WITH a pharmacy located at the centre of Castlederg, Co Tyrone, James Johnston has often had his premises in ruins. At the height of the Troubles, he had "windows shattered and the roof blown off".
He is one of the eight business people in the town to have received a letter telling him his business would be boycotted by Catholics and he was one of the few willing to be quoted.
"This thing is affecting the whole town. My business is down by about 25 per cent. I think it is so vindictive."
Mr Johnston has been in business in the town for over 27 years and nothing like this ever happened before. "The boycott is worse than any bombing," he told The Irish Times. The letter which was sent by post about three weeks ago accused him of being involved in loyalist roadblocks.
"I will strongly advise that my fellow Catholics in the community also boycott your pharmacy," said the letter which appears to have been typed on a word processor and was sent to seven other business people in the town.
It also mentioned "strong, anti Catholic thuggery" and was signed "Yours, disappointed".
Mr Johnston confirmed he was at the barricades but was, in fact, trying to get past to deliver prescriptions to the local nursing home.
"They took them off me and they delivered them. That is what happened. There are so many rumours going around including the fact that I was wearing an Orange sash. I'm not even an Orangeman," he said, clearly exasperated. He believes the Killeter show was cancelled because people involved "have been threatened".
"It's a sad state of affairs that these things have been happening just when the town was getting back on its feet. Nobody wins with something like this. A time will come when my side of the house decides to boycott Catholic businesses. If they only stopped to think they would realise that one of us can't live without the other."