President calls for end to hate in North
The solution lies in courageous individuals being willing to forgive and listen to others, Mr Higgins claimed.
He delivered the British Council’s annual lecture at Queen’s University Belfast on the subject of migrants and memory, and addressed divisions between nationalists and unionists in the North.
Mr Higgins said: “Part of that challenge is to root out hatred from our midst. We have become accustomed to talking of sectarianism but is it not hatred by another name?
“It is bred by intolerance and indeed by a lack of the capacity or opportunity to change.
“It is not unique to any one group or place, it operates in two directions, one act of disregard feeding off another.”
This is the first time the annual lecture has moved outside London and is part of the Belfast Festival.
The President said it was important to re-examine stereotypes to help address sectarian hatred.
“The solution lies not just with government — though government bears a heavy responsibility — but with countless individuals who take a journey into the unknown animated by the courage of departure and a generosity of spirit and who are willing to review the narratives they have found, are willing to listen to the narrative of the other, and to pause, review, forgive, allow, or pardon.”
