Eighteen people have told their stories in a book which has the working title “Mixed Emotions” and which will be published shortly by NIMMA – the Northern Ireland Mixed Marriage Association.NIMMA Chair Ken Dunn, a member of the Church of Ireland, said: “We were very fortunate to have volunteers whose stories will go a long way to representing those thousands of men and women on this island who have put love before tribal allegiance. We are at the printing stage at the moment and look forward to launching the book in the near future”.
The book, which is being funded by The Big Lottery Fund, will give mixed marriage people the chance to tell their stories – in their own words.
Ken says, “It is a project that represents what NIMMA is all about.
We know already of the tremendous demand for information about both the logistics of mixed marriage and the actual experience itself from prospective couples, the press, the churches and community groups.
That demand that has not been met fully – yet –and these individual stories, these real life experiences, will certainly complement the facts and support that we already provide.
By definition, any mixed marriage scenario is totally cross-community and we have chosen as broad as possible a cross-section of contributors for the final publication to, hopefully, get a true picture of the mixed marriage experience in the Province.
This has always been about bringing together couples to share their experiences of putting love first and about showing how their example can make a real difference to so many in our community, particularly our young people.
It is about increasing awareness, promoting inclusiveness and heightening self confidence and we recognise that all of the people concerned have shown real courage to share their stories.
I look forward to the day when this book is regarded as standard reading for young people at all of our schools”.
NIMMA Tel 9023 5444 e-mail nimma@nireland.com
Bryson House
28 Bedford Street
BELFAST BT2 7FE