OMAGH TRADERS HAVE NO HEART TO GO BACK
Omagh Traders 'have no heart to go back'
By Francess McDonnell
Business Correspondent
BUSINESS people in Omagh have no heart to return to their livelihoods in the town and may never go back, sombre community leaders said today.
As the community prepares to say a ' final goodbye to colleagues and Friends killed in the massive bomb attack, business leaders today spoke of a town in shock.
Michael Gaine. a businessman who is also president of the Omagh Chamber of Commerce, said hardly a family, club or organisation had remained untouched by the bomb.
"The tragic events of Saturday Have stunned our small community. We cannot understand why our town was chosen for devastation nor understand why its people were targeted." he said.
Mr Gaine believes there are families who will never recover from the atrocity and there are businesses which will never recover.
"The heart has been taken out of the town, there are people who won't want to come into Omagh again. The town has ' been literally devastated.
"Omagh has been split in two halfs - one half is completely devastated, the people who ran the other half have been injured or killed.
"One half cannot open again - Omagh is facing economic ruin, we are trying to put a few things in place to restart building. At the moment, we are thinking of practical things but there are people who don't really want to open."
He fears there will be businesses in Omagh which will go bankrupt because of the "economic side of life is just gone".
"In the coming days this community will weep and mourn, the passing of families and friends. However Omagh Chamber of Commerce is in total support of the Government's policy for building peace and reconciliation throughout Northern Ireland. That is the only viable future for us all."
Many business bodies throughout the province today also expressed their condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the bereaved.
The Confederation of British Industry said the business community throughout Northern Ireland had been "numbed" by the atrocity and shared the pain of the people in the area.
The MSF union for skilled and professional people has also added its voice to the condemnation of the attack and sent messages of sympathy and support.
The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will today lay a wreath in Omagh as an expression of its sympathy.
By Francess McDonnell
Business Correspondent
BUSINESS people in Omagh have no heart to return to their livelihoods in the town and may never go back, sombre community leaders said today.
As the community prepares to say a ' final goodbye to colleagues and Friends killed in the massive bomb attack, business leaders today spoke of a town in shock.
Michael Gaine. a businessman who is also president of the Omagh Chamber of Commerce, said hardly a family, club or organisation had remained untouched by the bomb.
"The tragic events of Saturday Have stunned our small community. We cannot understand why our town was chosen for devastation nor understand why its people were targeted." he said.
Mr Gaine believes there are families who will never recover from the atrocity and there are businesses which will never recover.
"The heart has been taken out of the town, there are people who won't want to come into Omagh again. The town has ' been literally devastated.
"Omagh has been split in two halfs - one half is completely devastated, the people who ran the other half have been injured or killed.
"One half cannot open again - Omagh is facing economic ruin, we are trying to put a few things in place to restart building. At the moment, we are thinking of practical things but there are people who don't really want to open."
He fears there will be businesses in Omagh which will go bankrupt because of the "economic side of life is just gone".
"In the coming days this community will weep and mourn, the passing of families and friends. However Omagh Chamber of Commerce is in total support of the Government's policy for building peace and reconciliation throughout Northern Ireland. That is the only viable future for us all."
Many business bodies throughout the province today also expressed their condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the bereaved.
The Confederation of British Industry said the business community throughout Northern Ireland had been "numbed" by the atrocity and shared the pain of the people in the area.
The MSF union for skilled and professional people has also added its voice to the condemnation of the attack and sent messages of sympathy and support.
The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will today lay a wreath in Omagh as an expression of its sympathy.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0614
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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