How absolutely sickening is it that in this day and age, anybody and everybody is at risk? The risk of losing your very own loved ones by sending them out of the house is real, and it’s becoming more and more real as we see bombings and shootings in places closer to the Western world and situations closer to our hearts.
As a society, we have numbed ourselves to these attacks. Whether it’s terrors in the Middle East or bombings in our very own country, it’s almost as though we’ve accepted that these things happen. While we continue to feel shocked that these attacks continue to happen, we often forget to think about the mothers and fathers who lost a child or the victims in the hospital, desperately hanging on to their lives.
The Manchester bombing at the Ariana Grande concert jolted me awake. These lives that were lost consisted of people just like me – concertgoers my age who wanted to step away from their regular lives for just a night to immerse themselves in their love of music. Concerts are supposed to be a place where you can leave your worries at home and escape reality for just a few short hours. For me, concerts have always been a magical experience. I come home feeling like I’m on cloud nine, like I’ve just come back from a whole other world. And yet, instead of coming home to reflect on what may have been one of the best nights of their life, many never made it home that night. Worse, some made it home having lost the person whom they loved most.
I was at a concert myself three days before the bombing. Three days. Who’s to say that couldn’t have been me? When I walked into that outdoor arena, I couldn’t help but have the thought pop into my mind – What if somebody brought a gun? What if something happens? And the fact that three days later, 22 lives were lost and 59 were left wounded at a concert means that my fears were not paranoia. They were real.
It feels as though nobody is truly safe anymore, and the fact that it is so far out of our control is even worse. I wish I could propose a solution to this problem, I really do. I wish that anyone could propose a solution. I wish that we didn’t have to fear of losing our lives when we go to a concert, a movie theater, a marathon, or even school. Places that we go to get away from reality are now places that many are afraid to step foot into. This is not how it should be.
Because we so often forget to honor the victims of these horrified attacks, I would like to list out the names of each identified individual whose lives were lost in the Manchester bombing.
Georgina Callander – 18 years old
Saffie Rose Roussos – 8 years old
Credit: swns.com
John Atkinson – 26 years old
Credit: GoFundMe
Olivia Campbell – 15 years old
Credit: Twitter
Kelly Brewster – 32 years old
Credit: Facebook
Alison Howe – 45 years old
Credit: Facebook
Lisa Lees – 47 years old
Credit: Facebook
Angelika and Marcin Klis – 40 and 42 years old
Credit: Facebook
Martyn Hett – 29 years old
Credit: Twitter
Nell Jones – 14 years old
Credit: Facebook
Jane Tweddle-Taylor – 50 years old
Credit: Facebook
Sorrell Leczkowski – 14 years old
Credit: Facebook
Michelle Kiss – 45 years old
Credit: Facebook
Megan Hurley – 15 years old
An unnamed female police officer
Please take a moment to honor these mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, children, grandchildren, husbands, wives, lovers, and best friends, including those that have yet to be identified. It is important to remember each of these people had identities, just like you and I. Please also pray for a quick recovery for each of the 59 wounded individuals who are currently fighting for their lives. Finally, let us honor all the heroes who risked their own lives, whether deceased, wounded, or alive, in the commotion of the incident to help save or comfort another individual. To the police and soldiers especially, who put the lives of all those at the concert before their own. Thank you all. You are the people who remind us humanity still exists amidst an attack like this one.
Credit: Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press
Credit: Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press
