NEW CD ARCHIVE WILL PROVIDE LASTING RECORD OF OMAGH'S DARKEST DAY
New CD archive will provide lasting record of Omagh's darkest day
BY: JOHN McCUSKER
You must face the future with courage dignity and realism says former Beirut hostage
THE compilation of a CD archive on the 1998 Omagh bombing has been described as providing a lasting record of the darkest days in the town's recent past.
Former Beirut hostage, Terry Waite helped launch the CD-ROM, entitled One Day in August, at a reception in the town's Library Headquarters last week.
Compiled by the WELB's Library Service, with assistance from Sperrin Lakeland Trust and Omagh Council, the CD contains a snapshot of material amassed in the wake of the Market Street atrocity.
Copies will be available in libraries and schools throughout the region and also in Buncrana and Spain. Bereaved families will each be presented with a copy. The material will, however, not be offered commercially for sale.
In the near future, those behind the project also intend creating a website on which further archive material can be stored.
The WELB's Rosemary Adams explained that the CD-ROM was just part of the actual archive relating to the bombing which was housed in the town's library headquarters.
In the wake of the August 15th incident, management at the Library Service decided to create an archive of material relating to the bomb and its aftermath. With the help of specialist computer equipment, documentation relating to the atrocity was carefully collated in order to make it accessible to the public.
Mrs Adams said: "After the shock of the first 48 hours, the enormity of what had happened, the massive media coverage reinforced the need for the library to document and record this tragedy.
"With the outpouring of public sympathy and revulsion, it was apparent how much material was being gathered not only media coverage, but letters and cards from all over the world, poems, flowers and subsequently books of condolence.
"It was a huge resource of materials which had to be organised, conserved and stored for the future."
In launching the CD-ROM, former advisor on foreign affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and ex-hostage, Terry Waite said the release gave people involved the opportunity to come together and talk about the issue.
On his third visit to the town since the 1998 bombing, Mr Waite - whose grandparents, coincidentally, were married locally - told those present: "It is far better to talk and share views than it is to suppress them."
He continued: "We do not live in a just and fair world. In many cases it is very unjust. We don't live in a world where suffering is equally shared out among the population. "Suffering need not destroy. It can, but it need not. Something creative can emerge from it, but it is a hard process and it is a courageous act for many families to be here tonight."
Mr Waite urged those affected to unite and face the future with "courage, dignity and realism."
Speaking at the launch, Council Chairman Liam McQuaid praised staff at the WELB who had painstakingly compiled the archive of material for use by future generations.
He said: "You have created a lasting record of the darkest day in our recent past, evidence of man's inhumanity to man and further proof, if it were needed, that after thirty years of bloodshed, violence solves nothing and creates only pain, heartache and the festering sore of hatred.
"When the history of the province is finally compiled, this archive will undoubtedly be invaluable to the researchers and academics whose job it will be to sanitise the events of what has been a very turbulent time."
WELB Chief Executive Joe Martin said the production of the archive material ensured there would always be tangible remembrance of the terrible event.
Thanking those involved in the production of the CD-ROM, he paid special tribute to library staff and Sperrin Lakeland Trust who had released a member of staff, Peter Cummings, who also worked on the project. Mr Martin also thanked Omagh Council for their input, Western-Connect who released two students on a three-month placement with the project and the Dept of Education who provided funding for the initiative.
"The project involved a lot of intensive, stressful and sensitive work," Mr Martin said.
"I personally do not know of any local library authority that has attempted to create a searchable information data base on CD-ROM.
"It took a lot of hard work and co-operation to make but it will prove invaluable not just to the library service but to all those who will use it in the years ahead."
Chief Executive of Sperrin Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills outlined the work of medics and those involved in treating the hundreds who suffered traumatic effects in the aftermath of the explosion.
In total, he said, over 200 patients were treated at Tyrone County Hospital, while over 100 casualties were taken to other hospitals in the area.
Within days of the attack, an emergency centre was established with Trust staff providing initial services for those affected. The Community Recovery and Trauma team set up in the Bridge Centre subsequently dealt with over 650 cases.
Mr Mills praised those involved in compiling the CD-ROM which, he felt, was an important element in the process of recording the bombing and its aftermath.
BY: JOHN McCUSKER
You must face the future with courage dignity and realism says former Beirut hostage
THE compilation of a CD archive on the 1998 Omagh bombing has been described as providing a lasting record of the darkest days in the town's recent past.
Former Beirut hostage, Terry Waite helped launch the CD-ROM, entitled One Day in August, at a reception in the town's Library Headquarters last week.
Compiled by the WELB's Library Service, with assistance from Sperrin Lakeland Trust and Omagh Council, the CD contains a snapshot of material amassed in the wake of the Market Street atrocity.
Copies will be available in libraries and schools throughout the region and also in Buncrana and Spain. Bereaved families will each be presented with a copy. The material will, however, not be offered commercially for sale.
In the near future, those behind the project also intend creating a website on which further archive material can be stored.
The WELB's Rosemary Adams explained that the CD-ROM was just part of the actual archive relating to the bombing which was housed in the town's library headquarters.
In the wake of the August 15th incident, management at the Library Service decided to create an archive of material relating to the bomb and its aftermath. With the help of specialist computer equipment, documentation relating to the atrocity was carefully collated in order to make it accessible to the public.
Mrs Adams said: "After the shock of the first 48 hours, the enormity of what had happened, the massive media coverage reinforced the need for the library to document and record this tragedy.
"With the outpouring of public sympathy and revulsion, it was apparent how much material was being gathered not only media coverage, but letters and cards from all over the world, poems, flowers and subsequently books of condolence.
"It was a huge resource of materials which had to be organised, conserved and stored for the future."
In launching the CD-ROM, former advisor on foreign affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and ex-hostage, Terry Waite said the release gave people involved the opportunity to come together and talk about the issue.
On his third visit to the town since the 1998 bombing, Mr Waite - whose grandparents, coincidentally, were married locally - told those present: "It is far better to talk and share views than it is to suppress them."
He continued: "We do not live in a just and fair world. In many cases it is very unjust. We don't live in a world where suffering is equally shared out among the population. "Suffering need not destroy. It can, but it need not. Something creative can emerge from it, but it is a hard process and it is a courageous act for many families to be here tonight."
Mr Waite urged those affected to unite and face the future with "courage, dignity and realism."
Speaking at the launch, Council Chairman Liam McQuaid praised staff at the WELB who had painstakingly compiled the archive of material for use by future generations.
He said: "You have created a lasting record of the darkest day in our recent past, evidence of man's inhumanity to man and further proof, if it were needed, that after thirty years of bloodshed, violence solves nothing and creates only pain, heartache and the festering sore of hatred.
"When the history of the province is finally compiled, this archive will undoubtedly be invaluable to the researchers and academics whose job it will be to sanitise the events of what has been a very turbulent time."
WELB Chief Executive Joe Martin said the production of the archive material ensured there would always be tangible remembrance of the terrible event.
Thanking those involved in the production of the CD-ROM, he paid special tribute to library staff and Sperrin Lakeland Trust who had released a member of staff, Peter Cummings, who also worked on the project. Mr Martin also thanked Omagh Council for their input, Western-Connect who released two students on a three-month placement with the project and the Dept of Education who provided funding for the initiative.
"The project involved a lot of intensive, stressful and sensitive work," Mr Martin said.
"I personally do not know of any local library authority that has attempted to create a searchable information data base on CD-ROM.
"It took a lot of hard work and co-operation to make but it will prove invaluable not just to the library service but to all those who will use it in the years ahead."
Chief Executive of Sperrin Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills outlined the work of medics and those involved in treating the hundreds who suffered traumatic effects in the aftermath of the explosion.
In total, he said, over 200 patients were treated at Tyrone County Hospital, while over 100 casualties were taken to other hospitals in the area.
Within days of the attack, an emergency centre was established with Trust staff providing initial services for those affected. The Community Recovery and Trauma team set up in the Bridge Centre subsequently dealt with over 650 cases.
Mr Mills praised those involved in compiling the CD-ROM which, he felt, was an important element in the process of recording the bombing and its aftermath.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0765
Published Date: 03-May-01
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