GENERATIONS MAY GROW UP without ever having known peace; living with conflict and even violence may become normal. In some places, violence is a fact of life. When people of various ethnic backgrounds live in the same region but share no nationalist spirit, the separate factions typically try to impose their own views of nationhood upon the land. The resulting clash is often violent, and depending on the strength and conviction of each faction, the violence may persist for a long time. In severe cases, ethnic conflicts force families to leave their homes and towns, and children find their lives suddenly disrupted and changed forever. Ethnically motivated violence can be brutal, and survivors face the task of putting lives back together again and functioning as families and citizens.

Northern Ireland: two cultures

In Northern Ireland, ethnic hatred has...