[What follows is excerpted from an item published today on the
DnG24 website:]
On December 21 it will be three decades since Pan Am 103 fell from the sky over Lockerbie.
Last year’s 29th anniversary went largely unmarked and Dumfries and Galloway Council revealed they would only honour anniversaries if the community indicated desire for such an event to take place.
Following that, Lockerbie Community Council asked townsfolk to share their views on how and even if the 30th anniversary should be marked.
Chairwoman Jan Andrews last week said: “We asked for feedback but very little came our way. I understand some people have said that they think it’s time to move on, they believed that the last big show of respect was the 25th anniversary and after that the disaster, though always remembered, should be marked in more personal or subtle ways.
“However, other people in the town feel exactly the opposite and think it’s ridiculous that the 30th anniversary could pass by without a proper event to mark it – but how do people want to mark the anniversary?”
She added: “As a local body it’s up to the community council to nd out how townsfolk want to mark the event so we are appealing for people to be vocal and let us know. We need to work together.”
And an online survey, which asked the question ‘Do you want the anniversary to be marked?’, has so far seen 87 per cent of voters say yes.
And when asked how to mark the event, 47.92 per cent preferred the idea of holding a ceremony at the cemetery; while 25 per cent favoured ‘something subtle – like a minute’s silence’; just ten per cent supported a civic reception; while the remaining share of the votes were spread between something different, no event at all and other – which gives people the chance to write in with their ideas.
The survey is still ongoing (...)
And encouraging people to get in touch, she said: “It might sound early to be asking people in January what they want to happen in December, but if the general consensus is that townsfolk want to see the dis- aster marked in a big way, then that takes months of time and planning. The air disaster is a big part of our town’s history and it’s very important that it is marked respectfully in a way that honours those who died and our town.”
DnG24 website:]
On December 21 it will be three decades since Pan Am 103 fell from the sky over Lockerbie.
Last year’s 29th anniversary went largely unmarked and Dumfries and Galloway Council revealed they would only honour anniversaries if the community indicated desire for such an event to take place.
Following that, Lockerbie Community Council asked townsfolk to share their views on how and even if the 30th anniversary should be marked.
Chairwoman Jan Andrews last week said: “We asked for feedback but very little came our way. I understand some people have said that they think it’s time to move on, they believed that the last big show of respect was the 25th anniversary and after that the disaster, though always remembered, should be marked in more personal or subtle ways.
“However, other people in the town feel exactly the opposite and think it’s ridiculous that the 30th anniversary could pass by without a proper event to mark it – but how do people want to mark the anniversary?”
She added: “As a local body it’s up to the community council to nd out how townsfolk want to mark the event so we are appealing for people to be vocal and let us know. We need to work together.”
And an online survey, which asked the question ‘Do you want the anniversary to be marked?’, has so far seen 87 per cent of voters say yes.
And when asked how to mark the event, 47.92 per cent preferred the idea of holding a ceremony at the cemetery; while 25 per cent favoured ‘something subtle – like a minute’s silence’; just ten per cent supported a civic reception; while the remaining share of the votes were spread between something different, no event at all and other – which gives people the chance to write in with their ideas.
The survey is still ongoing (...)
And encouraging people to get in touch, she said: “It might sound early to be asking people in January what they want to happen in December, but if the general consensus is that townsfolk want to see the dis- aster marked in a big way, then that takes months of time and planning. The air disaster is a big part of our town’s history and it’s very important that it is marked respectfully in a way that honours those who died and our town.”
The Lockerbie tradegy is not well suited for memorials. Maybe that is why it has been termed "anniversary".
ReplyDeleteNot well suited, because the case is still a wide open ongoing scandal.
The 30 years of inaction and delays, denial, misinformation and -direction, and legal diversions only comfort those who manage to make themselves fully believe in it (a minority, I would think).
The rest can look forward to an anniversary with anger towards those who abused, and still abuses, their power and authority.
In that light an anniversary may be just the time to speak out, object and demand.
But for those seeking peace, closure and people to share their mourning with (a majority, I would think) the anniversary is a hard thing to arrange.
That is the price of lies. They keep wounds open.
I'm ex soidier who was there on that sad day,I think it should be remembered for lives who were lost on that very sad day.
ReplyDeleteI'm also an ex RAF driver who was called upon to attend that sad sad event, I fully intend to visit the town on 21st of Dec to pay my respects
ReplyDelete