Paramilitary
ex-prisoners struggle to find employment and a normal life Life outside
the Maze can be tough. The difficulties span everything from qualifying
for a taxi licence to adopting a child or getting a travel visa
From IRISH TIMES August 5th, 2000
Coiste is campaigning for ex-prisoners' records to be cleared. "It is the easiest way to deal with it," said McCorley. UVF member Eddie Kinner, jailed
in 1975 for planting a bomb which killed a woman when it went off in Conway's
Pub on the Shore Road, completed a degree in maths and computing while in
the Maze.
When he was released in 1988 he sent off 20 letters each day with his CV.
He says 90 per cent of these were ignored, those who did give him an interview
said they could not give him a job with his record. He was eventually employed
by a engineering company, which he left to take up an IT position with NIACRO
(Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders).
Sitting in his office on the Lower Ormeau Road, Kinner said he believes
it may be more difficult for the more recently released prisoners to reintegrate.
"Those of us who spent longer terms in prison had time to reflect on why we were there, some who have just got out will still have their war heads on," he said. And while ex-prisoner groups have little to be joyful about in terms of securing wider employment for members, there are some positive developments.
Ken Cleland, who runs printing company Graham and Heslip in Newtownbreda
just outside Belfast, acknowledges that he is an exception when it comes
to employers in the private sector. He has employed several loyalist ex-prisoners
and two years ago helped set up a group, Proj-EX 2000, to facilitate contacts
between employers and loyalist and republican prisoners' aid groups.
"I have had nothing but positive experiences through working with these people: many of my other employees have overcome certain prejudices they had," he said. "We want to give ex-prisoners a fair chance, not extra help, not a leg up, but a chance the same as anybody else."
Cleland got involved because many former employees had become involved in
paramilitary activity. "We knew the people they were, we knew they weren't bad people. There was certainly a feeling of `There but for the grace of God go I,' " he said. Cleland has only employed ex-loyalist prisoners and feels that among smaller companies like his, it is inevitable that "you will stick to your own side".
There are many practical benefits for the employer of putting ex-prisoners
on the payroll, he said. "We have found that due to their past experiences they are better timekeepers, have better attendance records and are more committed to the company."
Former republican prisoner Tommy Gorman now heads Proj-EX 2000. There are
ex-prisoners who have set up their own businesses and have done well, he
said, but many others who manage to break through do so by telling lies.
"The closing down of a lot of big factories such as Goodyear allowed people to explain away gaps in their employment history by saying they worked there."
"It was impossible to check and so they got on that way," he said. Gorman
said that due to the studious nature of many ex-prisoners a lot of them
are highly educated and qualified but because of their records have severely
limited options.
"You see people standing at the door of clubs who have Ph.D.s and degrees. There are lots of examples on both sides - one man I know is a doctor of philosophy but is working as a night watchman," he said.
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