DISCOVERING A RAY OF HOPE
Discovering a ray of hope
THE funerals may finally be over, but the period of mourning for the innocent victims of Omagh will continue for the foreseeable future.
Tomorrow, the entire community will have the opportunity to pay their respects to the dead and express their outrage over the bombing.
It can be expected that, not just in Omagh but in urban and rural centres across the country, tens of thousands of people will observe a minute's silence exactly one week after the atrocity.
Many will gather at churches and civic buildings, but even those who cannot attend the official gatherings can still offer a silent prayer in their own homes.
Before long, a formal service of remembrance in the Omagh area may also be appropriate.
Thoughts may then turn to ways in which the massacre can be permanently commemorated. Future plans for Market Street in Omagh deserve to be considered in a particularly sensitive manner.
Extensive consultations will have to take place with a wide range of groups and individuals. Relatives of the dead have a central contribution to make to this process, and their wishes must be respected by the authorities.
All the traders who lost friends, staff and customers in the explosion, as well as having their businesses destroyed, need to be closely
involved.
Clerics and elected representatives, together with the ordinary people of the town, should also have a significant input into any final decisions. The Spirit of Enniskillen initiative, which proved so effective in the aftermath of the Fermanagh town's 1987 disaster, shows what can be
achieved, but many other options need to be examined.
Life in Omagh will never be the same again, but the possibility of discovering a ray of hope in the darkness must be fully explored.
Whatever the outcome, it can be guaranteed that the men, women and children who were so cruelly murdered last week will never be ten.
THE funerals may finally be over, but the period of mourning for the innocent victims of Omagh will continue for the foreseeable future.
Tomorrow, the entire community will have the opportunity to pay their respects to the dead and express their outrage over the bombing.
It can be expected that, not just in Omagh but in urban and rural centres across the country, tens of thousands of people will observe a minute's silence exactly one week after the atrocity.
Many will gather at churches and civic buildings, but even those who cannot attend the official gatherings can still offer a silent prayer in their own homes.
Before long, a formal service of remembrance in the Omagh area may also be appropriate.
Thoughts may then turn to ways in which the massacre can be permanently commemorated. Future plans for Market Street in Omagh deserve to be considered in a particularly sensitive manner.
Extensive consultations will have to take place with a wide range of groups and individuals. Relatives of the dead have a central contribution to make to this process, and their wishes must be respected by the authorities.
All the traders who lost friends, staff and customers in the explosion, as well as having their businesses destroyed, need to be closely
involved.
Clerics and elected representatives, together with the ordinary people of the town, should also have a significant input into any final decisions. The Spirit of Enniskillen initiative, which proved so effective in the aftermath of the Fermanagh town's 1987 disaster, shows what can be
achieved, but many other options need to be examined.
Life in Omagh will never be the same again, but the possibility of discovering a ray of hope in the darkness must be fully explored.
Whatever the outcome, it can be guaranteed that the men, women and children who were so cruelly murdered last week will never be ten.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0156
Published Date: 21-Aug-98
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