John Hume won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to orchestrate the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which ended the period of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, thirty years of conflict between Irish Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists.
This documentary brings together numerous American and British politicians, including Obama, Clinton, Carter and Major, and explains the work Hume did over three decades to help bring about this end to what seemed like an eternal struggle, dating back to Britain's settlements in the north of Ireland over 400 years ago. (The first use of the word "plantation" to refer to people.)
What Hume realized was that the conflict of N Ireland couldn't be solved by the people of N Ireland because it wasn't created by the people of N Ireland.
This is a profound perspective.
As a result, Hume realized he had to get Britain and the Republic of Ireland to the negotiating table alongside the N Irish political parties. And to get them to the table, he needed the US. He therefore lobbied tirelessly for US support concentrating on Irish Catholic politicians from Boston. The US eventually did put enough pressure on Thatcher and others to push them towards compromise. With all parties at the table, a deal was struck that lasts to this day. In fact, today in 2023 it looks very likely that N Ireland will vote to join the Republic of Ireland and reunify Ireland in the near future. We will see.
It's so important that we watch documentaries like this to learn that peace is possible, not just in Ireland, but in the Middle East and elsewhere. John Hume gave us a roadmap. But we have to change our way of thinking, and use it. We need to see the deeper causes of conflict and endless violence. We need to work to end the cycle.
