Patricia Campbell, with the Passion for Peace award
Patricia Campbell has seen it all. And you probably don’t want to see what she has seen.
As a community mental health nurse in Belfast, Campbell has witnessed the trauma resulting from years of conflict in Northern Ireland. In spite of the Good Friday Agreement, the wounds of many have failed to heal—on both sides—but certainly among those who were dragged off to prison, tortured or both, all at British hands. Suicide is not uncommon.
Within the communities divided during the Troubles, Campbell says, those divisions remain. In many cases, they are more pronounced now than they were in the days of open conflict.
Severe health care budget cuts will make it harder to deal with the community’s ills.
Campbell has also visited Palestine, where she sees parallels between Northern Ireland’s minority Catholic population and the government of the UK.
Regardless of where she bore witness to injustice, Campbell has dedicated herself to justice and peace.
Last Sunday, Campbell visited Philadelphia to receive the Passion for Peace Award at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the city’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood.
We took a few moments before presentation of the award for a conversation. Here’s what she had to say.
