NOTHING AS HARD TO MEND AS A BROKEN HEART, SAYS BOMB VICTIM'S FATHER
Nothing as hard to mend as a broken heart, says bomb victim's father
by David Killen
Four years ago today the town of Omagh changed forever.
The tranquillity of a quiet market town was shattered by the worst terrorist incident in Northern Ireland's Troubles and it became a byword for man's inhumanity towards his fellow man.
Many lives were destroyed, shattered and transformed by that bomb blast on August 15, 1998.
This is the story of just one of those families.
JUSTICE is a word that Godfrey Wilson uses frequently during a lengthy conversation.
But justice is something he feels that he and his family have not received four years after they were robbed of the life of their daughter Lorraine.
And Godfrey Wilson also uses the word anger. He feels angry and betrayed that the system he set so much stock by for years has let him, and the other Omagh relatives, down.
Lorraine Wilson was just 15 when she was cruelly cut down four years ago today. She was a happy-go-lucky teenager with so much to live for. Yet she died along with her good friend Samanatha McFarland after they had been evacuated from the Red Cross shop where they had been helping out as volunteers.
Lorraine was not just a loved daughter, she was a popular young girl who had her whole life ahead. Neighbours in the quiet housing area at Omagh's Hospital Road remember her as someone who was a lot of fun. They liked her for that, and for the fact that she was always a straight-talker, someone without any sense of deceit.
In the four years since Lorraine died, scarcely a day has gone past without members of her family thinking of her.
Says Godfrey: "I see all the young girls come home from school, laughing and enjoying themselves and I think 'Lorraine should be with them'. I see them passing driving tests, and I think to myself 'that's what Lorraine should be doing now'".
The four years since the bomb have been an emotional roller coaster for the Wilsons, like so many of the relatives of the others who died. Godfrey Wilson is adamant that the total is 31, he does not minimise the tally even to say it was 29 plus unborn twins.
The hardest times for the family were the day of the bomb and the next day, Sunday, when close family members had to identify Lorraine at the temporary morgue at Lisanelly Camp. It has got no easier since, Godfrey says.
He is aware that there are contrasting views on how the anniversary should be marked. He respects those families for whom the anniversary will be a very private time, but he feels that what the families have suffered should be highlighted.
Grief was no stranger to Godfrey Wilson in the years before August 15 1988; he had buried his father and infant son, but that hardly prepared him for what was to happen.
"During those terrible situations I buried my dead and moved on. When this atrocity happened, a terrible injustice was done to my family.
Pre-meditated murder
"People came to Omagh town, pre-meditated murder was on their minds. Other families wish to bury their dead and move on, but I need justice," he said.
He knows there are people who were not directly affected by the bombing who do not understand what the families are going through.
"1 have lived all my life in Northern Ireland and every day I listened to the news and read the papers. People were being killed, but to me it was just names because it had not come to my door. Four years ago it came to my door and I cannot get over it because the system will not let me get over it.
"They talk about people having broken bones and injured bodies, but there is nothing as hard to mend as a broken heart.
"I feel that the only way that can help to heal it, not cure but heal it some, will be justice," he said.
Like many others, he is hoping that the pending civil legal action will help produce new evidence and that someone will be prompted to come forward to give evidence that could lead to more criminal charges.
The Wilsons have come through a lot over the past four years, but have tried to support each other through all the trying times.
"We were always a close family. We took a great part in life and we would enjoy all the things that families do. That has not been destroyed, we still work as a family and support each other," he said.
He feels that the system has let him down. "I brought up my children to be law-abiding people, but the system has shown me that being a terrorist and carrying out terrorism has been rewards by a Government that has put terrorists in positions of power," he said.
He believes that the system, and the Good Friday Agreement, has prevented him getting justice.
"I voted for the Good Friday Agreement hoping that my youngsters would have peace in a peaceful world, but, unfortunately, when I voted for the Good Friday Agreement I more or less signed the death warrant of my daughter," he said.
"I want to see peace -there is nobody who wants to see peace more that myself. I do not want to impose the pain and suffering I have come through on anybody, no matter what nationality or creed they come from," he added.
Insulted
This year Godfrey and Ann Wilson had a chance to meet the Queen when she visited Omagh, but he feels that even then the system insulted the bereaved relatives. The government, he said had not wanted the Queen to lay a wreath, as she had done for other deaths and tragedies. That had insulted Omagh to the lowest degree
"I was pleased to meet the Queen, but unfortunately it was under the wrong circumstances," he said.
He is appreciative of the love and support that many have given to the family over the years. At this poignant time the cards of sympathy continue to come in even a post card from Texas sent by some Americans Godfrey met by chance in the Memorial Garden and who have stayed in touch since.
Those who contributed to the legal fighting fund also deserved the thanks of the families, he said.
This afternoon Godfrey Wilson and his wife, Anne, will be at the Memorial Gardens for the service of remembrance, though it gets no easier with the passage of time.
And, when they return home to a garden that receives such care and a menagerie of dogs, birds, a cat and a goldfish that need so much attention, they, like so many other families in three countries, still have an empty place in their hearts.
by David Killen
Four years ago today the town of Omagh changed forever.
The tranquillity of a quiet market town was shattered by the worst terrorist incident in Northern Ireland's Troubles and it became a byword for man's inhumanity towards his fellow man.
Many lives were destroyed, shattered and transformed by that bomb blast on August 15, 1998.
This is the story of just one of those families.
JUSTICE is a word that Godfrey Wilson uses frequently during a lengthy conversation.
But justice is something he feels that he and his family have not received four years after they were robbed of the life of their daughter Lorraine.
And Godfrey Wilson also uses the word anger. He feels angry and betrayed that the system he set so much stock by for years has let him, and the other Omagh relatives, down.
Lorraine Wilson was just 15 when she was cruelly cut down four years ago today. She was a happy-go-lucky teenager with so much to live for. Yet she died along with her good friend Samanatha McFarland after they had been evacuated from the Red Cross shop where they had been helping out as volunteers.
Lorraine was not just a loved daughter, she was a popular young girl who had her whole life ahead. Neighbours in the quiet housing area at Omagh's Hospital Road remember her as someone who was a lot of fun. They liked her for that, and for the fact that she was always a straight-talker, someone without any sense of deceit.
In the four years since Lorraine died, scarcely a day has gone past without members of her family thinking of her.
Says Godfrey: "I see all the young girls come home from school, laughing and enjoying themselves and I think 'Lorraine should be with them'. I see them passing driving tests, and I think to myself 'that's what Lorraine should be doing now'".
The four years since the bomb have been an emotional roller coaster for the Wilsons, like so many of the relatives of the others who died. Godfrey Wilson is adamant that the total is 31, he does not minimise the tally even to say it was 29 plus unborn twins.
The hardest times for the family were the day of the bomb and the next day, Sunday, when close family members had to identify Lorraine at the temporary morgue at Lisanelly Camp. It has got no easier since, Godfrey says.
He is aware that there are contrasting views on how the anniversary should be marked. He respects those families for whom the anniversary will be a very private time, but he feels that what the families have suffered should be highlighted.
Grief was no stranger to Godfrey Wilson in the years before August 15 1988; he had buried his father and infant son, but that hardly prepared him for what was to happen.
"During those terrible situations I buried my dead and moved on. When this atrocity happened, a terrible injustice was done to my family.
Pre-meditated murder
"People came to Omagh town, pre-meditated murder was on their minds. Other families wish to bury their dead and move on, but I need justice," he said.
He knows there are people who were not directly affected by the bombing who do not understand what the families are going through.
"1 have lived all my life in Northern Ireland and every day I listened to the news and read the papers. People were being killed, but to me it was just names because it had not come to my door. Four years ago it came to my door and I cannot get over it because the system will not let me get over it.
"They talk about people having broken bones and injured bodies, but there is nothing as hard to mend as a broken heart.
"I feel that the only way that can help to heal it, not cure but heal it some, will be justice," he said.
Like many others, he is hoping that the pending civil legal action will help produce new evidence and that someone will be prompted to come forward to give evidence that could lead to more criminal charges.
The Wilsons have come through a lot over the past four years, but have tried to support each other through all the trying times.
"We were always a close family. We took a great part in life and we would enjoy all the things that families do. That has not been destroyed, we still work as a family and support each other," he said.
He feels that the system has let him down. "I brought up my children to be law-abiding people, but the system has shown me that being a terrorist and carrying out terrorism has been rewards by a Government that has put terrorists in positions of power," he said.
He believes that the system, and the Good Friday Agreement, has prevented him getting justice.
"I voted for the Good Friday Agreement hoping that my youngsters would have peace in a peaceful world, but, unfortunately, when I voted for the Good Friday Agreement I more or less signed the death warrant of my daughter," he said.
"I want to see peace -there is nobody who wants to see peace more that myself. I do not want to impose the pain and suffering I have come through on anybody, no matter what nationality or creed they come from," he added.
Insulted
This year Godfrey and Ann Wilson had a chance to meet the Queen when she visited Omagh, but he feels that even then the system insulted the bereaved relatives. The government, he said had not wanted the Queen to lay a wreath, as she had done for other deaths and tragedies. That had insulted Omagh to the lowest degree
"I was pleased to meet the Queen, but unfortunately it was under the wrong circumstances," he said.
He is appreciative of the love and support that many have given to the family over the years. At this poignant time the cards of sympathy continue to come in even a post card from Texas sent by some Americans Godfrey met by chance in the Memorial Garden and who have stayed in touch since.
Those who contributed to the legal fighting fund also deserved the thanks of the families, he said.
This afternoon Godfrey Wilson and his wife, Anne, will be at the Memorial Gardens for the service of remembrance, though it gets no easier with the passage of time.
And, when they return home to a garden that receives such care and a menagerie of dogs, birds, a cat and a goldfish that need so much attention, they, like so many other families in three countries, still have an empty place in their hearts.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1073
Published Date: 15-Aug-02
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