REMEMBRANCE SATURDAY
Remembrance Saturday
The past seven days have left an imprint of grief and suffering on all our lives. In city and country, town and village, people gathered today for a moment of reflection. It is an opportunity, first and foremost, to remember those who were killed and injured last Saturday afternoon. It is also a powerful demonstration that good can come out of evil, that hope can triumph over despair.
Emotions have been running high throughout the community during the week, as shock gave way to unfathomable suffering and sorrow. While much attention has been focused on the funerals, those who are still languishing in hospital are not forgotten. Many have suffered the most horrendous of injuries, and they will bear the mental and physical scars of Omagh for the remainder of their lives. They will need support from friends and family as they face the future. On this Remembrance Saturday our hearts go out to them.
This was a tragedy which left no section of the community untouched, and which also had a devastating impact on families beyond our borders, as far away as Spain. Sectarian divisions have been forgotten as this community has united in grief. A tide of sympathy for the bereaved has swept across the island, inspiring a new determination to bring terrorism to an end, once and for all.
Many tributes have been paid to the emergency services, and rightly so. From the RUC to the ambulance service, and from nurses to doctors, they had to cope with an unimaginable situation. Many saw at first hand the horrific injuries which the victims had sustained, leaving scarred minds and haunted memories. All of us will have our own images and feelings from the past seven days. Is there a person in this land who has not at some point shed a tear? The pictures of children left without a mother, or husbands left without a partner, or parents left without a son or daughter, were graphic illustrations of the scale of personal suffering which has hit so many homes.
The funerals took place in places of worship of different denominations, but the message from church and chapel was identical. Pastor and priest spoke with one voice as they called for an end to conflict. The demand for a complete cessation of all violence was deafening, and the crusade for permanent peace must now be unrelenting and unstoppable. Out of evil, good can come.
The media has had an important role to play, acting as the eyes and ears of the wider community. There have been so many poignant moments, from the testimonies of the bereaved to their loved ones, to the scenes of unspeakable grief at the funerals. From the people of the province, and from those further afield, the abiding message to the community in Omagh is that they are not alone.
In cities and towns, people have been flocking to add their names to books of condolence or leave flowers as an expression of sympathy. Local radio stations have suspended normal broadcasting to allow people to pay personal tributes and express their condolences to the bereaved. Thousands of people from around the world have contacted this newspaper with their messages of sympathy.
This wave of support for the victims of Omagh has been a unifying force in a community which concentrates too often on what divides it, rather than what it has in common. Barriers have been broken down and people have come together in their sorrow to show their revulsion. The bombers have not divides us. They have brought us closer together and redoubled all our efforts not to bow to their barbarity.
Today's services and ceremonies provide people with an opportunity to stand together and rededicate themselves to a peaceful future. The two traditions will always have their differences, but this week has reinforced the belief that then is substantial common ground between unionist and nationalist.
Nothing can bring back the victims of the Omagh bomb, but the best tribute to their memory will be if the dreadful deeds of last Saturday are indeed a watershed for Northern Ireland. Let the Omagh atrocity set a final seal of death and destruction - and may the message go out loud and clear to the men of violence that this time, their day really is over.
VIEWPOINT
The Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue,
Belfast BT1 1EB. Belfast: 01232 264000
Londonderry: 01504 41131
World Web Site address:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
Our e-mail address is editor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
The past seven days have left an imprint of grief and suffering on all our lives. In city and country, town and village, people gathered today for a moment of reflection. It is an opportunity, first and foremost, to remember those who were killed and injured last Saturday afternoon. It is also a powerful demonstration that good can come out of evil, that hope can triumph over despair.
Emotions have been running high throughout the community during the week, as shock gave way to unfathomable suffering and sorrow. While much attention has been focused on the funerals, those who are still languishing in hospital are not forgotten. Many have suffered the most horrendous of injuries, and they will bear the mental and physical scars of Omagh for the remainder of their lives. They will need support from friends and family as they face the future. On this Remembrance Saturday our hearts go out to them.
This was a tragedy which left no section of the community untouched, and which also had a devastating impact on families beyond our borders, as far away as Spain. Sectarian divisions have been forgotten as this community has united in grief. A tide of sympathy for the bereaved has swept across the island, inspiring a new determination to bring terrorism to an end, once and for all.
Many tributes have been paid to the emergency services, and rightly so. From the RUC to the ambulance service, and from nurses to doctors, they had to cope with an unimaginable situation. Many saw at first hand the horrific injuries which the victims had sustained, leaving scarred minds and haunted memories. All of us will have our own images and feelings from the past seven days. Is there a person in this land who has not at some point shed a tear? The pictures of children left without a mother, or husbands left without a partner, or parents left without a son or daughter, were graphic illustrations of the scale of personal suffering which has hit so many homes.
The funerals took place in places of worship of different denominations, but the message from church and chapel was identical. Pastor and priest spoke with one voice as they called for an end to conflict. The demand for a complete cessation of all violence was deafening, and the crusade for permanent peace must now be unrelenting and unstoppable. Out of evil, good can come.
The media has had an important role to play, acting as the eyes and ears of the wider community. There have been so many poignant moments, from the testimonies of the bereaved to their loved ones, to the scenes of unspeakable grief at the funerals. From the people of the province, and from those further afield, the abiding message to the community in Omagh is that they are not alone.
In cities and towns, people have been flocking to add their names to books of condolence or leave flowers as an expression of sympathy. Local radio stations have suspended normal broadcasting to allow people to pay personal tributes and express their condolences to the bereaved. Thousands of people from around the world have contacted this newspaper with their messages of sympathy.
This wave of support for the victims of Omagh has been a unifying force in a community which concentrates too often on what divides it, rather than what it has in common. Barriers have been broken down and people have come together in their sorrow to show their revulsion. The bombers have not divides us. They have brought us closer together and redoubled all our efforts not to bow to their barbarity.
Today's services and ceremonies provide people with an opportunity to stand together and rededicate themselves to a peaceful future. The two traditions will always have their differences, but this week has reinforced the belief that then is substantial common ground between unionist and nationalist.
Nothing can bring back the victims of the Omagh bomb, but the best tribute to their memory will be if the dreadful deeds of last Saturday are indeed a watershed for Northern Ireland. Let the Omagh atrocity set a final seal of death and destruction - and may the message go out loud and clear to the men of violence that this time, their day really is over.
VIEWPOINT
The Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue,
Belfast BT1 1EB. Belfast: 01232 264000
Londonderry: 01504 41131
World Web Site address:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
Our e-mail address is editor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0196
Published Date: 22-Aug-98
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