Hillsborough - lest we forget
There are a number of events in one's life which
transcend the ordinary, and give us all a deeper sense of what our
true values and concerns should be, says Martyn
Best, Merseyside football fan.
The intensely tragic events of Hillsborough, 20 years ago, are
without doubt amongst them.
The partisan nature of being a blue or a red, or whatever colour,
dissolved in an instant in the face of the true horror and the
totally avoidable tragedy that took 96 lives and affected many,
many families and friends.
I remember the day of 15th April 1989 vividly - the
slow, awful unwinding of the realization of what was happening; the
equal slowness of those given responsibility to help innocent fans
in failing to act; the grief that followed in the hours, days and
weeks.
Examples of the magnitude of the human spirit abounded everywhere -
the humanity and courage of the families who suffered great loss;
the players and management who attended every funeral, and
specifically Kenny Dalglish and Marina, his wife, who were a source
of great strength and comfort at deep personal cost, and the
bonding together of the people of Merseyside, and the wider
football community who actually understood what had happened.
Tragedies and disasters occur - that's life, and we need only
look to Italy for a recent example, but the difference with
Hillsborough was that this was so incongruous, so avoidable by
simple actions and so strikingly sad within the many communities
affected.
The actions this week, such as the touching service at Anfield,
the ringing of bells 96 times throughout Liverpool and elsewhere,
and the individual actions of bus drivers in Liverpool who stopped
for the 2 minutes of silence show how much we are affected, and how
long we will remember.
The words of Henry
Lyte as echoed by James
Jones, Bishop of Liverpool since 1998, and sung at many a
football match echo many of the sentiments of this very sad and
poignant week:
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
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