Britain apologizes for Bloody Sunday: Irish American reflections

"I am deeply sorry." -David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

According to the BBC and the Telegraph, David Cameron officially apologized for the violence occurring on Bloody Sunday. In 1972, a civil rights demonstration became violent when members of the British Army Parachute Regiment opened fire on protesters peacefully demonstrating in favor of the civil rights of Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Though this has long been known as truth, the government of the United Kingdom had not accepted fault until the present, instead turning attention to armed opposition paramilitary groups such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). To many, the shooting of civilians in Northern Ireland reinforced the militant republican ideal that Irish independence and equality could only be achieved and maintained through violence.

Through American eyes, this was obviously a moment during which both the United Kingdom and the Irish Republican Army actively utilized events to perpetuate a violent tension between Ireland and Britain.

Cameron reported on findings of an official Bloody Sunday report. He indicated that British troops lied in their testimonies and officially apologized to Ireland on behalf of Britain. This may also strengthen the existing partnership and relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States as many Irish Americans feel standoffish about the post-911 partnership considering the UK's actions in Ireland in recent decades.

While this is a commendable, brave first step, it is only that. Britain has yet to apologize for shipping Irish 'criminals' to penal colonies and 800 years of military offenses and occupations taking place in various parts of present-day Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Most ostensibly, the United Kingdom has not officially claimed responsibility for what is commonly called the "Irish Potato Famine." 

Though the potato crops were blighted and failed, Ireland and its farmers produced more than just potatoes. England continually forced the Irish to export meat and wheat from Ireland to England by financial and physical force oppression. When the potato crop failed, there existed plenty of food to feed the starving Irish population--but it was still exported across the Irish Sea.

Until the United Kingdom offers a heartfelt apology for this massive tragedy (if not recognize it as a form of holocaust or ethnic cleansing), some Irish and Irish Americans will retain a slighted feeling. After all, an 800-year record of political oppression breeds mistrust.

If Cameron wishes to demonstrate true maturity and continue peacefully and politically as the English and Irish have been generally attempting for over a decade, Cameron will issue an official apology for the event that changed the Irish and Irish American cultural relationship with food.

Furthermore, the events of the 'famine' bred justifiable anger towards Britain from those in Irish and Irish America. Britain can further diffuse this anger and acts of violence by offering a more comprehensive apology for British occupation and acts of violence in Ireland.

Here in America, many wrestle with the complexities of mixed heritage. Many African Americans understand that their skin is lighter than Africans' due to white slave owners raping their ancestors. This is a violent, anger-inspiring, common historical occurrence. It is inescapable and a matter of heritage worn visibly as the skin--a living, visible organ--of human beings.

Similarly, many of us with Irish ancestry come across Anglo-Norman names in our Irish heritage or find that we are, in fact, both Irish and English by heritage--knowing that many English came here to 'settle' this country and the Irish followed to escape famine and to build it.

As Americans, we live in a post-colonial world with a matching mindset. We are educated about the American Revolution and the reasons for it, yet must come to terms with a contemporary partnership with the United Kingdom in a world that finally--in our view--includes terrorism.

The United States now has a president of mixed heritage--including Irish heritage. When campaigning, President Obama addressed the experiences of both African Americans in a post-slavery society and the American immigrant experience so important to Americans of Irish descent. Tangled in the muck and mire of an oil spill controversy, President Obama would be one of many ideal recipients of an official apology from the United Kingdom for the atrocities committed against Ireland.

However, Cameron must begin directly. Face Ireland and her leaders (both legitimate and 'renegade' alike) and offer this mature, heartfelt apology. Only then can Ireland and the Irish diaspora begin to truly forgive past wrongs.

"Irish blood, English heart, this I'm made of/
There is no one on earth I'm afraid of/
And no regime can buy or sell me." -Morrissey

Author's note: The opinions represented here are mine alone. This is a commentary and is not meant to represent an objective view of current events.