Musician Gary Lightbody used a keynote speech at a Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission event yesterday to call for the restoration of power-sharing institutions.
he Snow Patrol leader delivered the speech at the launch of the organization’s annual statement in Stormont.
The rock star opened his comments by joking that he was glad the parliament buildings “got used for something.”
He said: “There is no us and them when it comes to human rights. There is only us.
“Whoever you are, whatever your race, religion, origin, how you identify, who you love, we should all feel safe and included in this new Northern Ireland,” he added.
“One that shines outwardly and proudly in the world, instead of the remote place where my generation and the generations before it grew up.”
The musician said much more needed to be done to protect the most vulnerable “this winter and beyond” due to the cost of living crisis.
“We are a legendarily stoic people, but attrition always wins over time,” he said.
“Heat and food are human rights, simple as that.”
As for politics, he declared: “For God’s sake, to the politicians in this place: the people of Northern Ireland need help now to get through the winter and out to the other side, and not just to endure life. creating the environment for not only a safer and more secure life, but also a more vibrant and fulfilling life for all.
“There is a mental health epidemic in Northern Ireland.
“I know quite a bit about mental health, mostly from experience.
“For most of my life, at varying and overlapping times, I have been hit with long periods of self-loathing, anxiety, depression, and anger that I would stridently not admit to and therefore not resolve: suicidal thoughts and what, at various times , I was a hair away from suicidal action ”.
He called for therapy and counseling to be free and available to those who need it, and for the organizations that provide such services to be properly funded, as they are currently “buckling under the pressure.”
“The problems, though they may be over, still fester in our bones, our blood, our DNA,” he added.
“There are many studies on the long-term effect of war on regions and countries, even after the war has ended years, decades later.
“Not only those who went through the conflict or were affected by it, but also the children of those people. Trauma, it now seems to have been confirmed, can be passed down from generation to generation.”
Lightbody said the trauma for people here can be “genetic, until we cut it off, until we deal with it, until we talk about it.”
He pointed out the 10-year mental health strategy that awaits the approval of the Executive: “our government in exile.”
Addressing all MLAs, Lightbody lashed out at those who talk about “sides,” saying “that attitude gets us nowhere.”
“The people of Northern Ireland deserve much, much better. You either care about democracy or you don’t,” she said.
“The fact is that everyone in Northern Ireland is suffering.”
