William Frazer And FAIR
Well people, sorry I haven’t been about much this week. I’ll try to turn the posting up a notch over the next few weeks to make up. In the meantime though, turn your attention to the website of everybody’s favourite victims group.
In my last post I shared my concerns over Willie Frazer’s part in the Alec Reid controversy. In that post, someone left a comment about Frazer’s hypocrisy, given that the FAIR website draws links between Irish Republicanism and Nazis, so I decided to investigate further. The bit that jumped out at me was the line:
We are a non-sectarian,non-political organisation working for the interests of the innocent of terrorist victims based in South Armagh,Northern Ireland.
What a noble sentiment. I went on to read Willie Frazer’s biography on the site. I think everyone should read this to get a perspective on the man’s background and the events that have shaped his outlook.
The rest of the website is not so noble. Frazer (and whoever else contributes to the site) provides an impressive dossier of Republican violence in the South Armagh region, and relates many tales of ongoing criminal activity in the area.
The bitterness and hostility on the site make me wonder if Frazer is an appropriate person to run a victims group. Some of the content appears to be written from a clearly Protestant Unionist viewpoint (although it claims otherwise). Worse still, I can’t find any evidence of healing, more like rubbing salt in the wound, stabbing a knife in it a few times and then dressing it in razor wire.
Basically, the FAIR website is an outpouring of bitterness and resentment and depite what it says is extremely political. I would almost go so far as to say that it is a thinly veiled anti-Sinn Fein pressure group and though I have no love for Sinn Fein, I think it is wrong to use the grief of innocent people as political capital.
Who appointed William Frazer to this position? What are his qualifications in helping others deal with grief and anger and loss? Who is funding this organisation? How are they helping people look to a peaceful shared vision of the future?
Finally, given his involvement in arguably sectarian/political rallies like Love Ulster, is William Frazer the right person to work with bereaved and traumatised victims of terrorist violence? I don’t think so. That’s not to denigrate the man himself, but I feel he has yet to properly deal with his own experiences, his hurt and anger before attempting to help others.
To illustrate my point, take a look at the FAIR website and compare it with another victim’s site, Healing Through Remembering.
I cringe sometimes when Willie Fraser launches into one of his tirades and I think he does more harm than good to the cause of publicising the brutality of the IRA in areas like S.Armagh.
BUT I find it very difficult to be overly critical of a man who has had so many of his own family and friends murdered over the years and in the end he has the right to publicise, in his own flawed way, the continuing plight of his community.
Underneath it all, and Willie is not alone in this, I believe there is a great fear amongst Unionists that history is being rewritten and our children and grandchildren will be taught that the man with the ultimate responsibility for La Mon, Enniskillen, Frizzells and other atrocities is not in fact a cold-blooded murderer, but some kind of cuddly N.Irish version of Martin Luther King.
First of all Mr Levee welcome back. If anyone is surprised to find Willie Frazer posters up in the next election they shouldn?t be. The self promoting media loving Willie Frazer is no stranger to controversy; it seems Mr Frazer can?t survive without the oxygen of publicity the more he gets of it the more he wants, even if he has nothing constructive to say.
Real victims groups, or at least those still prepared to listen to his ranting, those which have no hierarchy of victim hood know Willie only to well. They know if you want him to turn up somewhere you?ve got to tell him the place is swarming with camera crews. Willie Frazers F.A.I.R. continues to raise eyebrows even among those who genuinely believe FAIR can be reformed.
I took Mr Levee?s advice and looked at the two suggested websites, Healing Through Remembering, epitomises all that is good and worthwhile for victims they make a positive contribution to conflict resolution and I for one wish them continued success and growth. The same cannot be said for the FAIR website, it is my opinion, this site should be closed down because it is not victim centred it is full of bileful propaganda right from the front page.
Religion was never meant to be promoted with such bitterness, hostility and resentment. Genuine religious practitioners learn to love, respect and forgive. Mr Frazer?s site has none of it. While Mr Frazer harbours these feelings, it is my continued opinion he is not a fit or proper person to run a victims group.
I think we need to back off Willie Frazer and give the man a break. From his bio, his life’s been made a misery by those around him, and I see no reason to doubt his facts. His style of writing (in the bio) is also pretty neutral.
My impression is that FAIR is just a loose confederation of South Armagh victims of Republican terrorism, nothing too organised. I also think it’s Willie’s way of working through his own grief, and we should be Big and allow him that. If his media presence is distasteful, let the public judge it.
Good post, by the way. BU.
Hmm. You’ve all raised very valid points on this one.
Basically, I don’t want to attack William Frazer (that’s been done enough). No-one can dispute his tremendous personal loss, and having read his bio he has my heartfelt sympathy.
However, I do question the manner in which he chooses to handle his grief. When he is involved with other bereaved relatives, I believe his stance may actually be quite damaging to others.
Furthermore, I sort of agree with Parnell. Frazer has a penchant for media stunts - check the FAIR website - and I am slightly suspicious of this. I just feel that he is one of those annoyingly divisive figures like Brendan McKenna and those other dudes who cause trouble in Nationalist areas during marching seasons.
How about healing through justice?
I am from Whitecross in South Armagh, although the main thrust of his personal story is correct he has exaggerated in some aspects. Such as his home being attacked on the night of his fathers wake.
I posted on his messageboard one time, asking why there was no mention of the murders of the Reavy brothers from Whitecross on his website amongst other atrocities in South Armagh.
His response was that the Reavy brothers were more or less IRA men and so deserved what they got. This is a total lie as I know the family well.
I think this shows the thinking of Willie Frazer, although he has personal grief there are others who have as much if not more. Mrs Reavy lost three of her sons just because they were Catholics but she was and remained a complete Lady who showed respect to both sides of the community
Niall, thanks for sharing that story with us.
And David, I’m all for healing and I’m all in favour of justice. I just prefer the calls to be unequivocal (as you know) and there to be a true desire to be healed.
I can’t emphasise enough that I have taken on board William Frazer’s story and his motivations, but as a father of three, I take great issue with vitriolic ramblings and spreading poison via the all-too-accommodating media. The younger generation are looking to us for leadership and guidance - it’s our job to make sure that they get it.
And I will break my no violence rule toward the first person who utters “I believe the children are our future…”
FAIRs list of “honoured dead” includes at least one person believed to be responsible for multiple sectarian murders. I have been recommended to read certain parts of Toby Harnden’s book “Bandit Country.”
The UDR in Armagh had an organic relationship with UVF murder gangs operating in the county during the 1970s. I’d welcome comments, of course.
One thing I’ve noticed about Willie Frazer’s site is that although FAIR claim to be non-sectarian and non-political, they are anything but. Frazer’s tirades against the nationalist community cover the flying of Irish flags at GAA halls, through to the villification of the entire southern state (it is Nazi apparently) and the clear desire of FAIR for some kind of revenge, rather than reconcilliation.
If it wasn’t for the terrible things that were done to Willie Frazer, you’d think he was the bullied kid in school now seeking revenge on his tormentors.
I think it shows the rampant bias of the author of this criticism to compare FAIR with healing through remembering. It is uimportant to compare like with like. Relatives for Justice would be the closest parallel to FAIR from the republican agenda. RFJ are based on the ‘victimhood’ of the terrorists killed by the SAS in Loughgall in 1988. Of course the SAS had no right to kill them, the men were only going to blow up the police station nad everyone inside. A few years ago RFJ produced a publicly funded remembrance rug, on which blatant pro-terrorism slogans were emblazoned including ‘Ireland for the Irish’ - racism no less. Why the criticism of Mr Frazer only. Presumably RFJ adhere to the prejudices of the author of this piece, which show how credible these arguments are.