You’ll never walk alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk
You'll never walk
You'll never walk alone.

Everytime I heard the song, I will always remember the events unfurling in front of me. It was about 9 pm (Malaysian time) and I was in front of the tv getting ready to watch my favourite football team, Liverpool, in action. It was April 15th 1989, which saw the worst disaster in the history of English football. 96 Liverpool fans attending their team's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's ground, Hillsborough, were crushed to death on the Leppings Lane terrace. English football was never the same again after that.

And it had taken 23 years for the family of the victims to get to the truth and a glimpse of justice. It was 23 long years of successive governments lying and colluding with a corrupt police and media. The worst thing was that the families of the bereaved and survivors of the disaster were hit with another blow when they were still  coming to terms with what happened. The victims were being blamed for their own death.

Well done to the Hillsborough Families Support Group. It was their actions and persistence which campaigned to bring out the truth and ensure justice for the victims. The Hillsborough Independent Panel had spent two years trawling through more than 400,000 documents relating to the disaster. And the report was mind-blowing. The panel found 164 of the statements had been altered to water down criticism and orchestrated a cover-up of the South Yorkshire’s force handling of that day. Police officers had changed statements and tried to blame Liverpool fans for the crush.

The next step was to get those responsibility for the cover-up to book. Will Thatcher be held accountable for her complicity in this? Will the police officers be charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice? What about the Football Association for allowing the game to be played at a ground without a valid safety certificate? Boris Johnson and former Tory MP Sir Irvine Patrick said sorry.  There was a call for Sir Norman Bettison to resign. Will he stay, go or pushed?  Whatever the outcomes, the main thing was this disaster must never happen again.

It was also the 11th anniversary of 9/11. I’m sure everyone remembered what they were doing on that day. We were in one of the service stations on our way for an interview in Edinburgh. Everyone stood around the television, stunned, frozen, shaken, lost…We got back to the car and continued our journey in silent. I said a prayer for the victims and we knew the world will never be the same again. At the B&B, we just sat in our room and stared at the tv, watching the news unfolding, repeating again and again.

I never condoned the acts of September 11. But was it right that one event had been used to justify the actions committed by the US and associates ever since. Millions had been killed and felt the wrath of Yankee’s revenge in the ensuing wars when they utterly destroyed Iraq, obliterated Afghanistan, wrecked Pakistan, threatened Iran and Syria that turned the Muslim world into a sectarian driven nightmare. To me, any sympathy I felt that day had long since gone.

As those responsible for the crimes against humanity in the names of the victims were being pursued around the world of the ever expanding war against terror, we have to ask why was the USA given permission to seek its revenge against the rest of the world when no one had been bought to justice over the other atrocities?  Does anyone remember Sabra and Shatila (September 1982), Halabja (March 1988), Srebrenica, Grozny, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, …???

Are we accepting that the appalling deaths of those on September 11 were more repugnant than the daily atrocities committed in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Tibet and now Syria?  To me, everyone should be subjected to the same law, and, to the same application of the law.

Prayer for Victims of Terrorism*

Loving God,
Welcome into your arms the victims of violence and terrorism.
Comfort their families and all who grieve for them.
Help us in our fear and uncertainty,
And bless us with the knowledge that we are secure in your love.
Strengthen all those who work for peace,
And may the peace the world cannot give reign in our hearts.

 

 

Al-fatehah to all the victims.

*http://www.beliefnet.com/Prayers