writergirlIf you’ve been near a computer, glanced at a newspaper or own a television, then it is highly likely that you will have encountered the tragic occurrences of this week.
Remembering the 96 lives lost at Hillsborough back in 1989, yesterday marked the 24th memorial anniversary of a horrendous tragedy that some 24,000 Liverpool fans would have witnessed, not to mention the families that still grieve and reflect on a terrible situation that has since sparked millions of words to be written, sung and acted on the tragic day at Hillsborough 24 years ago. And yet, yesterday saw Monday 15th April 2013 to be remembered also, but for a different set of reasons.
It goes without saying that the Boston Marathon explosions have sent the world spinning in a frenzy that can only be described as ‘heartbreaking’. Killing three people and leaving more than 100 injured, the source of such an act is yet to be discovered or revealed. With hundreds of patients sent to Boston’s hospitals with shrapnel injuries and amputations, some positive news lay among the tragic, and that came from the American Red Cross.
At 8.49pm of Monday 15th April, via twitter the Red Cross alerted its followers “Thanks to generosity of volunteer blood donors there is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet demand. #BostonMarathon”
While there is an insufficient number of adjectives to apply to the Boston explosions, a lot can and should be said, for the kindness and good-hearted efforts that so many in Boston showed for the entirety of that day.
Rushing from the marathon to the hospitals to donate blood, and opening up their homes to help shelter, accommodate and help those suffering from injuries or in need are to name a few a couple of instances that outweigh whatever negative source that caused the explosions to occur in the first place.
If there is anything that this week’s tragic news can teach us, it is that there is still hope for humanity. Despite my Facebook newsfeed filling up with angry, appalled and upset (and quite rightly so) statuses about the Boston explosions, the sheer fact that so many people immediately looked to how they could donate, help, and contribute to easing the tragic happenings restores my faith in society and humanity…even if ‘YOLO’ is still lurking in the corners of our society somewhere.
So if you’re reading a newspaper or watching the news and feel yourself instantly filled with despair and sadness, then it is rightly so, because what happened on the 15th April 2013 in Boston, and in Hillsborough in 1989 is heartbreaking, and will remain to be for a lot of people, for a long time.
Yet, if there is one thing that gives me strength and belief in people as a whole in times like this is that the goodness of people outweighs the bad, and the strength of community shown in Boston, and in Liverpool is something to be admired, and felt from all over the globe, because losing sight of this and forgetting the kindness of people in a crisis would be a tragedy in itself.
image credit: www.usatoday.com