THE MANCHESTER CONCERT TERROR: A MINUTE SILENCE FOR SAFFIE ROSE ROUSSOS & Others

THE MANCHESTER CONCERT TERROR: A MINUTE SILENCE FOR SAFFIE ROSE ROUSSOS & Others

On Tuesday, 23rd May, 2017, I was in high spirit because it was Boluwatife's birthday. Boluwatife turned 9 and if anyone wants to know who Boluwatife is, she is the young girl on my display picture on Whats-app. She is my very good friend. But, it is quite unfortunate that something else happened on the same day - the sad news of the Ariana Grande's concert bomb blast which occurred the previous day at the Manchester arena shook the whole world in the most unimaginable and condemn-able manner. 

Manchester Arena said the incident took place “outside the venue in a public space”. The attacker - 22 year-old Salman Abedi was believed to be carrying an improvised explosive device which he detonated, the resultant blast was reported to have hit the foyer of the building at about 10:30pm and multiple witnesses said they heard an explosion, with one telling the Guardian that the blast shook the building, before “everyone screamed and tried to get out”. Police have confirmed that at least 22 people were killed in the explosion at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena and most of them were children. Officers also confirmed that 59 people were hospitalized and 60 treated by paramedics at the scene following the explosion, which hit the venue shortly after the concert finished. 12 of those taken to hospital were aged under 16, North West ambulance service said.

Victims were taken to 8 hospitals across the Manchester area and large parts of the city around the arena have been sealed off, Victoria station has also been closed.  It is the deadliest terror attack to hit the United Kingdom since the London bombings on 7th July, 2005 when about 52 people lost their lives. Around 21,000 people are reported to have been at the concert at the time of the explosion. Three victims have been named: 18-year-old Georgina Callander, 8-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos and John Atkinson, 26 (as at Wednesday, 24th May, 2017). In messages posted online, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. (Source: The Guardian 23rd May, 2017)

Regrettably, the attack comes exactly 2 months after the London attack, on 22nd March, 2017, a terrorist attack took place in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster in London, seat of the British Parliament. The attacker, 52-year-old Briton Khalid Masood, drove a car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street, injuring more than 50 people, four of them fatally. After the car crashed into the perimeter fence of the Palace grounds, Masood abandoned it and ran into New Palace Yard where he fatally stabbed an unarmed police officer. He was then shot by an armed police officer and died at the scene. The attack lasted 82 seconds.

Police treated the attack as "Islamist-related terrorism". Masood reportedly said in a final text message that he was waging jihad in revenge for Western military action in the Middle East. Amaq News Agency, which is linked to Islamic State, said the attacker answered the group's calls to target citizens of states that are fighting against it, though the claim was questioned by the United Kingdom's police and government. Police have found no link with any terrorist organization. (Source: Wikipedia, 2017)

Honestly, It is frustrating when you turn on your television set in the morning and you are welcomed with terrible news of such alarming magnitude, It is always disheartening to be informed that a lot of innocent people are victims of mass massacre and I was particularly bothered that a young and innocent girl could not be spared from the terror and wickedness that have beclouded the sense and reasoning of these descendants of the devil. I was moved to tears, I was lost in thoughts, and the young Saffie could have been a medical doctor, a lawyer or the Prime Minister.

Who is Saffie Rose Roussos?

8 year-old Saffie Rose Roussos was a pupil at Tarleton Primary School in Lancashire, United Kingdom. Her Head Teacher, Chris Upton, said she had been "simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word" and was "loved by everyone". Her father posted a picture of her to Facebook with an appeal to find her when she lost contact with other members of her family as a result of the chaos caused by the blast. Saffie was later confirmed to be among the dead. She and student Georgina Callander were the first victims from the attack to be named and a number of people remained "very seriously" wounded and more than a dozen children were hospitalized after the attack, health officials said.

In the same vein, my article - Defining Moments of 2016: Omran Daqneesh and the Echoes of the Syrian War (http://shegzsablezs.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/defining-moments-of-2016-omran-daqneesh.html) reminded the world of the carnage in Syria and how children have continued to suffer tremendously. Excerpts; "Omran Daqneesh is a Syrian boy who, at age five, gained media attention after footage of him injured in an air strike appeared on the Internet. He was injured on August 17, 2016, according to some sources - in an airstrike, according to other sources - as a result of fire, caused rebels Al-Nusra Front on residential quarter al-Qaterji of Aleppo, Syria. He suffered a wound to his head and was taken to a hospital known as M10 and later discharged.

Daqneesh was rescued with his parents and three siblings, then aged one, six, and ten. His 10-year-old brother, Ali, died on August 20, 2016, of his injuries. The apartment building collapsed shortly after the family was rescued. Eight people died in the air strike, including five children. The image of him sitting bloodied in an ambulance after being dragged from the rubble of his home caused international outrage and was widely featured in newspapers and social media". (Source: Wikidepia.com/OmranDaqneesh). (Oluwole Olusanya, 2017)

The Way Forward

I totally believe that the war against terrorism is a fundamental and continuous one, this is certainly because religious extremism is deeply tried to certain norms and values. But one of my readers - Abiodun Ogungbayi suggests that we should be safety and security conscious especially in difficult times like these and always. He also gave a number of security tips that can come handy in cases of eventuality like this. He states that staying away from crowded places, providing the security authorities with relevant information to aid them in the discharge of their duties as well as been consciously aware of our environment would go a long way to make us safer. My sincerely condolence is to Saffie Rose Roussos's family and friends and other bereaved people who lost loved ones in the “appalling, sickening cowardice” of the bombing as stated by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May. God will heal your wounds.

God Bless Us All.

Oluwole Olusanya