FIREWORKS DISTRESS OMAGH SURVIVORS
Fireworks distress Omagh survivors
By IAN STARRETT
AN Omagh bomb survivor curled up in terror on a pavement after pranksters exploded a banger firework beside him.
Michael Duffy, co-ordinator of the specially set up Omagh Trauma and Recovery team, said yesterday that numerous distressed people who were in the blitzed Tyrone market town on the day of the Real IRA atrocity which claimed 29 lives and maimed scores of others, have had to be brought to their centre for treatment after bangers had exploded within yards of them.
"One young man curled up on the footpath behind a fence and had to be escorted here," he disclosed.
Mr Duffy said that 10 weeks ago many children and young people were quite severely traumatised by the events of August 15 in Omagh. "These loud bangers which are being let off to the streets without any warning are in many cases retriggering flashbacks to quite horrific events of that day.
"They are creating many problems for a lot of families in the town at the moment," said Mr Duffy, who confirmed that more than 200 Tyrone families are still receiving trauma treatment in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb.
He said that as well as the sound of the fireworks, the smell also brought the nightmare back to those who lived through Northern Ireland's worst terrorist bombing. "It re-stimulates those same fears and anxieties which people, children in particular, are trying to recover from."
In Londonderry, where banger hand guns were being used to project the missiles from the city walls onto shoppers and tourists below, police are now regularly patrolling the ramparts.
The hand-held propeller-type guns have added a new dimension to the already terrifying number of banger explosions in the city's trading centre and housing estates.
In the city's east bank Kilfennan area yesterday, schoolchildren were spotted emptying milk from morning deliveries and exploding bangers in the emptied bottles on neighbours' doorsteps.
An RUC spokesman said: "This is a serious social problem and it is now so bad the city centre is beginning to sound like a war zone."
It has also been confirmed that vets in the Maiden City are now prescribing tranquilisers to distressed animals who have been targeted by gangs throwing fireworks at them.
By IAN STARRETT
AN Omagh bomb survivor curled up in terror on a pavement after pranksters exploded a banger firework beside him.
Michael Duffy, co-ordinator of the specially set up Omagh Trauma and Recovery team, said yesterday that numerous distressed people who were in the blitzed Tyrone market town on the day of the Real IRA atrocity which claimed 29 lives and maimed scores of others, have had to be brought to their centre for treatment after bangers had exploded within yards of them.
"One young man curled up on the footpath behind a fence and had to be escorted here," he disclosed.
Mr Duffy said that 10 weeks ago many children and young people were quite severely traumatised by the events of August 15 in Omagh. "These loud bangers which are being let off to the streets without any warning are in many cases retriggering flashbacks to quite horrific events of that day.
"They are creating many problems for a lot of families in the town at the moment," said Mr Duffy, who confirmed that more than 200 Tyrone families are still receiving trauma treatment in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb.
He said that as well as the sound of the fireworks, the smell also brought the nightmare back to those who lived through Northern Ireland's worst terrorist bombing. "It re-stimulates those same fears and anxieties which people, children in particular, are trying to recover from."
In Londonderry, where banger hand guns were being used to project the missiles from the city walls onto shoppers and tourists below, police are now regularly patrolling the ramparts.
The hand-held propeller-type guns have added a new dimension to the already terrifying number of banger explosions in the city's trading centre and housing estates.
In the city's east bank Kilfennan area yesterday, schoolchildren were spotted emptying milk from morning deliveries and exploding bangers in the emptied bottles on neighbours' doorsteps.
An RUC spokesman said: "This is a serious social problem and it is now so bad the city centre is beginning to sound like a war zone."
It has also been confirmed that vets in the Maiden City are now prescribing tranquilisers to distressed animals who have been targeted by gangs throwing fireworks at them.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/353
Published Date: 28-Oct-98
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