Causes of conflicts can be found in three basic areas.

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• Causes of conflicts can be found in three basic
  areas.
• They are conflicts about resources, conflicts
  about needs, and conflicts about values.
• Every conflictno matter how smallhas the
  power to damage relationships to the point of
  total destruction. Sometimes finding the source
  of the conflict is difficultespecially if there
  hasnt been a pattern of settling accounts in a
  relationship. Minor offenses pile up and then
  there are a number of unresolved issues to
  tackle. Resolving conflicts as they occur makes
  it easier to define the cause or source of each
  one. Remember to keep short accounts with your
  friends and family by addressing conflicts as
  they occur. Relationships are too important to
  destroy.

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Forms of Expository Writing

• An essay
• A feature article
• A report
• A letter
• An editorial

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Expository Essays

• You are required to explain or expose the main
  ideas generated by the prompt.
• In other words you are to discuss an
  interpretation of the Context using Omagh as a
  springboard for your ideas.
• There are many forms of writing that are
  considered expository. In the SAC you can choose
  your own but in the exam, it will be given to
  you.

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Forms of Persuasive Writing

• A letter to the editor
• A speech
• A review
• An essay
• An opinion or comment piece

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Persuasive Writing

• Persuasive writing invites you to respond to the
  Context by presenting a point of view on it. You
  need to argue a clear perspective of the issue
  raised by the prompt. You are invited to present
  a biased reading of the Context and to argue a
  point of view with evidence to support this
  stance from the set texts and other knowledge you
  have from the outside world.

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Explanation of Decisions

• I would like to respond to this prompt by
  writing an expository essay as I think this will
  enable me to discuss my ideas in a more balanced
  manner. I will focus on Omagh and other media
  events to illustrate my view. I would like my
  essay to be published in a magazine that is
  targeted to those who like to think about the
  ways people interact with each other.

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Explanation of Decisions

• I have chosen to write about this Context in an
  essay because I would like to present a serious
  discussion about the idea of conflict and how it
  shapes our lives. I believe the film Omagh
  generates much discussion on this prompt. I think
  an expository essay would be suitable for a
  journal that focuses on how conflict has affected
  many people in Northern Ireland and beyond.

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What is Conflict?

• Conflict is probably the easiest place to
  start. To come into conflict is to experience
  opposition, to struggle to feel anatagonism, to
  experience controversy. This conflict might be
  about ownership, relationships or principals. As
  a society we often assume that conflict is a bad
  thing, but in fact there are some battles that
  need to be fought and there are times when
  conflict is necessary as the impetus to finding a
  resolution to a problem. There are other times
  when conflict is negative and distructive. The
  term encountering raises some interesting
  issues. One could encounter conflict by being a
  participant in it, but also by being an observer
  to it. It is possible to be caught up in a larger
  conflict and to live with the results of a
  conflict in which you play no part. Its a very
  broad Context that we are dealing with. One of
  the ways that we will consider this Context is to
  study texts that deal with people Encountering
  Conflict.

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Vocabulary- 15 August 1998
Atrocity Obliterated Devastation Innocence Unwitti
ngly Atrocities Incompatible Diametrically
Opposite Provocative Contentious Irreconcilable An
imosity Skirmish subversive
Innocuous Dissent Discordance At variance
Antagonistic Incongruous Collide Recrimination Ru
pture Tension Friction Faction Breach
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Conflict
Collision of beliefs Hostile reaction Incapable
of living together Confrontation Embroiled Affray
Acquiesce Acrimonious Appease Tension Avoidance
style Collaborative style
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• Consumed
• Obsessed
• Bickering
• Malevolence
• Scrimmage
• Feud
• Altercation
• Turmoil
• Bellicose
• Belligerent
• Vendetta
• Mutinous
• Enrage
• Defiance
• Daring

Reckless Caution Challenge Rebellious Terror Tacti
cal Militant Retaliate Deterrent Champion Vindicat
e Custodian Entrenched Resistance Indomitable unyi
elding
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Quiet gladiator Crusader Campaigner
13
Inner Conflict
Michael Gallagher is unwittingly drawn into the
conflict because of the death of his son,
Aiden. Michael Gallagher is motivated into
action to seek justice for his son. He refuses to
let his sons death pass unresolved, his sons
life has to have meaning. Mr Adams, my brother
was murdered by an IRA gunman in 1984. No
witnesses came forward for that either. So they
got away. I agree with you - let's put the past
behind us. That was my brother then. But this is
my son now.
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A Resolution to Conflict

• The troubles in Ireland can only be resolved for
  Michael Gallagher if he actively assists in
  attaining justice for those who died.

Michael is activated to the point of obsession.
He is consumed by his sons death.
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Conflict can propel people out of their comfort
zone to act for the common good.

• The war is supposed to be over. You say you want
  to build a new Northern Ireland. A peaceful
  Northern Ireland. But how can we build a peaceful
  Northern Ireland unless you help us bring his
  killers to justice?

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Michael Gallagher can only move on if he actively
takes on the perpetrators of the atrocities.

• To have that knowledge, however distressing,
  however shocking means that we can at last move
  forward.

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Pursuing justice means that Michael Gallagher can
move forward.
Resolving conflict can cause people to change
dramatically.
Notice how strong the placid Michaels speech has
become.

• We speak for the victims of terrorism of
  whatever tradition. And all those victims of
  terror wherever it happens. We will not go away.
  We will not be quiet. We will not be forgotten.

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People are drawn unwittingly into conflict

• A few hours later, Aiden makes the worst
  decision of his young life.
• He takes a break to go into town to buy a pair
  of jeans.

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How do People Cope with Conflict?

• His wife, Patsy (Michele Forbes), is not so
  lucky. bereavement, takes people in different
  ways, and for her the ceaseless round of meetings
  and telephone calls becomes
• unbearable. She
• retreats into
• solitude,feeling
• she's lost
• husband as well
• as son.

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How do we deal with conflict?

• The search for answers begins to take over
  Michaels life, offering some consolation and
  distraction to him as a way of directing his
  grief. His wife finds much of her husbands
  increasingly absorbed involvement in the case
  very difficult, feeling she has lost not only her
  son but also her husband.

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Patsy Gallagher

• Patsy is stressed, she smokes, her home is no
  as clean and orderly as it used to be. Her
  daughter says that she has these days when she
  sleeps, when shes too sad to get up. She
  questions her husband, Who are you doing this
  for?
• She is stressed, the phone rings and the
  media are constantly at their door, their home is
  part of a media circus, I cant do this
  anymore, she states but her husband replies, We
  cant stop now, weve just started.

22
Sensitivity to those who died-Making the film
can cause conflict.

• Making a film about the Omagh atrocity was never
  going to be an easy task. Sensitivities are raw
  for some it's too soon there are the inevitable
  conflicting viewpoints.
• And above all, there
  are the unresolved truths about what
  happened and whether it could have been
  avoided

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To overcome adversity, groups need to combine
forces to fight for their cause.

• But throughout the last five years, a group of
  families the Omagh Support and Self Help Group
  have been pursuing a patient, determined,
  indomitable campaign to bring those responsible
  for the bomb to justice, and to hold to account
  politicians and police on both sides of the
  border who promised so much in the immediate
  aftermath of the atrocity but who in the
  families' eyes have delivered all too little.

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• Omagh was filmed in and around Dublin at the
  end of 2003. To film in Omagh would have been
  insensitive and inappropriate, particularly when
  it came to recreating the explosion of the bomb.
  This was filmed in the town of Navan, near
  Dublin, where the centre of Omagh was recreated.

The director, Pete Travis, is sensitive to the
feelings of the inhabitants of Omagh
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Politicians distance themselves from the conflict
-Jerry Adams

• A pious Gerry Adams offers a smoothly couched
  speech denouncing this "dreadful and appalling
  outrage" and offering sympathy but absolutely no
  help in identifying the bombers.

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When you encounter conflict, how do you act when
the powers that be are unconcerned?

• The RUC offers evasions and denials, delivered
  with blustering rhetoric by its Chief Constable.
  "You have to trust us," he says. "Otherwise what
  else is there?" Not surprisingly, the families
  find these words far from reassuring. They've
  begun to feel as if they're trapped in a maze of
  assertion and counter-assertion, all of it
  bolstering their growing suspicion that nobody is
  going to do anything more about finding and
  convicting the killers for fear of further
  disrupting the peace process.

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• in the polarised climate
• Our unwillingness to engage in dialogue with
  those who dont share our view of the world has
  brought us to an impasse.

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How does the film depict conflict?

• Pete Travis juxtaposes the tranquillity of
  country Northern Ireland with the darkness of the
  clandestine meetings.
• The shaky hand held camera constantly reminds the
  audience that the community of Omagh and indeed,
  Northern Ireland is in conflict.
• Initially, the silence of those making the bomb
  is juxtaposed against the friendly small talk of
  the citizens of Omagh as they go about their day
  to day business.
• The constant ringing of phones also puts the
  audience on edge.

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Notes from the film

• Conflict shatters relationships
• Innocent lives are drawn unwittingly into the
  conflict.
• Conflict can also cement families and make them
  protective towards each other, Dont let your
  mammy watch the t.v.
• Families try to get back to normal but in the
  face of such loss, this is impossible, some like
  Lawrence Rush experience anger.

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• Maybe it takes someone to become angry to be the
  catalyst to deal with the conflict ie Rush
  initiates the meeting. Then it needs someone
  calm, like Gallagher to lead the resolution in a
  calm manner.
• The effect of conflict can also be to obliterate
  a persons beliefs. and now some of us have no
  god.
• The effect can also encourage a sense of
  community, Were going to have to do this
  together.

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Conflict

• Conflict can cause some to question their
  beliefs, and now some of us have no God.
  Michael Gallagher.
• It makes some join together to solve their
  problems. were going to have to do this
  together.
• Gallagher realises that action is necessary for
  change but that action must be done in a
  civilised manner, we must retain our dignity.

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Conflict and those in power

• They have been told to go quietly so that
  the authorities can go on with the peace process.
• Gallagher refuses to shake hands with Gerry
  Adams.
• Adams calls the Omagh bombing an appalling
  atrocity and states that Sinn Fein and the
  Republican community would like to do everything
  possible to assist. He says that I dont know
  who is responsible, but he doesnt try too hard
  to find out. He tells Gallagher that these
  people are as much our enemies as yours. He asks
  Gallagher to put the past behind, and that we
  cannot jeopardise the peace process. He is the
  practical politician who states that the peace
  process is the main concern and that this is the
  reality we face. But this is not so easy when
  Gallagher has lost a brother and now a son to the
  IRA. It would appear that generational hatred for
  each other will be difficult to break.

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Those in Power

• Lawrence Rush, If you think youve been told the
  whole truth, you are more stupid and naïve than I
  thought.
• There were more than 2000 unsolved murders since
  the beginning of the troubleswhy should we be
  any different.

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• One mans terrorist may be anothers freedom
  fighter.

How is our response to the death and injuring of
civilians in times of conflict different from the
way we might respond to the death of soldiers or
other military personnel?
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The making of the film

• Recreating a real event requires a particular
  directorial approach. Here is what Pete Travis,
  the director of Omagh, says about this challenge
• You cant approach the film in any other way than
  as if you are filming a fly-on-the-wall
  documentary what youre after is vivid realism.
  You want to tell a truthful story, so its all
  hand-held cameras, no lights, no artifice of any
  kind. You have to capture a moment in time and
  try to get it right first time.

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The Making of the film

• In Omagh the impressive camerawork of Donal
  Gilligan and editing work of Clive Barrett are
  important in establishing both the tension in the
  early stages and the intensity of peoples
  emotional states. Hand-held camerawork and close
  cross-cutting between different scenes and groups
  create a sense of both urgency and uncertainty.

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• Throughout the film we are gradually made aware
  of the difficulties facing the Omagh Support
  Group in their search for answers. We also see
  how absolutely devastated individuals are when
  they lose a family member in an act of violence
  that seems arbitrary and callous in its targeting
  of victims. We are made aware of how people
  define themselves through their behaviour and
  attitudes much of the expected anger does not
  manifest itself in raging but in compassionate
  and determined community action.

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Think About

• Establishment scenes. How does the rapid
  cross-cutting between domestic family scenes, the
  bombers going about their work and the images of
  Omagh people setting up for a normal day create
  both tension and a sense of normality in the
  first part of the film?

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Think About
The search for Aiden. How is a sense of chaos and
disbelief shown in the section of the film
immediately following the explosion? Explain how
this part of the film also illustrates the
kindness of strangers. What are some of the
moving images we see that show the terrible and
indiscriminate destructive power of the bomb?
40
Think About
3. Michael Gallagher at his first meeting of the
Omagh Support Group. How does Michaels
contribution to the meeting command respect and
suggest a way forward? 4. At the pub where the 32
Counties Sovereign Committee is meeting. When
the Omagh Support Group protest together to
persuade people not to assist the suspected
bombers and their backers meeting at the pub, we
see the expression of both public action and
private grief as part of a protest movement. How
does this scene crystallize the two worlds the
Gallaghers now move in?
41
Think About

• 5. Meeting with Gerry Adams, the leader of
  Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA and a
  leader in the continuing peace talks. Describe
  the different perspectives in the search for
  answers offered by the father and the politician.
  What is wrong with Adams advice we must put the
  past behind us?

42
Think About

• 6. Going home after meeting with police informer
  Fulton in the car. How does Michaels deepening
  involvement in finding the bombers and those who
  support them affect his wife and daughters?

43
Think About

• 7. Meeting with Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
  How does this scene reveal the half-truths and
  lies underlying the spin used to try and
  reassure you all that you must trust us? The
  briefing suggests others have been involved in
  the much compromised inquiry. Who are these
  organizations

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Think About

• 8. The Ombudsmans report. What are the main
  findings ofthe Police Ombudsmans reportin
  relation to the search for the Omagh bombers?
  When Michael reluctantly speaks to the press
  after the report has been presented, how does he
  respond to the results which essentially
  vindicate the efforts made by the Support Group?

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• Quotes who says the following to whom and in
  what context?
• Number Quote Speaker and context
• Move down to the bottom of the hill.
• I have to find him. Hell be helping.
• Aiden went to town to get some jeans. Theyre
  saying it was the Real IRA. I thought this was
  all supposed to be over.
• Wheres our voice in all this?
• They dont care as long as the bombs stay out of
  London.
• 6. I havent put the TV on since the day we
  buried our Aiden so I dont know whats going
  on. But I do know this. In this room theres
  Catholics, Protestants, Presbyterians and Mormons
  and some of us believe in God and some of us
  have no God. But were not going to get anywhere
  unless we do it together.
• 7. I extend my deepest sympathies. You all have
  liaison officers?
• 8. We all want to know when youll be pressing
  charges.

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9. Were still at the very early stages of a very
difficult enquiry. Were making good
progress. 10. Somebody called he says he knows
who they are. Ive got the names. 11. Im not
talking to you as a politician. My heart goes out
to you in this terrible loss youve suffered
we in Sinn Fein and the Republican community. We
have to make sure the peace process keeps moving
forward put the past behind us. 12. I cant
do this any more all I want to know is that
hes at peace. 13. The absence of prosecutions
is an increasing burden for the victims of the
Omagh bombings. 14. They knew about the bomb
the army, MI5, the RUC. 15. There wont be any
prosecutions if you ask me, they made a deal
to do with the peace process which cant be
derailed.
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16. Shes too sad to get up who are you doing
it for you should be here looking after
us. 17. The world of intelligence is difficult
and trying to anticipate intentions of a
terrorist organization like the real IRA is
difficult. We need good reliable information.
Kevin Fulton was a bad informer who made things
up for money. 18. He wasnt just my son he was
my workmate. He was everything to me. 19. The
judgment of leadership of the Chief Constable
has been seriously flawed. Victims have been let
down. Because of a lack of urgency the chances
of detaining the Omagh bombers are now
significantly reduced. 20. They have failed us
before the bomb, after the bomb and now We
speak for all those victims of terror we will
not go away, we will not be quiet, we will not
be forgotten.