Life in Two Enclave Areas
|
. | Gobna scale % | Foun tain % |
Gobn ascale rank |
Foun tain rank |
significan -ce of difference |
1. shops for daily shopping | |||||
2. shops for weekly or monthly
shopping | |||||
3. entertainment facilities | |||||
4. friends or relatives | |||||
5. church | |||||
6. health services | |||||
7. parks or open spaces | |||||
8. play areas or facilities for
under 5's | |||||
9. play areas or facilities for older
children (5-14) | |||||
10. leisure centres | |||||
11. public transport services | |||||
12. supervise children at play | |||||
13. children's school or nursery | |||||
14. work (if employed) | |||||
15. young people and adults
training/educational facilities | |||||
16. no problems in access to
any of the above | |||||
17. No response |
Responses to question 7 again showed a degree of similarity between
the two areas, with 10 of the 16 possible responses showing no
significant differences between the two areas, yet there were
some differences. However, the largest number of respondents in
both areas said that they had no access problems (Gobnascale 51%
and Fountain 53%). When the problems reported in each area are
ranked, the rank order for each area shows a degree of similarity:
"access to play areas for the under 5s" ranked second
in the Fountain (18%) and fourth in Gobnascale (16%), whilst "access
to entertainment" ranked second in Gobnascale (23%) and sixth
in the Fountain (13%). Gobnascale's remoteness from the major
cinemas and city centre venues may explain the response on this
question. One would expect The Fountain, as a city centre community,
to have no such problems. What reports there are of Fountain respondents'
problems with accessing entertainment could be explained by referring
to the qualitative data, in which residents spoke of fear of using
city centre facilities on occasion, because of the risk of being
identified as a Fountain resident, and perhaps attracting unwanted
attention or attack.
Overall, however, in cases where there were five areas of significant
difference between the two communities in access problems. Gobnascale
respondents reported more access problems than the Fountain, with
the exception of access to parks and open spaces - no doubt related
to Gobnascale's location on the edge of the city, adjacent to
open fields and countryside. Some of the other access problems
reported in both communities could be related to community development
- or the lack of it- in the area, where facilities for under 5s
could be provided by local community groups, whereas other issues,
such as public transport or shops are not traditionally seen as
within the remit of community organisations.
Question 8 instructed respondents as follows: "Here is
a list of problems that have occurred in areas similar to this
one. Could you go down the list and tick one box showing whether
you think each item is a major problem, now is minor problem,
was a problem in the past but not now, or has never been a problem
in this area? The following table shows the percentage response
in each area."
. | MAJOR PROBLEM IN THIS AREA NOW | MINOR PROBLEM IN THIS AREA NOW | WAS A PROBLEM IN THE PAST | NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM IN THIS AREA | NO RESP -ONSE | |||||
. | Gobna -scale | Fount -ain |
Gobna -scale | Fount -ain | Gobna scale |
Fount ain | Gobna scale | Fount -ain |
Gobna scale | Foun tain |
stone, bottle or paint throwing | ||||||||||
petrol bomb throwing | ||||||||||
shootings or bombings | ||||||||||
violent attacks on people or property | ||||||||||
rioting between security forces and local people | ||||||||||
rioting between Protestants and Catholics | ||||||||||
vandalism to cars or
other property | ||||||||||
personal intimidation | ||||||||||
hate mail or telephone calls | ||||||||||
verbal taunts or abuse | ||||||||||
broken street lighting | ||||||||||
locals taunting
security forces security force | ||||||||||
intimidation or harassment
of local population | ||||||||||
bricked up dwellings and
vacant land |
stone, bottle or paint throwing | NS |
petrol bomb throwing | .0001 |
shootings or bombings | NS |
violent attacks on people or property | .03 |
rioting between security forces and local people | .0 |
rioting between Protestants and Catholics | .0002 |
vandalism to cars or other property |
NS |
personal intimidation | NS |
hate mail or telephone calls | NS |
verbal taunts or abuse | .05 |
broken street lighting | NS |
locals taunting security forces | .00001 |
security force intimidation or harassment of local population | .0 |
bricked up dwellings and vacant land | .02 |
There was agreement between the two areas that "shootings
or bombings" were not a problem for the vast majority of
respondents in either area currently, nor was "hate mail
or telephone calls". "Petrol bomb throwing" was
perceived by 2% of Gobnascale residents as a problem now, and
by no Fountain residents, and this difference is significant.
"Rioting between security forces and local people" was
similarly perceived as a problem by very few respondents - 3%
in Gobnascale and 2% in The Fountain, although again the difference
between the two areas is significant. It is on issues related
to the experience of and attitude to the security forces that
the largest differences between the two communities occur.
According to the rank ordering of problems within each area, there
was agreement between the two areas about what constituted the
major problems in each area, although the priority in each community
varies and they are ranked in slightly different order. The biggest
problem for Gobnascale residents was "stone, bottle or paint
throwing"(19%) whereas the biggest problem for Fountain residents
was "vandalism to cars or other property" (19%) and
there were no differences between the areas on these two issues.
The next most frequently mentioned problem for Fountain residents
was "broken street lighting" (17%) whereas the next
priorities for Gobnascale residents were jointly "broken
street lighting"; "vandalism to property and cars"
and "bricked up dwellings"- all 16%. Only on the last
of these - "bricked up dwellings" - is there a significant
difference between the two areas. Sixteen percent of Fountain
residents also mentioned "bricked up dwellings", which
ranked third in priority on the Fountain result. Further down
the frequency rating, the interpersonal aspects of conflict, ratings
in each community, on "personal intimidation (Gobnascale
5% and Fountain 7%) showed no significant difference between the
two areas, but "violent attacks on people or property"
(Gobnascale 8% and Fountain 10%) was significantly different,
with the Fountain community rating it higher than the Gobnascale
community.
The most frequently mentioned minor problem in Gobnascale was
"broken street lighting", whereas in the Fountain it
was "stone, bottle or paint throwing" and "vandalism
to cars or other property". "Rioting between Protestants
and Catholics" and "verbal taunts and abuse" were
next on the Fountain list of minor problems, whereas"bricked
up dwellings and vacant land" - which had been a problem
in Gobnascale in the past - came next on the Gobnascale list of
minor problems in the present. Fountain residents also live in
close proximity to the site of disputes about apprentice Boys
marches and this perhaps partly explains their significantly higher
response to the questions about rioting and verbal abuse. Our
qualitative data contains accounts of verbal taunts and attacks
on Fountain residents in the city centre, and Fountain young people
particularly complain about verbal abuse, and this may also account
for this response. Gobnascale's more remote location perhaps reduced
the likelihood of residents having these experiences in the past.
Significant differences between the responses in the two areas
again emerge on the issue of policing, with 25% of Gobnascale
residents saying that "locals taunting the security forces"
was a minor problem in their area, whereas only 11% of Fountain
residents thought it was a problem in the Fountain; 22% of Gobnascale
residents indicated that "security force intimidation or
harassment of local population" was a minor problem, whereas
only 11% of Fountain residents thought it was a minor problem
in the Fountain; 12% of Gobnascale residents thought that "rioting
between security forces and local people" was a minor problem
, whereas only 7% of Fountain residents thought that it was a
problem in the Fountain. "Shootings and bombings" came
low on the list for both areas, and showed no significant difference.
A similar clustering of responses was noted in both areas responses to the question about in the past, with significant, if predictable differences between them. The rank order of responses to this question is presented in the table below.
Again, the predictable significant differences between the two
areas in their experience and accounts of the security forces
become apparent, with Gobnascale residents ranking rioting with
the security forces as a significant problem in the past, yet
it doesn't appear on the Fountain list, whilst both areas say
that shootings and bombings and stone throwing were problems in
the past. Both areas also said that petrol bombing and rioting
were problems in the past, although there were significant differences
between the scores in the two areas on these issues, with Gobnascale
scoring higher in both cases.
Gobnascale | Fountain | ||
petrol bomb throwing | 58% | shootings or bombings | 49% |
shootings or bombings | 49% | petrol bomb throwing | 40% |
rioting between security forces and local people | 47% | rioting between Protestant and Catholics | 38% |
stone paint or bottle throwing | 39% | stone, paint or bottle throwing | 35% |
rioting between Protestants and Catholics | 35% | violent attacks on people or property | 30% |
The responses to this part of the question cluster in each area,
with a larger cluster of responses in the Fountain, and again,
the issue of the security forces and relationship between them
and the local community emerge as different in the two areas,
with a substantial percentage of Fountain residents indicating
that this relationship was not problematic. The Gobnascale percentages
are given in brackets after the Fountain figures.
Gobnascale | Fountain | ||
hate mail or telephone calls | 57% | hate mail or telephone calls | 60% |
personal intimidation | 44% | locals taunting security forces | 44%(G=21%) |
verbal abuse or taunts | 43% (F=34%) | personal intimidation | 42% |
rioting between security forces and local people | 40% (G=1%) | ||
security force intimidation or harassment | 40% (G=20%) | ||
The response rate to this question was related in part to the
question design, with respondents asked to tick one box for each
issue. From feedback on the survey, we know that some respondents
found this an off-putting exercise, thus possibly explaining the
relatively low response rates to some questions. (31% on "hate
mail" in Gobnascale, and 32% on "rioting between security
forces and local people" in the Fountain).
Question 9 instructed respondents: " Thinking of the future,
which three of the following would you most like to see in this
area?" The percentages responding in each cell are shown
in the table below:
-scale | -ain | |||
vacant dwellings put to use | ||||
vacant land developed | ||||
security fence/boundary round the area lengthened or heightened | ||||
security fence/boundary round the area reduced or removed | ||||
more community responses & initiatives to problems. | ||||
improvements to local environment | ||||
more political leadership & representation from this area | ||||
more police | ||||
less police | ||||
more contact between churches | ||||
better working relationship with all public authorities | ||||
more acceptance of your community by other community | ||||
improvement to housing stock & conditions | ||||
more contact between Protestants & Catholics in general | ||||
more contact between two communities about specific concerns | ||||
Generally, are there other improvements you would like to see
in the future which would help solve the problems? |
|
|
| |
facilities for younger people | ||||
more shops needed | ||||
other requirements.*.. | ||||
No response |
* these include more pensioners' facilities, more traffic control,
a community centre, and control dogs in area.
Although significant differences occur between the two areas on
half of these issues, (see the next table), there is a remarkable
similarity of response in the two areas when we compare the rank
order of the list for residents in each area. Improvements to
housing stock and conditions ranked first as the most important
change which residents in both areas wished to see. Vacant dwellings
put to use was second in the Gobnascale rank order and third in
The Fountain; improvements to the environment was third in Gobnascale
and second in The Fountain; more contacts between Catholics and
Protestants in general ranked fourth in both areas; more community
responses and initiative to problems in the area was fifth in
both areas; vacant land developed was sixth in Gobnascale and
eighth in The Fountain; more acceptance of your community by the
other community was ninth in Gobnascale and eighth in The Fountain.
vacant dwellings put to use | NS |
vacant land developed | .03 |
security fence/boundary round the area lengthened or heightened | .00001 |
security fence/boundary round the area reduced or removed | .0 |
more community responses & initiatives to problems | .04 |
improvements to local environment | NS |
more political leadership & representation from this area | .003 |
more police | .0001 |
less police | .0007 |
more contact between churches | NS |
better working relationship with all public authorities | .03 |
more acceptance of your community by other community | NS |
improvement to housing stock & conditions | .02 |
more contact between Protestants & Catholics in general | NS |
more contact between two communities about specific concerns | NS |
Generally, are there other improvements you would like to see in the future which would help solve the problems? | - |
facilities for younger people | NS |
more shops needed | NS |
other requirements | NS |
Differences between the two communities emerged on the issue of
wanting vacant land developed, with Gobnascale scoring significantly
higher on this issue that the Fountain, since there is vacant
land to be developed in Gobnascale. On the issue of the removal
of the security fence, or boundary around the area, 9% of Fountain
respondents selected this item, making the ranking of this issue
thirteenth overall on the Fountain list. This can be accounted
for by the fact that there is a security fence around the Fountain,
whereas Gobnascale does not have a similar arrangement. Differences
also emerged between the two areas in relation to political leadership.
21% of Gobnascale residents wished to see more political leadership
and representation from the area, whereas only 9% of Fountain
residents expressed a similar wish. Attitudes to the police also
diverged, with 5% of Gobnascale residents wanting more police,
compared with 17% of Fountain residents: conversely 12% of Gobnascale
residents wanted less police, compared to only 2% of Fountain
residents.
The issue of policing (more police) was fifth in the Fountain
rank order, whereas the issue, both on the question of more police
and of less police, ranked only eleventh and fourteenth in the
Gobnascale ranking. These differences can be perhaps explained
by the decrease in police presence in Gobnascale since the cease-fires,
making policing less of an issue for residents there, whereas
Fountain residents still complain of difficulty in getting responses
from the police when they are called by Fountain residents as
a result of stoning or window-breaking incidents in the area.
Other differences which emerged on this question were on the issue
of better working relationships with public authorities, and 20%
Gobnascale residents indicated that this was a concern, whereas
only 12% of Fountain residents selected this issue. There are
several possible reasons for this difference - perhaps Gobnascale
residents believe there is more of a problem in their relationships
with public authorities, or perhaps Fountain residents have no
expectation of being consulted by public authorities, or again,
perhaps they have no faith in public authorities, and see no point
in improving relationships with them. Conversely, perhaps they
have more faith in them, and are content to let the authorities
proceed in the present status quo. From our qualitative evidence,
we suggest that the latter explanation is unlikely, and a disengaged
relationship between the public authorities and Fountain residents
is a more likely explanation. Conversely, Gobnascale residents
groups have experience of negotiating directly with the public
authorities in matters relating to improvements in the area, and
a number of marked changes have taken place in the area over the
last ten years. Fountain residents, on the other hand, are a different
stage both in this process and consequently in their relationships
with the public authorities, although our qualitative evidence
would suggest that this is changing.
On the issue of community relations, although there were similarities
between the two communities- both ranked "more contact between
Catholics and Protestants" as fourth in rank order and there
was no significant differences between them on "more contacts
between the two communities about specific concerns". This
is interesting in the light of the context in which the research
was conducted. The survey was taken during a period when conflict
arose about marching, specifically the Apprentice Boys march on
August 12 on the edge of the Fountain. A conflict emerged between
those who claimed the "right to march" and those who
demanded that affected Catholic communities should be allowed
to veto marches through their areas.
Finally, we asked respondents in both areas "What is the
most serious problem in the area?" giving them a list of
problems to choose from. To this list we have added the last three
response categories to take account of responses made by respondents
in the "other" option. The total responses for both
communities are shown in the table below.
. | % | % |
-scale rank | -ain rank | ance of diff. |
unemployment | |||||
lack of amenities for children
and young people | |||||
lack of amenities for adults and elderly | |||||
transport | |||||
car parking | |||||
sectarian attacks | |||||
shortage of housing | |||||
vacant houses | |||||
loss of population/
people leaving |
|||||
people from other community moving into the area | |||||
dogs | |||||
vandalism/stone throwing | |||||
traffic problems |
Again, there is quite an overlap between the highest ranked problems
in Gobnascale and The Fountain. The top three problems for Gobnascale
are unemployment, lack of amenities for children and young people
and lack of amenities for adults and older people, although there
are also significant differences between the two communities on
all of these issues except lack of amenities for children. In
all cases the proportion of Gobnascale respondents selecting these
issues is greater than the proportion in the Fountain. In the
Fountain, the three top ranked problems are lack of amenities
for children and young people, unemployment, and car parking.
In responses from the two areas, unemployment and lack of amenities
for children and young people are ranked as the most serious problem
in their area. with Gobnascale respondents scoring unemployment
significantly higher as a concern.
The divergence on the issue of car parking is explained by the
location of The Fountain in the city centre and the tendency for
shoppers to use the Fountain for parking whilst shopping.
Only 3% of Gobnascale respondents indicated that there was a problem
with car parking compared with 13% of Fountain residents. Another
area of divergence was on the issue of loss of population, which
is again explained by the different population trends in each
area - The Fountain is characterised by a dwindling population,
whereas the Gobnascale population has now stabilised. Three categories
were added to our original list as a result of analysis of the
"other" response on the returned questionnaires. One
respondent in Gobnascale felt that "dogs" were the most
serious problem in the area, seven Gobnascale respondents, and
one Fountain respondent felt that vandalism and stone throwing
were the most serious problem in their area and one Fountain resident
and two Gobnascale residents felt that traffic through the area
was the most serious problem.
CAIN
contains information and source material on the conflict
and politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN is based within Ulster University. |
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