Torbay weblog davecathy

Because of 9/11, most Brits supported the war in Afghanistan. I am in a minority in also supporting the war in Iraq. I believe that those who befriend, train and finance terrorists deserve to be punished.

Yet when I look back a few years to when Belfast, London, Manchester, and Birmingham city centres were all devastated by IRA bombs, and very many innocent people slaughtered over a period of years, I recall that the IRA ran regular fund raising events in the USA, without which the IRA would not have been able to continue to maim and kill.

Is there not a degree of hypocricy here, and an unpleasant stench ? Sure, the Catholics in Northern Ireland were suffering from unofficial discrimination, but not to the same extent as black people in the USA. for example.

Americans are being extremely supportive over the recent London bombings, which is much appreciated, but what was their attitude when the IRA were blowing up bars and shops full of innocent people ?

What do you think ?

 

I live in Torbay. It is an exceedingly beautiful place, but rather provincial in outlook, conservatively minded and staid, with little desire for change. After a lifetime of travel and urban living, coming to Torbay is in someways like travelling back 50 years in time, which has its good points and bad. The population is almost entirely white, with few immigrant or coloured faces, although this is slowly beginning to change.

Several years ago, a young man came to Torbay, and set up shop as a barber. His name is Osama no less, an Arab man from the middle east. He worked hard and did OK, but when 9/11 happened, he wondered if that was the end of his business. He feared a local backlash, that he would lose business because he was a Muslim.

I tried to reassure Sammy (his local nickname), saying that English people were more tolerant, and would treat him as a person rather than an enemy alien. I was proved right, and his business continued to flourish.

A week after the London bombings, I went for a haircut, and asked how he was getting on. He said that he was very happy, as so many local people had made a point of coming to see him and put his mind at rest. He is a fully accepted and welcome part of the community, which I find very satisfying.   

The horror of any terrorist attack, whether it be New York, Baghdad or London is beyond words, but the following account from a rescuer at Liverpool St. Station brings it home vividly.

IT WAS PITCH BLACK AND WE HAD TORCHES. THE TRAIN WAS ABOUT 150 METRES DOWN THE TUNNEL FROM THE STATION, AROUND A CORNER, AND THERE WERE STILL A FEW WALKING WOUNDED COMING TOWARDS US AS WE APPROACHED. AS I WALKED DOWN THE TRACK, I HEARD SOMEONE CRY OUT FOR HELP BUT I COULD NOT SEE THEM. I CALLED OUT TO THEM AND LOOKED AROUND BUT IT WAS TOO SMOKY AND DUSTY AND THEY DID NOT ANSWER. I GOT INTO THE TRAIN AND IT WAS QUITE OBVIOUS THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING HORRENDOUS. THERE WERE PEOPLE WITH LIMBS MISSING, HUGE OPEN WOUNDS WITH THEIR ORGANS SHOWING AND PEOPLE WERE CRYING OUT AND MOANING AND ASKING FOR HELP.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. I AM NOT GOOD IN ENCLOSED SPACES AT THE BEST OF TIMES AND WE HAD TO CLIMB OVER BODIES AND BODY PARTS TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE AND SEE WHO WAS STILL ALIVE. I THOUGHT THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD, RIGHT HERE IN THIS CARRIAGE, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR JOB.

I FOUND A MAN WHOSE LEG HAD BEEN BLOWN OFF BELOW THE KNEE, THERE WAS ALSO ANOTHER BODY NEXT TO HIM. THERE WAS ALSO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A PILE OF CLOTHES, BUT AS I PASSED TO TRY TO GET TO THE MAN, IT MOANED AND ASKED FOR HELP. IT WAS A WOMAN. SHE HAD HAD ALL HER LIMBS BLOWN OFF. I THINK SHE DIED IN THE STATION CONCOURSE.

WE HAD NOT YET GOT INTO THE CARRIAGE WHERE THE BOMB EXPLODED, BUT WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE ALIVE. THAT WAS A SCENE I CANNOT DESCRIBE. THE ROOF HAD COLLAPSED AND WE HAD TOP CRAWL IN. THERE WERE BODY PARTS EVERYWHERE AS FAR AS I COULD SEE THERE WAS NOT ONE BIT NOT COVERED WITH ORGANS OR BLOOD OR BITS OF BODY. I WAS SQUASHED IN BY CHAIRS AND DEAD BODIES  AS WE SEARCHED FOR ANYONE ALIVE. I COULD NOT HELP STANDING ON THINGS, BUT I HAD TO DO MY JOB.

AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS, I CAME UP. THE STATION WAS QUIET BY THIS TIME, AND SOMEBODY ASKED ME FOR DIRECTIONS, WHICH MADE ME SMILE AND FEEL MORE HUMAN, BUT AS I STOOD THERE, I FELT LONLIER THAN I HAVE EVER FELT BEFORE. I JUST WANTED TO SEE A FRIEND AND GIVE THEM A HUG.