My blogger-poet-friend, Andy, is a native Mancunian. These are excerpts taken from his account of and reactions to this attack of the innocents.
Around the time I went to bed the bomb went off.
I was totally unaware of what had happened until around 3.00am, when my wife woke me. Friends from around the country, indeed the world, had messaged us. Then, bleary eyed, we tried to process just what had happened.
There was footage of the panic; people searching for lost children; a distressed woman rang our local radio station with a horrific account of what she had witnessed; friends of ours announced that they were safe.
The friend of my little girl was at the concert with her family. There were other people attending that we know. My daughter herself was at a concert in that same venue just a couple of weeks ago. The arena can be accessed through the train station which I have been commuting from. Not so long ago I attended the Young Voices competition as a staff member with my children’s school choir. 8,000 children were present that day. Suddenly the horror that regularly unfolds throughout the world was on our doorstep…
…Manchester is no stranger to such atrocities. There was the IRA bomb of 1996 which utterly devastated the town centre. The Manchester we know today rose from the ashes of that day. But back then everybody had been evacuated, miraculously nobody was killed. Last night it was people targeted.
It was children.
…Today has been a difficult day.
-The girls from my daughter’s class crying this morning in the playground in fear for a classmate who attended the concert. (She did not come into school but she was safe.)
-The tales related personally to us by people who were there, as well as someone who treated the injured in hospital.
-The distraught woman begging on television for news of her (still) missing daughter.
-The story of the homeless man, normally passed by and ignored on the street, who ran to help the injured, cradling a dying woman in his arms, comforting a young girl who had lost her legs, pulling nails from the faces of children.
-The victims beginning to be named, the ages, the photographs.
-The kids.
…It was announced that today the country would observe a minute’s silence to honour those killed on Monday. Where else could I go to honour this but Manchester? Despite the unprecedented step of the army being deployed to assist the police throughout the country and the government warning that another attack was imminent, avoiding this crowd was never an option.
Manchester solidarity in Germany
My fellow Mancunians came good again: what a fitting and emotional morning it was. There were tears amongst the defiance, balloons filling the clear blue skies. And the fantastic moment when the crowd burst into a spontaneous rendition of Don’t Look Back In Anger by Manchester band Oasis, followed by thunderous self-congratulatory applause.
How ironic that an action designed to cause division has created a unity I have never witnessed before.
Adding to the emotion of the day: while gathered in the square, I received a message from a former student of ours, telling us that his family were standing with us in support, and here in Germany his family were flying at half mast a British flag in solidarity for his former adopted city.
Update/Addendum
For local news videos of the various marches held in Manchester – go here for the laying of flowers at St. Anne’s Square after the minute of silence and here for the Muslim families marching to the arena in sympathy with those who lost loved ones in the blast.
Andy’s comment below servess as a sort-of followup to the above excerpts:
I’d like to put on record how proud I am of my fellow Mancunians. Not just the emergency services but the everyday people, how they came together in response. A page was set up on FB with people offering beds for the night, transport to and from Manchester, baby food, clothing, etc. The local hotels took in children separated from their parents, taxi drivers ferried people from the city centre free of charge, queues formed outside places for donating blood. Thousands are having the ‘Manchester bee’ (the worker bee is a symbol for Manchester in reference to its industrial revolution past) tattooed on their skin with proceeds going to charity. Over five million pounds have been raised in three days. It is not often I’m moved to be proud of where I live, but this week I have been. Immensely. The best of humanity has been witnessed emerging in the shadow of the worst.
A moving post, Laura. Thank you for sharing your friend’s thoughts and experience. My heart and prayers are with him and all the people of Manchester.
Yes, and in light of last night’s continuing terrorist attacks in the UK, all the more poignant.
Thank you Deborah.
Wonderful post, Laura and Andy. What a monstrous and senseless act of violence this was! Absolutely horrifying. How heartwarming to read of how the people of Manchester came together to support the survivors and the families of those injured and killed in the blast. Evil will not prevail whilst there are so many good and caring people in this world. Bless that homeless man too. So glad that he’s been recognised and is being looked after. xx
Yes, very true, Sylvia. What affected(s) me most is the fact of children being targeting on purpose…
Thanks for reading Sylvia. Yes, it is kind of ironic how an act meant to cause division has created a solidarity I’ve never witnessed before.
Thank you for sharing this, Laura. Thank you, Andy. This was such a moving piece. Praying for your country.
You’re welcome, glad you visited my corner of the bloggosphere – even if to discover a ‘corner’ of sadness.
Your prayers are appreciated, Jill.
Thank you so much for sharing this post! It really puts a face to the tragedy!
You’re more than welcome…a sad face, though…
Beautiful post, Laura (and Andy). I’m glad to see beautiful actions in response to this ugly, senseless act. I’m proud of the Mancunians too.
Thanks, Linda, but Andy did do most of the writing…
Aside from that, I’m proud of those stalwart Mancunians, also. I feel connected, somehow.
Linda and Laura: you can now both consider yourselves as honorary Mancunians.
Or Mancs for short 🙂
Too, too cool, especially the ‘Mancs’ part. (say that with vestiges of my Chicago accent from years ago and wow!)
😉
🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this Laura, and for introducing me to that great song by Train.
I’d like to put on record how proud I am of my fellow Mancunians. Not just the emergency services but the everyday people, how they came together in response. A page was set up on FB with people offering beds for the night, transport to and from Manchester, baby food, clothing, etc. The local hotels took in children separated from their parents, taxi drivers ferried people from the city centre free of charge, queues formed outside places for donating blood. Thousands are having the ‘Manchester bee’ (the worker bee is a symbol for Manchester in reference to its industrial revolution past) tattooed on their skin with proceeds going to charity. Over five million pounds have been raised in three days. It is not often I’m moved to be proud of where I live, but this week I have been. Immensely. The best of humanity has been witnessed emerging in the shadow of the worst.
Oh-and that homeless guy. He has been given a house, money, a job. As he said at the time: “Just because we’re homeless doesn’t mean we aren’t human. People, children, needed help.”
It seems you and I are often exposing each other to new/different pieces of music! I like that.
I looked up the links you gave me. The one about the laying down of the flowers in St. Anne’s Square after the minute of silence was in itself filled with soft-silence…very unusual for so many people in a public place to be so quiet. I found that spoke ‘honor’ in another manner. And then the Muslim families marching to the arena in sympathy with those who lost loved ones in the blast…
I’m putting your comment here and those links as an ‘update/addendum’ to the original post because it wraps up the tone of the post so well…not the least of which is how ‘that homeless guy’ was honored, too.