IN ULSTER THERE ARE NO WORDS ONLY TEARS
In Ulster there are no words, only tears...
LIBBY KINNEY
EVIL, horror, carnage." murder, are all weighty words, but all are
nothing compared to the terrible suffering of the families hit by the Omagh blast. Over and over again since Saturday I have met people who seeing the agony, have no words, only tears.
Who could look at the pictures of smiling boys, of beautiful young girls, of caring mothers, and wives or their distraught relatives left behind and not be overpowered by grief?
We look at them and we see ourselves.
What parent hasn't hugged their child a little closer? And how many couples have looked at their partners and given thanks that they "were kept safe when a Saturday bomber went on a killing spree?
There, but for the grace of God, go each of us.
For that is the true measure of terrorism. To be able to instill fear, without favour, in every person.
With that fear comes anger, and rightly so.
The ordinary people of Ulster should not have to pay the price of someone else's "war".
It has been said in the past that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. But what freedom is there in being too afraid to walk down a street?
And what words are there that the murderers can use to justify their actions? Did they on Saturday evening congratulate themselves on a job well done, or was there a spark of awareness of the Hell they created on Earth?
It is a measure of their inhumanity that most people cannot believe that they deliberately set out to slaughter people shopping, children playing and babies sitting in pushchairs.
But in doing so we are giving them a chance to avoid the consequences of their actions - which is an option that they did not extend to their victims.
Words fail me when it comes to thinking of the horror and pain that so many are now going through.
But they should not fail any of us when it comes to speaking out.
It is time to unite in common purpose for the future. And to pray for all those who stood on a crowded street, believing they were safe.
LIBBY KINNEY
EVIL, horror, carnage." murder, are all weighty words, but all are
nothing compared to the terrible suffering of the families hit by the Omagh blast. Over and over again since Saturday I have met people who seeing the agony, have no words, only tears.
Who could look at the pictures of smiling boys, of beautiful young girls, of caring mothers, and wives or their distraught relatives left behind and not be overpowered by grief?
We look at them and we see ourselves.
What parent hasn't hugged their child a little closer? And how many couples have looked at their partners and given thanks that they "were kept safe when a Saturday bomber went on a killing spree?
There, but for the grace of God, go each of us.
For that is the true measure of terrorism. To be able to instill fear, without favour, in every person.
With that fear comes anger, and rightly so.
The ordinary people of Ulster should not have to pay the price of someone else's "war".
It has been said in the past that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. But what freedom is there in being too afraid to walk down a street?
And what words are there that the murderers can use to justify their actions? Did they on Saturday evening congratulate themselves on a job well done, or was there a spark of awareness of the Hell they created on Earth?
It is a measure of their inhumanity that most people cannot believe that they deliberately set out to slaughter people shopping, children playing and babies sitting in pushchairs.
But in doing so we are giving them a chance to avoid the consequences of their actions - which is an option that they did not extend to their victims.
Words fail me when it comes to thinking of the horror and pain that so many are now going through.
But they should not fail any of us when it comes to speaking out.
It is time to unite in common purpose for the future. And to pray for all those who stood on a crowded street, believing they were safe.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0617
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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