The rubberband will snap
Ned Kelly speaks to recently released Republican POW Joe Doherty
about the pressures returning POWs face
``Despite the euphoria and the handshakes and hugs every POW will come
back down to earth eventually,'' Joe said. ``It might take three days,
three weeks, months or even years.''
Joe Doherty, who has been incarcerated for much of the past 27 years,
and been (officially and unofficially) through the process of leaving
prison four times, said, ``this time is different, before it was
always back out to war but now I've finally come home and am trying
to re-integrate myself back into the community.''
Joe added: ``It's about getting a routine going. Even if I'm out in
the night, no matter what, it's up in the morning for a run then onto
the gym and a sauna. I spend a lot of time watching, reading, talking
and learning about community development. It's a continuation of my
degree studies.''
Joe insists that one of the most crucial aspects of returning to the
community is to ``get the head down and find yourself''.
The analogy he uses is one discussed with comrades in Long Kesh.
``It's like an elastic band,'' he explained, ``it keeps getting tighter
and tighter. Eventually it will snap.''
Joe remembers a time shortly after escaping from jail in 1981 when,
``I was just sitting in a car and I started crying and crying. No-one
knew what was wrong with me and they just put me to bed. The next day
I got up and felt a whole lot better. It was just about the release
of tension.''
Joe also spoke of the importance of group counselling both inside
prison and back in the community. He said, ``we've all been through
it, and we can appreciate what it costs in personal terms. We can
relate to each other.''
other serious problem many POWs face is the ``distance between
themselves and other people''. Joe continued: ``Of course ex-prisoners
want a recognition of what they did for the community but they don't
need to be put on a pedestal. And then that often stops after the
first wave of adulation but POWs are still left needing help and
understanding.''
``One of the big changes in recent years is the creation of community
infrastructure;'' added Joe: ``Not only have the communities developed
and important victories been won on the ground but there is also a
wider appreciation of and support for the needs of former political
prisoners.''
Joe stressed, ``while undoubtedly there are pitfalls ahead, the
rubberband snapping and the euphoria ending, and just because I
haven't felt it yet doesn't mean that in four weeks or four years I
won't, the fact that I thought through my release and talked it
through with my family and friends has meant a lot. It's about
planning, about structuring the day but not being too rigid.''
Getting to the crux of one of the biggest problems, Joe said, ``I
talked with people about with how scary it would be without the war
but the struggle is definitely not over, there is a better
alternative. It's bringing confidence back into the community.''
In remembering the 10,000 Nationalists subjected to the British
prison system over the past 28 years, Joe said: ``It's not just those
recently released or the high profile ex-prisoners but we all have a
role in sharing our experiences and supporting each other to bring
that confidence back into the community.''
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)