Bohui Square store between the divine beasts to share with readers the history and reading experience of Northern Ireland.
Speaking of Ireland, for many readers of the Chinese world, it is actually a very unfamiliar concept, and even many ordinary Chinese will not be able to figure out this love-hate relationship between it and Britain.
In Sha Qingqing's view, the tragic protagonist of "Don't Say Anything: A Northern Irish Murder Case", Joan McConnell, the case of the missing mother, involves the historical conflict between Ireland and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, "This story is somewhat a metaphor for the entire state of Northern Ireland at that time." ”
He said that at this point in 2003, the disputes in Northern Ireland had gradually subsided, and since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, there had been no large-scale fighting in Northern Ireland. "But the revelation of this case in 2003 seems to have brought people back to the turbulent years of 30 years ago."
At the event site, Sha Qingqing started from the Irish version of the "Princess Mononoke" story released this year, and carefully sorted out the entangled history between Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom through a series of film and television works related to Northern Ireland, such as "Black 47", "Wind Blowing Wheat Waves", "Proud Of The Sky", "Bloody Sunday", "Hunger" and "British Showdown" starring Jackie Chan.
For example, in "British Showdown", Sha Qingqing said: "Regarding the background of this movie, many Chinese saw it in the clouds at that time. The film depicts Jackie Chan as an immigrant living in Britain, his daughter being killed by a group of terrorists, and he takes revenge on the terrorists for this. In the film, the terrorists claim to be remnants of an organization. "Although there is no naming, this organization is an allusion to the IRA at first glance."
As Jackie Chan's rival, the villain casting Brosnan, his appearance is exactly the same as the Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in the story of "Don't Say Anything", and Adams has always been considered to be the commander behind the IRA.
"In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, and in The second-largest city, Londonderry, there used to be a lot of urban segregation, like the Berlin Wall, drawing a line, living with Catholics on one side and Protestants on the other." But the conflict between the two sides has not been suspended with the isolation, but has become more and more bloody, Sha Qingqing said.
"Back in the book, why was Joan kidnapped at the time?" Her captors were able to prove to be the terrorists in the IRA at the time. What was the reason for their abduction? Why kidnap a mother of 10 small children, who was a single mother at the time, seemed cruel. But this is the situation of the conflict at that time, and the degree of tragedy can also give everyone a perceptual cognition through these film and television works. ”
Based on Sha Qingqing's history of Northern Ireland, Zheng Shiliang interprets the book from the perspective of ethnic conflict. "You will find that before the kidnapping case described in this book, the social divide in Northern Ireland was already very obvious." In his opinion, from "Say Nothing: A Northern Irish Murder", the issue of ethnic division can also be glimpsed.
Looking back at the history of the Cold War period, the feared Third World War did not occur, but regional conflicts continued to break out, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Sri Lankan civil war, the India-Pakistan conflict, and even the internal conflicts in Spain and Italy. Behind these contradictions and conflicts there is a deep economic foundation.
In Northern Ireland, the contradictions between Catholics and Protestants have created divisions,
Both sides feel that they have been wronged, and both feel that the economic plight of their ethnic group is caused by the other... Both sides hold different logically self-consistent views of justice.
Zheng Shiliang said that this estrangement has made the contradictions between the two sides accumulate, "it is difficult to carry out dialogue and reconciliation through reasoning", which eventually caused the Northern Ireland issue in the 1960s and 1970s to erupt in an extremely violent and bloody way, "which also brings a sense of tragedy to this history".
To this end, the British government made timely adjustments, they realized that they could not solve the problem by radical means, but through moderate tolerance, the IRA morality was bankrupt, unable to recruit new people, had to return to the negotiating table for political settlement, politicized the military problem, received good results, and also reached a temporary peaceful solution.
"Arguably, the author, Patrick Laden Keefe, is very good at storytelling, taking the big picture and reflecting the whole ethnic conflict in Britain through this murder." Zheng Shiliang said.
Source: Thoughtful