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The backstop isn’t just about trade. Is that so hard to understand, Britain? | Dearbhail McDonald

The Good Friday agreement allows people to identify as Irish, British or both. We’re being forced, once again, to choose sides

One of my earliest childhood memories is of a circling red light motioning cars to stop near the border, silencing all who encountered its fiery glare. That red light filled my young heart with fear. I didn’t know if the gloved hand holding the torch was that of the RUC, the British army, the IRA or the UVF.

I grew up during the Troubles in the shadow of Cloghogue, one of the largest British army bases in Northern Ireland. Having to make detours to avoid customs and security checks along “bomb alley” – an atrocity-laden eight-mile stretch of road between Newry and Dundalk – was as frightening as it was familiar.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2sYbgBY

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