More than three years since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, at the end of July a young Protestant man - Gavin Brett - was shot by (it is believed) the Ulster Defence Association, going under the cover name of Red Hand Commandos.
His killers thought he was a Catholic, but the mistake won't matter to them - a "bad Prod" (i.e. one talking to friends outside a GAA pitch) is considered as legitimate a target as a Catholic. His murder brought the number of people killed by paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland and the Republic since the signing of the agreement to around 90.
From the ceasefires in 1994 to July 2001 at least 2,600 people were expelled from their homes in Northern Ireland. All paramilitary organisations were involved; sometimes paramilitary rivalries within each community caused as much distress as those between republican and loyalist.
This summer has seen the highest level of street violence for years, particularly in the old battlegrounds of north Belfast where attacks and counter-attacks have been made on houses and community centres and halls on either side of the "peace lines".
Churches and halls associated with cultural activities seem to have been favoured targets.
Whatever exists, it certainly isn't peace.
We will have peace only when we have created societies where people feel secure with their identity and are secure enough to seek to understand and respect the identities of others, and to permit others to express their cultural traditions as they see fit.
From the very beginning, there has been a flaw in the peace process. It has concentrated almost solely on the political and military (or paramilitary) processes without addressing the core issue of relationships between people.
Building peace has become the preserve of the governments and the political parties without any significant involvement from others.
This attitude is hardly new. Contrast humanity's attitudes to war and to peace, on the island of Ireland and elsewhere. When a declaration of war is issued, we accept that we must devote all the efforts of society to winning the war. When a declaration of peace is signed, it is assumed war is over and collective efforts can cease.
In reality the task of building peace is more important and more difficult than waging war, and demands greater rather than less resources and effort. In the years since the 1994 ceasefires endless hours have been devoted to sorting out the political and the military aspects of the process.
Assistance has been sought and received from the United States, Canada, South Africa and Finland. No such similar effort and resource has been put into peace-building.
There has been some support for community peace-building from the European Union through the Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation but, in the absence of a clear policy framework, much of this support has been dissipated. It is right for example, that issues of social exclusion and economic development should be addressed as part of a peace process.
But addressing these issues without reference to the core issues of addressing diverse identities and reconciling divided communities is missing the point.
If real peace is to be achieved the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland administration must make peace-building at a community level a core policy priority in government plans.
THE partnership approach that has been successful in promoting economic development should be extended to peace-building, and reconciliation organisations should be welcomed as social partners and encouraged to assist in policy development.
Within a clear policy framework, government departments and other public agencies should be required to produce action plans to promote inter-community understanding and respect, and publish targets for the achievement of these plans.
A recent Co-operation Ireland survey on attitudes showed how much work still needs to be done. It showed that understanding in the Republic for both communities in Northern Ireland was very low. Only 28 per cent of people in the Republic felt they had a good or excellent understanding of the Protestant tradition in Northern Ireland. Only 36 per cent felt they similarly understood the Catholic/nationalist tradition.
Understanding in Northern Ireland wasn't much better. Only 19 per cent of Protestants in Northern Ireland surveyed claimed they had a good or excellent understanding of the culture and traditions of the Republic.
The survey showed an alarming number of people not only don't know but also don't care for the cultures of others. Some 40 per cent of people in the Republic were not interested in learning more about the Protestant/Unionist tradition and 68 per cent of Protestants in Northern Ireland weren't interested in learning more about the Republic.
Regrettably, this relative ignorance and lack of interest in learning more doesn't stop people having an opinion of others, usually a hostile one.
At the same time there is a substantial group which wants to get to know about different cultures on the island, but doesn't have the opportunity to.
Research into conflict resolution has shown that long-term sustained co-operation on issues of common concern is one of the few approaches known to work in promoting reconciliation in divided societies. This co-operation must be assisted and managed, reassuring and supporting those involved.
It is right and important that the governments and political parties devote substantial efforts to resolving political difficulties. This is an essential prerequisite to building peace. However, it will never be sufficient in itself.
If we are to build peace, we require the same level of commitment to community peace-building as is devoted to political and security issues.
Our political leaders must dedicate themselves to improving inter-community and north/south relationships in partnership with all sectors of society. Too much time has been lost already. The time to start is now.