A TIME FOR GRIEVING
A TIME FOR GRIEVING
The community spirit for which Omagh is noted is being put to its greatest test this week in the aftermath of the terrorist bomb atrocity on Saturday. The entire area has united in grief around the relatives of the 28 men, women and children who were murdered and in support of the more than 200 people who were wounded, many of whom have lost limbs and face a future both physically and mentally scarred.
The town, which was working hard to be noticed by prospective industrialists who might set up factories and bring jobs and greater prosperity to its people, has now been given the notoriety it least deserves - propelled to a place at the top of the league of terrorist outrages which have plagued this Province for 30 years and which it was hoped were coming to an end with the recent peace agreement.
The people of Omagh and surrounding villages know differently and have had to pay an incalculable cost to spur the governments north and south of the border into promising to do whatever needs to be done to rid the country of the new republican threat emerging in the form of the so-called Real IRA which has admitted responsibility for Saturday's bombing.
Whatever emerges from their deliberations it must come quickly and be legally watertight. The murderers who planned and carried out Saturday's atrocity must be caught and put away for good so that no other community has to suffer as this area has suffered.
Now and for months and years to come our thoughts must be with those who have been bereaved by the loss of loved ones in such horrendous circumstances and with the people who have been so tragically injured.
An outpouring of grief and sympathy has been clearly evident since the weekend, and if we are any judge of the innate kindliness of the people of this area the support which has been shown for the victims will continue long after the publicity which the bombing has attracted has abated and the media circus has moved on to some other arena. They will need every ounce of support, understanding and compassion to help at least to alleviate their suffering.
Nothing will ever eradicate the horror that was visited on them on what should have been a carefree, happy Saturday afternoon. Nothing can bring back the loved ones whose lives were so cruelly cut short, nothing can restore the limbs that were severed by the explosion, nothing can compensate those who have lost other faculties.
It will be of little consolation to them to know that it was the Real IRA that was responsible for such an indiscriminate attack, an attack that has left this entire community bereft. In its magnitude it has touched hundreds beyond those who were caught in the blast and has left all feeling personally bereaved.
Others who need the sympathy, and deserve the gratitude, of the community at this time are the doctors, nurses, ambulance personnel and civilians who had to deal with the aftermath of the explosion and whose medical expertise and humanitarian efforts undoubtedly saved lives.
It is a great comfort to know that we are not alone in our grief. There has been a universal upsurge of sympathy, evidenced by the hundreds of messages, many received by this newspaper, expressing revulsion and heartfelt condolences; by the many floral tributes that have flooded in from all parts, and manifested also in the visits to the town of Prince Charles, a man who has also been touched by terrorism, the President of the Irish Republic Mary McAleese, and other public figures.
The community spirit for which Omagh is noted is being put to its greatest test this week in the aftermath of the terrorist bomb atrocity on Saturday. The entire area has united in grief around the relatives of the 28 men, women and children who were murdered and in support of the more than 200 people who were wounded, many of whom have lost limbs and face a future both physically and mentally scarred.
The town, which was working hard to be noticed by prospective industrialists who might set up factories and bring jobs and greater prosperity to its people, has now been given the notoriety it least deserves - propelled to a place at the top of the league of terrorist outrages which have plagued this Province for 30 years and which it was hoped were coming to an end with the recent peace agreement.
The people of Omagh and surrounding villages know differently and have had to pay an incalculable cost to spur the governments north and south of the border into promising to do whatever needs to be done to rid the country of the new republican threat emerging in the form of the so-called Real IRA which has admitted responsibility for Saturday's bombing.
Whatever emerges from their deliberations it must come quickly and be legally watertight. The murderers who planned and carried out Saturday's atrocity must be caught and put away for good so that no other community has to suffer as this area has suffered.
Now and for months and years to come our thoughts must be with those who have been bereaved by the loss of loved ones in such horrendous circumstances and with the people who have been so tragically injured.
An outpouring of grief and sympathy has been clearly evident since the weekend, and if we are any judge of the innate kindliness of the people of this area the support which has been shown for the victims will continue long after the publicity which the bombing has attracted has abated and the media circus has moved on to some other arena. They will need every ounce of support, understanding and compassion to help at least to alleviate their suffering.
Nothing will ever eradicate the horror that was visited on them on what should have been a carefree, happy Saturday afternoon. Nothing can bring back the loved ones whose lives were so cruelly cut short, nothing can restore the limbs that were severed by the explosion, nothing can compensate those who have lost other faculties.
It will be of little consolation to them to know that it was the Real IRA that was responsible for such an indiscriminate attack, an attack that has left this entire community bereft. In its magnitude it has touched hundreds beyond those who were caught in the blast and has left all feeling personally bereaved.
Others who need the sympathy, and deserve the gratitude, of the community at this time are the doctors, nurses, ambulance personnel and civilians who had to deal with the aftermath of the explosion and whose medical expertise and humanitarian efforts undoubtedly saved lives.
It is a great comfort to know that we are not alone in our grief. There has been a universal upsurge of sympathy, evidenced by the hundreds of messages, many received by this newspaper, expressing revulsion and heartfelt condolences; by the many floral tributes that have flooded in from all parts, and manifested also in the visits to the town of Prince Charles, a man who has also been touched by terrorism, the President of the Irish Republic Mary McAleese, and other public figures.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0005
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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