20 CHIARA MAGLIACANE
Focusing on micro social life and analysing everyday practices are central to an
understanding of conflicts and their transformations (Bourdieu 1977; de Certeau
1984), and they may act as ‘symptoms’ of change, such as the aforementioned case of
the contested flags in Belfast. At the same time, the organisation and the diffusion of
PTSD among the population, as well as the analysis of the factors that influence that
prevalence, may be representative for the mitigation of the conflict. In effect, mental
illness can represent a marker for some peculiarities of post-conflict Northern Ireland
and can help identifying where and how to intervene, as a portrayal of conflict
transformation. Even if the economic cost of poor mental health could affect the
necessary post-conflict reconstruction, mental health management is more likely to
remain a resource instead of an obstacle, provided that its relationship with other
factors, such as residential segregation, is analysed.
The Role of Residential Segregation and Social Implications of Mental Health
According to some studies (French 2009; Maguire, French and O’Reilly 2011) poor
mental health is related to residential segregation. This phenomenon can be found in
Northern Ireland since the nineteenth century and has increased during the twentieth,
affecting particularly the poorest part of the population (Shirlow and Murtagh 2006;
Shuttleworth and Lloyd 2009). During the Troubles, segregation intensified, with one
quarter of all households in Belfast moving house between 1969 and 1974 (French
2009: 888). The reasoning behind this forced movement was the expectation of
reduced tension between Catholics and Protestants, but the actual consequence was a
perpetuation of violence (French 2009: 888-889). Sporadic episodes of conflict often
occur in interface areas, which are locations where Protestant and Catholic
communities border each other, often separated by “walls, open spaces, industrial
parks, and other modern contrivances of urban” planning (Kevlihan 2013: 30). Such
areas, where peace lines have been erected to divide the two communities, actually
experience high levels of tension. This means that the lack of intergroup contact helps
to perpetuate hostilities (French 2009: 888). After 30 years of conflict, Northern
Ireland remains a society markedly segregated along religious lines (Maguire, French
and O’Reilly 2011). Shuttleworth and Lloyd (2009: 223) highlight how levels of
residential segregation grew in Northern Ireland between 1971 and 2001. After 2001,