AN IRISH DIASPORA storytelling project is seeking submission from people who lived in the border counties during the Troubles but who have since moved away from the area.

The Border Lives project is funded by the Tyrone Donegal Partnership and Peace III funding from the EU themed “Acknowledging and Dealing with the Past”.

According to the project’s mission statement, it aims to record and share the stories and experiences of those who lived in the border region during the Northern Ireland conflict, and show the impact the conflict, such as the normalisation of security searches and bomb threats, had on their lives.

Speaking about the project’s online campaign to gather comments and stories, Border Lives Social Media Officer Sarah Bryden said:

We are very excited to engage the Irish and Northern Irish Diaspora across the world who can positively contribute to this project. All stories and content will be reviewed by the Border Lives team and those chosen for publication will be shared on our website, social media sites and even showcased at a major project presentation of the Border Lives Project in Stormont on 30th September.

Diaspora submissions are being collected through the project’s Facebook app and by email (s.bryden@tyronedonegalpartnership.org). The Twitter and Facebook hashtag is #BorderLives. 

Six films sharing the experiences of people living along the border were screened in ten border towns last month ahead of their release on the Border Lives website in September. The Stormont showcase will also feature the responses of people who did not live along the border to the experiences shared on film.

Here’s a preview of the stories captured on camera:

Film by the Border Project (click here if you can’t play the embedded video)

Read: Hopes of getting through marching season ‘without public disorder on our streets’ >