Arrival (Longer Term) ... Martine Boyd

I grew up in Oak Way and I am still there now. I grew up during the ‘Troubles’, but because I was born into it, I didn’t know any better - so it was just a way of of life for me.

Oxford Street was one of the scariest times for me.  A number of bombs had been planted across Belfast, and they went off at different times.  Many people were killed and the picture that sticks in my mind is of the police officers actually shovelling bodies off the ground into bags.

Another vivid memory for me was the nigh the Gasworks was bombed, the sky was orange, red and yellow - I have never seen anything like that before.  Everyone in the area was evacuated and we had to go to a church hall for safety. The bombings were frightening, but, to a large extent, I was kept away from it all. I was always with someone.

Many people moved away from the Pass when the area was redeveloped, and this included a lot of businesses moving away also. They tore down hundreds of houses and rebuilt as little as they could, everything changed from then.

Much has changed since I was a girl, now I have two daughters: Carolyn and Danielle and also a younger son, Raymond.

My daughters and son all attended Botanic Primary School, Raymond is still there now.  Carolyn and Danielle also attended Newtownbreda High School. I would have loved for them all to go to school in the Pass, but, unfortunately, it closed as they did not have the numbers needed.

Future ... Martine Boyd

I think I will always be here with both my daughters.  I had considered moving to Newtownbreda but, for now, I am staying. The Pass isn’t what it used to be, people aren’t as close or friendly anymore. If things were to change this would be one of the things I would like to see being different.

The area needs more shops and businesses, like fresh food shops and good quality shops.  There is nothing like this at the moment and we have to pay more for our food.  Affordable shops could really benefit this community.

I would also like to see more family houses being built so that more families can be encouraged to stay or move into the Pass to make it better.  I have two daughters and like to think that when they grow up they could get houses if they wanted to stay here.

The community needs to start pulling together and working with each other instead of against each other.  That way everyone in the community would benefit and people would feel happy and proud to live here.