Hunger Page #2

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Jesus offers him a seat next to his Daddy,

in a place called Paradise.

You know, you're always gonna put your hand up

and ask if you can have a piece of that.

Aye. Even when he's nailed to a cross.

Jesus Christ ! That's sacrilegious.

Sacrilegious.

Aye.

No, no. He was a dirty thief.

So, what did you want me to tell me ?

Where are you at ?

Been driven mad by that Governor yet ?

Says he's been negotiating.

It's been a sideshow.

I can tell you that for nothing.

But you understand why you need to do it.

Because we are no longer good propaganda.

According to whom ? The leadership ?

The time has come.

A decision had to be made.

Do you think that's what the leadership think ?

Maybe. I do not know.

Is there paranoia there, Bobby ?

Ten thousand people marched for the seven hunger strikers last October, right?

Right.

International pressure on the Brits and all that.

As your time...

Even the Pope is having a say...

getting involved. The whole world trying to get

Maggie Thatcher to back down and give us our demands.

But it all came to nothing.

Right.

The hunger strike failed.

We are on the frontline. We created

the protest. It's our responsibility.

Leadership may be very clear to me, Don.

Four and half years in a 'no wash' protest,

as much as it has highlightes republicanism to some extent...

it has also distracted from the wider development of the organization.

That's because your needs are specific needs.

Of course they are.

Some women bringing up three children in West Belfast

shouldn't care about civilian type clothes or whatever the f*** they're calling these clown outfits.

Not so.

Honest to God, Don.

We were promised our own clothes.

It's childish sculduggery.

So the leadership have had enough of you ?

In an ideal world,

we would be fighting our battles independently.

But we're tied.

Nothing has changed here,

nothing has moved on.

The leadership are stuck with us.

until there's some realistic chance

of moving towards political status.

That's the hard truth of it.

Say get me to negotiate with

these lying, renegging monkeys.

when there's never nothing on the table, it's just pure crap.

I'm not going to be marching to this Governor's office and

get caught up in some mindless,

pointless dialogue with that pompous bastard.

He is a big fan of yours.

Take his two short planks, Don. A moron.

Can you believe that they made him governor though ?

It's a bloody insult to humanity.

Mother of Jesus.

Where do you get your energy from ?

I was a cross-country runner when I was a boy.

I could have guessed it. Big engine on you.

Cross-country runner.

That explains a lot about you, Bobby.

I loved it so bad.

That's the whole country thing for me.

Jesus. They'd have to hold me back at finishing line or I'd keep on running.

I was seen as a mongrel from out of the city.

Frightening the cattle and all. It was a funny time.

Frightened the cattle ?

Oh, I terrified them.

Think you can get milk and burgers from them monsters ? Jesus Christ !

The next time round I'm gonna be born in the countryside, guaranteed.

Wild life, birds.

I love all that. Paradise.

Aye. And you'd learn to relax too.

Aye.

Maybe, you never know. I've never tried it before.

I'm starting a hunger strike on the 1st of March.

That's why you're here.

That's what I'm telling you.

Aye, I heard that.

Does your family know ?

I got word to them, aye.

Have you spoken with them ?

Got a visit in two week's time. We talked then.

How do you think they will take it ?

What do you think, Don ?

And your wee boy ?

So, what makes it different from the last time ?

Last time the strike was flawed.

It became emotional.

Seven men started at the same time.

They all got weak and couldn't let the weakest one die...

which left us susceptible to being conned by the Brits

And that is exactly what we were.

Conned.

This time out, the men will start consecutively two weeks apart

Somebody dies, they'll be replaced.

There is no shortage of us.

Seventy five men have put their names forward.

For Christ's sake.

The announcement is being made today.

So, what makes this protest different is that you accept to die, Bobby ?

It may well come to that.

You start a hunger strike to protest for

for what you believe in.

You don't start already determined to die,

or am I missing something here ?

It's in their hands. Our message is clear.

They're seeing our determination.

So there'll be a couple of deaths, do you think, maybe five or six,

but you have seventy-five of you.

Aye, well, it won't come to that.

All right, maybe the Brits

will buckle after twenty or so.

But why should you care ?

Because you're already dead, right?

Have you thought about you're going to be putting these boys through ?

I mean, putting aside what's going to happen to these poor men's families.

You're going head to head with the British Government

who declaredly despise republicanism...

who are unshakeable.

They can easily live with the deaths

of what they call terrorists.

And the stakes are much higher this time.

I know that.

And if you're not even willing to negotiate,

you're looking for them to capitulate.

Is that it ?

Right.

So failure means many dead men, families torn apart,

and the whole Republican movement demoralised.

Aye. Worst case scenario it might well mean all that...

but in short term, under the ashes...

Come on !

guaranteed, there will be a new generation

of men and women,

even more resilient. More determined.

Look who you're talking to.

There's a war going on. I thought you

might understand. You're talking like a foreigner.

You're talking to me like I'm a foreigner.

Do you think I don't know Northern Ireland ?

I live here, man.

Then support us.

I supported the first hunger strike on the basis it was a protest.

Not some pre-design to die

and balk at negotiation

other than complete surrender from Thatcher.

That's ridiculous Bobby. It's destructive.

What's happened in here for the last four years ?

Brutality, humiliation.

Our basic human rights taken away from us.

All this must come to an end.

Through talking.

So what ?

We take their offer and put their uniform on ?

because the last four years are meant nothing ?

We can do that, Don,

or we can behave like the army

we proclaim to be

and lay down our lives for our comrades.

Is there not even small part in you

that's open for a breakthrough...

that could find you negotiating again ?

That won't happen.

Forget about that. I want to know whether

your intent is just purely to commit suicide here.

You want me to argue...

about the morality of what I'm about to do

and whether it's really suicide or not ?

For one in your corner it's suicide.

I call it murder.

And that's just another wee difference between us two.

We are both Catholic men.

Both Republicans.

But while you were poaching salmon

in lovely Kilrea,

we were being burnt out of our houses in Rathcoole.

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