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On
Saturday 14th December the gates on the Springfield
Road peace line shall open to allow a march through
from the Shankill Road. This march though will not
see a protest from people from the Falls Road or the
Springfield Road but in fact will see people from
those areas joining in and supporting it.
No
this is not a pipedream, it is in fact a situation
which will show support and solidarity for our firefighters
and Fireservice. Called by the West Belfast Firefighter
Support Group in conjunction with the the Belfast
Trades Council and the Fire Brigades Union, trade
unionists will come from up and down the Falls Road
and meet at Lanark Way at 1.45pm (facing Kashmir Bar).
With union banners they will then march up the Springfield
Road joined by community activists.
In
a similar situation trade unionists and community
activists on the Shankill Road will meet at 1.45pm
at Woodvale Ave and through the peace line they shall
march. Now members of the FBU with other trade unionists
and local community activists from 'both sides' of
the divide will march together with a banner 'FALLS
AND SHANKILL COMMUNITIES TOGETHER DEFEND OUR FIRESERVICE.'
The
march shall then go to the local West Belfast fire
station where a rally and speeches will take place.
Such a march will not only offer support for the firefighters
but is symbolic of the cross community support such
issues can deliver and in the process attempt to bring
sections of our 'communities' closer together under
a common cause. This is an important issue that 'both
communities' could support as one.
The
author is a member of the West Belfast Firefighter
Support Group
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