THE LOVE THAT DRIVES OMAGH FAMILIES FORWARD
The love that drives the Omagh families forward
The civil case involving the families of victims of the Omagh bombing opened in Belfast this week. And with it a moment in history.
It is not the first time that victims of terrorists have tried to call the perpetrators to account.
But this is a new and a potentially historic way to do so.
And if it is successful, as Lord Brennan QC told a court in Belfast this week, "the result will be that every terrorist will have to live in fear that their essential belongings will be taken from them".
That is, every terrorist, everywhere.
For this case hasn't just local, but global implications. The world is watching. To even get to this stage has called for supreme courage, resilience and determination on the part of the families involved.
And not a little on the part of the lawyers either.
And it is not, of course, about cash compensation.
There is no money that will compensate for what the Omagh families and so many others like them here lost.
This is about some small semblance of justice.
Not just for themselves. But potentially for countless others throughout the world.
Nothing will ever make up for the human loss in what Lord Brennan called the "massacre of the innocents" at Omagh.
What this case will be like for the relatives to sit through can only be imagined. But the very fact that it is being heard is a tribute to their relentless and selfless battle for truth.
And their enduring love for those innocents they lost.
The civil case involving the families of victims of the Omagh bombing opened in Belfast this week. And with it a moment in history.
It is not the first time that victims of terrorists have tried to call the perpetrators to account.
But this is a new and a potentially historic way to do so.
And if it is successful, as Lord Brennan QC told a court in Belfast this week, "the result will be that every terrorist will have to live in fear that their essential belongings will be taken from them".
That is, every terrorist, everywhere.
For this case hasn't just local, but global implications. The world is watching. To even get to this stage has called for supreme courage, resilience and determination on the part of the families involved.
And not a little on the part of the lawyers either.
And it is not, of course, about cash compensation.
There is no money that will compensate for what the Omagh families and so many others like them here lost.
This is about some small semblance of justice.
Not just for themselves. But potentially for countless others throughout the world.
Nothing will ever make up for the human loss in what Lord Brennan called the "massacre of the innocents" at Omagh.
What this case will be like for the relatives to sit through can only be imagined. But the very fact that it is being heard is a tribute to their relentless and selfless battle for truth.
And their enduring love for those innocents they lost.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1077
Published Date: 09-Apr-08
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