NEW GROUP TO PROVIDE VOICE FOR 'FORGOTTEN' VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE
New group to provide voice for 'forgotten' victims of violence
A NEW group to give a voice to the "forgotten" victims of violence in West Tyrone was officially launched on Tuesday.
The group, VOICE, will represent the views of families of more than 200 people killed by terrorists in the Omagh and Strabane district council areas over the past 30 years.
The chairman of the steering group is Dr. Hazlett Lynch, who lives in Magherafelt, but who is originally from the Donemana area.
His younger brother, Kenneth, was one of three RUC officers murdered by terrorists near Cookstown in June 1977.
The sorrow and hurt felt by the Lynch family over the years has been reflected by many other throughout West Tyrone.
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution on Wednesday, Dr. Lynch stressed the group was not aligned to any political or religious group.
He said there had been a tremendous response to the meeting. About 150 people attended - a turnout which surpassed all expectations.
There was a tremendous spirit and willingness among people to have their concerns aired, and their problems redressed, Dr. Lynch said.
For many it had been a chance to meet and talk with others with shared experiences of what they had gone through, he told one of our reporters.
Addressing the meeting on Tuesday night, Dr. Lynch said he had mixed feelings.
"I am glad to see so many people present tonight for the launch of this campaign, yet sad that any of us should be here at all," he said.
He went on: "We are here because we have burdened hearts, hearts that are carrying heavy loads and pressures from the past, aches that have never been relieved, sores that have not healed. We are the innocent victims of a 30 year campaign of terrorism that has been waged against this country."
He said those present were people who had been treated inhumanely by terrorists, statutory bodies and Government alike.
Suffering
"We have been subjected to a living death; to unnecessary, painful and seemingly endless suffering. We have been ill-treated by the powers that be, especially when compared with the treatment being shown to those who made us victims in the first place," he said.
"We have been tricked into thinking that when terrorist criminals have gone through the due process of law they would pay the penalty of their wrong doing. Many of them have not, and that has intensified our hurt, increased our anxiety and multiplied our frustration," he added.
Referring to the recently appointed Victims Minister, Mr. Adam Ingram, Dr. Lynch said the Minister did not seem to realise that the victims in Northern Ireland were those whose lives had been traumatised and whose loved ones had been murdered, not the relatives of those who committed murder.
"To equate these groups is immoral in the extreme, and highly offensive," Dr. Lynch told the meeting.
VOICE has five main aims:
-To be a voice for the victims of paramilitary terrorism and their families
-To seek justice
-To seek recognition of suffering
-To provide support and advice for members
-To tell the story of members' pain and loss.
Dr. Lynch said the group would be a positive voice for those who felt they could not speak for themselves.
He said few families had been left untouched by 30 years of terrorism. Yet, said Dr. Lynch, those respectable, law abiding and hardworking people had been forgotten by the very country in which they lived, and for whose good they had paid a heavy price.
Added Dr. Lynch: "When you have been forgotten, when you feel that nobody cares, feels or understands, or wants to help, you feel isolated.
"Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness have engulfed every person here tonight helplessness because there is nothing they can do to bring any light into the situation and hopelessness because there is no point of even trying."
What had been the hardest pill for many to swallow was the introduction of Government policies to provides help and compensation for the very people who had turned the relatives into victims in the first place, Dr. Lynch said.
Placating
"Our Government, and its predecessors, know no limits of decency when it comes to placating convicted terrorists and their entourage, but can do nothing for the poor victims of their crimes. There is no shortage of money to help the perpetrators, but not so much to help their victims."
He went on to say the VOICE campaign would be positive, supportive, non-political and non-sectarian.
"The Protestant people in West Tyrone and throughout the Province, and their Roman Catholic neighbours, who know what it is like to be traumatised by ' the terrorists, have held their peace in the face of suffering for 30 years.
"They have not sought, nor expected, anything from the Government, but that time has come to an end.
"A VOICE will be heard that will highlight the plight of victims or paramilitary terrorism, and, who knows, the lasting effects of psychological terrorism on the part of the Government."
VOICE would be urging the Government to rethink its position on the issues of justice, and re-examine what was fair, right and just, Dr. Lynch said.
"Our members have a story of suffering and pain to tell, and they want the world to know what they have experienced and how they have been treated. As a group we will take every opportunity to tell the world of that suffering. We will do whatever we can to set in place a structure that will redress the imbalance of treatment we have received," he added.
VOICE takes its name from comments that were made by people during its formative meetings.
Then, people were divided into groups and asked to set out what they felt was vital, and the one word which came up time and time again was the need for a voice to represent their views.
At the official launch, Dr. Lynch paid tribute to Mr. Derek Rainey, development officer for Derry and Raphoe Action, who conceived the idea.
Mr. Rainey explained on Tuesday night that, in his work, it became apparent that a great sense of hurt and pain existed in their community.
At the end of last year, individuals in the area said they agreed with his analysis, and said there was a need for a group to represent interests in the Omagh and Strabane areas.
A public meting in January attracted 35 people, a follow-up meeting was attended by 40.
Said Mr. Rainey: "During the last 30 years, West Tyrone, like many other parts of Northern Ireland, has had its share of violence.
"The total number of people who have lost their lives in excess of 200, many more have been injured, and some will bear their physical injuries for the rest of their lives.
"Our group will be a voice for those who have suffered in its campaign of evil. We will ensure that those who died will not be forgotten.
"They were real people; father, brothers, sons, mothers, daughters and sisters, friends and comrades.
"Those who lost their lives had dreams and hopes just like you and me they never got the chance to fulfil them.
The heartbreak, loss and pain, which was left behind was real, and would remain for generations to come, said Mr. Reaney.
"Today, we see those who have been convicted of hideous crimes released under the early release scheme. There has been no early release for our pain and suffering, while victims and their families have struggled to raise their children and educate them to the best of their ability," he said.
The Government, he said, would prefer the victims would disappear and would prefer to forget the genocide of 30 years as a bad dream, something which never really happened.
"Well, it did happen, and we will never forget those men and women who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom," he said.
A NEW group to give a voice to the "forgotten" victims of violence in West Tyrone was officially launched on Tuesday.
The group, VOICE, will represent the views of families of more than 200 people killed by terrorists in the Omagh and Strabane district council areas over the past 30 years.
The chairman of the steering group is Dr. Hazlett Lynch, who lives in Magherafelt, but who is originally from the Donemana area.
His younger brother, Kenneth, was one of three RUC officers murdered by terrorists near Cookstown in June 1977.
The sorrow and hurt felt by the Lynch family over the years has been reflected by many other throughout West Tyrone.
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution on Wednesday, Dr. Lynch stressed the group was not aligned to any political or religious group.
He said there had been a tremendous response to the meeting. About 150 people attended - a turnout which surpassed all expectations.
There was a tremendous spirit and willingness among people to have their concerns aired, and their problems redressed, Dr. Lynch said.
For many it had been a chance to meet and talk with others with shared experiences of what they had gone through, he told one of our reporters.
Addressing the meeting on Tuesday night, Dr. Lynch said he had mixed feelings.
"I am glad to see so many people present tonight for the launch of this campaign, yet sad that any of us should be here at all," he said.
He went on: "We are here because we have burdened hearts, hearts that are carrying heavy loads and pressures from the past, aches that have never been relieved, sores that have not healed. We are the innocent victims of a 30 year campaign of terrorism that has been waged against this country."
He said those present were people who had been treated inhumanely by terrorists, statutory bodies and Government alike.
Suffering
"We have been subjected to a living death; to unnecessary, painful and seemingly endless suffering. We have been ill-treated by the powers that be, especially when compared with the treatment being shown to those who made us victims in the first place," he said.
"We have been tricked into thinking that when terrorist criminals have gone through the due process of law they would pay the penalty of their wrong doing. Many of them have not, and that has intensified our hurt, increased our anxiety and multiplied our frustration," he added.
Referring to the recently appointed Victims Minister, Mr. Adam Ingram, Dr. Lynch said the Minister did not seem to realise that the victims in Northern Ireland were those whose lives had been traumatised and whose loved ones had been murdered, not the relatives of those who committed murder.
"To equate these groups is immoral in the extreme, and highly offensive," Dr. Lynch told the meeting.
VOICE has five main aims:
-To be a voice for the victims of paramilitary terrorism and their families
-To seek justice
-To seek recognition of suffering
-To provide support and advice for members
-To tell the story of members' pain and loss.
Dr. Lynch said the group would be a positive voice for those who felt they could not speak for themselves.
He said few families had been left untouched by 30 years of terrorism. Yet, said Dr. Lynch, those respectable, law abiding and hardworking people had been forgotten by the very country in which they lived, and for whose good they had paid a heavy price.
Added Dr. Lynch: "When you have been forgotten, when you feel that nobody cares, feels or understands, or wants to help, you feel isolated.
"Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness have engulfed every person here tonight helplessness because there is nothing they can do to bring any light into the situation and hopelessness because there is no point of even trying."
What had been the hardest pill for many to swallow was the introduction of Government policies to provides help and compensation for the very people who had turned the relatives into victims in the first place, Dr. Lynch said.
Placating
"Our Government, and its predecessors, know no limits of decency when it comes to placating convicted terrorists and their entourage, but can do nothing for the poor victims of their crimes. There is no shortage of money to help the perpetrators, but not so much to help their victims."
He went on to say the VOICE campaign would be positive, supportive, non-political and non-sectarian.
"The Protestant people in West Tyrone and throughout the Province, and their Roman Catholic neighbours, who know what it is like to be traumatised by ' the terrorists, have held their peace in the face of suffering for 30 years.
"They have not sought, nor expected, anything from the Government, but that time has come to an end.
"A VOICE will be heard that will highlight the plight of victims or paramilitary terrorism, and, who knows, the lasting effects of psychological terrorism on the part of the Government."
VOICE would be urging the Government to rethink its position on the issues of justice, and re-examine what was fair, right and just, Dr. Lynch said.
"Our members have a story of suffering and pain to tell, and they want the world to know what they have experienced and how they have been treated. As a group we will take every opportunity to tell the world of that suffering. We will do whatever we can to set in place a structure that will redress the imbalance of treatment we have received," he added.
VOICE takes its name from comments that were made by people during its formative meetings.
Then, people were divided into groups and asked to set out what they felt was vital, and the one word which came up time and time again was the need for a voice to represent their views.
At the official launch, Dr. Lynch paid tribute to Mr. Derek Rainey, development officer for Derry and Raphoe Action, who conceived the idea.
Mr. Rainey explained on Tuesday night that, in his work, it became apparent that a great sense of hurt and pain existed in their community.
At the end of last year, individuals in the area said they agreed with his analysis, and said there was a need for a group to represent interests in the Omagh and Strabane areas.
A public meting in January attracted 35 people, a follow-up meeting was attended by 40.
Said Mr. Rainey: "During the last 30 years, West Tyrone, like many other parts of Northern Ireland, has had its share of violence.
"The total number of people who have lost their lives in excess of 200, many more have been injured, and some will bear their physical injuries for the rest of their lives.
"Our group will be a voice for those who have suffered in its campaign of evil. We will ensure that those who died will not be forgotten.
"They were real people; father, brothers, sons, mothers, daughters and sisters, friends and comrades.
"Those who lost their lives had dreams and hopes just like you and me they never got the chance to fulfil them.
The heartbreak, loss and pain, which was left behind was real, and would remain for generations to come, said Mr. Reaney.
"Today, we see those who have been convicted of hideous crimes released under the early release scheme. There has been no early release for our pain and suffering, while victims and their families have struggled to raise their children and educate them to the best of their ability," he said.
The Government, he said, would prefer the victims would disappear and would prefer to forget the genocide of 30 years as a bad dream, something which never really happened.
"Well, it did happen, and we will never forget those men and women who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1316
Published Date: 25-Feb-99
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