YOUNG PEOPLE FROM OMAGH HELP AMERICANS COPE WITH DISASTER
Young people from Omagh help Americans cope with disaster
A NUMBER of young people from Omagh Youth Centre have been helping their counterparts in the USA come to terms with the events and the aftermath of September 11, through a unique video conferencing link-up.
The Omagh Youth Centre used the Western Education and Library Board's Technology Education Centre's video conferencing facility in Omagh to link up with the American students.
During the recent video conference, which was broadcast throughout the entire American school, the students shared their own experiences of the Omagh bomb and the coping mechanisms that were put in place to help them deal with the traumatic experience.
The three-way link-up involved schools from New Jersey and the House of Representatives in Washington DC. Congressmen Donald Payne and Norman Houston, First Secretary of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC, took part in the video conference form Capital Hill.
"Although none of us were in New York at the time, we were shocked, frightened and angry at what happened," said one 15-year-old American student. "We found it a relief to talk to young people who understood our pain and our confusion so well."
A CD-ROM on the Omagh Bomb called 'One day in August' was sent to Bishop Francis Essex High School, New Jersey and to Congressman Payne, before the video conference took place. This gave the Americans an understanding of the Omagh atrocity and helped them relate immediately to the young people from Omagh Youth Centre.
Courage
Congressman Payne paid tribute to the people of Omagh for their courage and dignity, which he said was "a source of inspiration to Americans". He thanked the Omagh young people for reaching out so warmly to their American peers. He also thanked them for listening with such empathy to the stories of the young Americans.
Mr. Houston spoke of the need for all young people to look outward and take advantage of the opportunities available for short-term work and study in other countries, particularly the USA.
"We need to broaden our horizons and to deepen our awareness and understanding of other cultures," said Mr. Houston.
He also praised the pioneering work done in video conferencing by the Western Education and Library Board, which was opening up the wider world to its young people.
Brother Howard McKenzie, in a letter to the Omagh Youth Centre, thanked them for helping the American students begin the process of mending their spirits. As a result of the video conference, many of the students were able to look forward from September 11 to a time of recovery and the teachers are now designing assignments to help the young people further explore their emotions.
He said: "We could see how difficult it was for the Omagh students to relive their horrors of August 15, 1998, which were resurrected through the September 11 terrorist attack on America. All of us at BFEC have been wrestling with issues such as fear, anger, self-defiance, revenge and uncertainty. Through the insight and guidance of the Omagh students, Congressman Payne, and the Northern Ireland First Minister Secretary, Norman Houston, we have confronted those suppressed emotions."
Omagh Youth Centre has previously video conferenced several times with the New Jersey schools and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, as part of a Western Education and Library Board Three Continent Education Outreach Project. Common interest issues such as Aids, peer education, drug abuse and teenage pregnancies were discussed in the previous link-ups.
A NUMBER of young people from Omagh Youth Centre have been helping their counterparts in the USA come to terms with the events and the aftermath of September 11, through a unique video conferencing link-up.
The Omagh Youth Centre used the Western Education and Library Board's Technology Education Centre's video conferencing facility in Omagh to link up with the American students.
During the recent video conference, which was broadcast throughout the entire American school, the students shared their own experiences of the Omagh bomb and the coping mechanisms that were put in place to help them deal with the traumatic experience.
The three-way link-up involved schools from New Jersey and the House of Representatives in Washington DC. Congressmen Donald Payne and Norman Houston, First Secretary of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC, took part in the video conference form Capital Hill.
"Although none of us were in New York at the time, we were shocked, frightened and angry at what happened," said one 15-year-old American student. "We found it a relief to talk to young people who understood our pain and our confusion so well."
A CD-ROM on the Omagh Bomb called 'One day in August' was sent to Bishop Francis Essex High School, New Jersey and to Congressman Payne, before the video conference took place. This gave the Americans an understanding of the Omagh atrocity and helped them relate immediately to the young people from Omagh Youth Centre.
Courage
Congressman Payne paid tribute to the people of Omagh for their courage and dignity, which he said was "a source of inspiration to Americans". He thanked the Omagh young people for reaching out so warmly to their American peers. He also thanked them for listening with such empathy to the stories of the young Americans.
Mr. Houston spoke of the need for all young people to look outward and take advantage of the opportunities available for short-term work and study in other countries, particularly the USA.
"We need to broaden our horizons and to deepen our awareness and understanding of other cultures," said Mr. Houston.
He also praised the pioneering work done in video conferencing by the Western Education and Library Board, which was opening up the wider world to its young people.
Brother Howard McKenzie, in a letter to the Omagh Youth Centre, thanked them for helping the American students begin the process of mending their spirits. As a result of the video conference, many of the students were able to look forward from September 11 to a time of recovery and the teachers are now designing assignments to help the young people further explore their emotions.
He said: "We could see how difficult it was for the Omagh students to relive their horrors of August 15, 1998, which were resurrected through the September 11 terrorist attack on America. All of us at BFEC have been wrestling with issues such as fear, anger, self-defiance, revenge and uncertainty. Through the insight and guidance of the Omagh students, Congressman Payne, and the Northern Ireland First Minister Secretary, Norman Houston, we have confronted those suppressed emotions."
Omagh Youth Centre has previously video conferenced several times with the New Jersey schools and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, as part of a Western Education and Library Board Three Continent Education Outreach Project. Common interest issues such as Aids, peer education, drug abuse and teenage pregnancies were discussed in the previous link-ups.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0975
Published Date: 28-Dec-01
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