PRICE OF A LIFE
Price of a life
COMPENSATION POLICY: The bereaved deserve more consideration
As the cameras focus on prisoner releases from the Maze, the case of Michelle Williamson is a shocking reminder of how the pain of the victims is not receiving adequate attention. Her father and mother were both killed in the Shankill Road bombing five years ago and she has just received what the government regard as adequate compensation for her loss. Only �2,000 - barely enough to cover the funeral expenses.
The official explanation is that she is not entitled to more, since she was financially independent of her parents at the time of their death. But what about her pain and suffering, which continues to this day? The ordinary public will be amazed to hear that the State accepts no responsibility.
Money cannot bring anyone back to life, as Mrs Williamson agrees, but it is a token of the State's concern for the lives and well-being of its citizens, which can be torn from them by terrorism. Every bomb that explodes and every prisoner released from the Maze twists the knife in the wound. And when the compensation is so small, as in this case, it is nothing short of an insult to the dead - and the living.
Those who have recently been bereaved in the Omagh bombing should take note. Their loss has been marked by official visits and ceremonies but, when the time comes for compensation claims to be judged, harsh criteria will be applied, reducing pay-outs to a minimum.
This would be hard enough to take in normal circumstances, but in today's climate of compassion towards the perpetrators of violence, it is almost unbearable. Although early releases for terrorist prisoners is an essential part of the peace process, making it inclusive of the parties linked to paramilitary organisations, it exposes the victims to daily reminders of their loss. Far too late in the day, their problems have been recognised, but clearly the Government's response is still woefully inadequate.
A Northern Ireland Office spokesman has said that it does not comment on individual cases, but surely this one is different. Mrs Williamson has aired her grievance in public, and a response should be forthcoming. If, as she says, she has been unable to work since the explosion, is she not entitled to adequate compensation? People will compare the rehabilitation arrangements and funds offered to the prisoners being released early and draw their own conclusions about the government's priorities and sense of fair play.
Meanwhile, the unsavoury bargaining over the whereabouts of the "disappeared" continues, with the hope that a combination of public pressure and shame, on the part of republicans, will soon yield results. This would be an important confidence building measure, if it could be achieved, proving that Sinn Fein, the party inextricably linked to the IRA, were prepared to bring some real influence to bear. Enough of the talk, the public would say, now produce the evidence.
By such small steps, long overdue, can at least a majority of people be convinced that Sinn Fein is serious about its commitment to exclusively peaceful means, now and in the future. The decommissioning bullet is the next to be billon, to free the political process and allow David Trimble to proceed, in relative safety, with the business of appointing ah executive. There is not a moment to be lost
COMPENSATION POLICY: The bereaved deserve more consideration
As the cameras focus on prisoner releases from the Maze, the case of Michelle Williamson is a shocking reminder of how the pain of the victims is not receiving adequate attention. Her father and mother were both killed in the Shankill Road bombing five years ago and she has just received what the government regard as adequate compensation for her loss. Only �2,000 - barely enough to cover the funeral expenses.
The official explanation is that she is not entitled to more, since she was financially independent of her parents at the time of their death. But what about her pain and suffering, which continues to this day? The ordinary public will be amazed to hear that the State accepts no responsibility.
Money cannot bring anyone back to life, as Mrs Williamson agrees, but it is a token of the State's concern for the lives and well-being of its citizens, which can be torn from them by terrorism. Every bomb that explodes and every prisoner released from the Maze twists the knife in the wound. And when the compensation is so small, as in this case, it is nothing short of an insult to the dead - and the living.
Those who have recently been bereaved in the Omagh bombing should take note. Their loss has been marked by official visits and ceremonies but, when the time comes for compensation claims to be judged, harsh criteria will be applied, reducing pay-outs to a minimum.
This would be hard enough to take in normal circumstances, but in today's climate of compassion towards the perpetrators of violence, it is almost unbearable. Although early releases for terrorist prisoners is an essential part of the peace process, making it inclusive of the parties linked to paramilitary organisations, it exposes the victims to daily reminders of their loss. Far too late in the day, their problems have been recognised, but clearly the Government's response is still woefully inadequate.
A Northern Ireland Office spokesman has said that it does not comment on individual cases, but surely this one is different. Mrs Williamson has aired her grievance in public, and a response should be forthcoming. If, as she says, she has been unable to work since the explosion, is she not entitled to adequate compensation? People will compare the rehabilitation arrangements and funds offered to the prisoners being released early and draw their own conclusions about the government's priorities and sense of fair play.
Meanwhile, the unsavoury bargaining over the whereabouts of the "disappeared" continues, with the hope that a combination of public pressure and shame, on the part of republicans, will soon yield results. This would be an important confidence building measure, if it could be achieved, proving that Sinn Fein, the party inextricably linked to the IRA, were prepared to bring some real influence to bear. Enough of the talk, the public would say, now produce the evidence.
By such small steps, long overdue, can at least a majority of people be convinced that Sinn Fein is serious about its commitment to exclusively peaceful means, now and in the future. The decommissioning bullet is the next to be billon, to free the political process and allow David Trimble to proceed, in relative safety, with the business of appointing ah executive. There is not a moment to be lost
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0664
Published Date: 17-Sep-98
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