Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/northern-ireland-nippa-the-early-years-organisation/5015949/
Northern Ireland is a beautiful place �" perched on the western seaboard of Europe. It is a very small place �" only 500 kilometres wide, 300 kilometres long, with 1.6 million people. Almost one quarter of the population is less than 15 years old.Northern Ireland is a small island nation, a divided island that since the middle ages has witnessed war and conflict and sectarian strife. Our recent conflict erupted in 1969, and for 30 years we have subjected ourselves to a savage sectarian warfare. In the 30 years period we euphemistically call “The Troubles,” 3,600 people have died and 20,000 have been seriously injured.
The economy and physical infrastructure have all been seriously damaged. In 1969 in one of the greatest displacements of people since the second world war, Catholics and Protestants moved from traditional mixed patterns of living to single identity communities. These communities became ghettoised and a focus of inter-community tension and conflict. Everyone �" Catholic, Protestant, British soldier, IRA and Loyalist paramilitary, and ordinary family has suffered in Northern Ireland.
During the past 30 years:
• Unemployment was the highest in Western Europe.
• Poverty levels were the highest in the United Kingdom.
• Ill health and psychiatric disorders ...