Manchester Attacks

I'm sure by now, you've heard about the atrocious attacks that took place in Manchester last night on the 22nd of May 2017.
An Ariana Grande concert was taking place in the Manchester Arena.The concert was coming to an end, when all of a sudden, (around 10:30pm) a bomb/explosion noise was heard. At first, many presumed it was the the Ariana Grande fans getting excited that they had just seen Ariana live, or alternatively the sound of balloons being popped, and several other assumptions were made as to what the noise was.

Once it had been confirmed that explosions were taking place, everybody from the arena sprinted to escape from the jeopardy they had been placed in. It has been said that 22 people have died, whilst at least 59 have been injured, who are now being treated at eight different hospitals in greater Manchester, several of them with severe, life changing injuries- according to the BBC.
The BBC have also reported that the main man behind this, is Salman Abedi, who is a Libyan Muslim, born and bread in Manchester. He has been titled as a suspected suicide bomber, furthermore is potentially responsible for the deaths and injuries, of the innocent. It has also been mentioned that Salman has supposedly been planning this for months, furthermore cleverly picked the concert, as he targeted a young vulnerable audience of teenage girls.

The first and latest names of the civilians who have passed away, are the names of an 8 year old and an 18 year old! Both girls Saffie Roussos and Georgina Callender are believed to be from Lancashire.

 It's honestly so upsetting that we lost these two beautiful girls, along with twenty other innocent civilians. And the worst part is, Saffie and Georgina had their entire lives ahead of them, and due to to this horrendous atrocity, their lives and futures have been stolen. I'm aware everyone's sincere condolences are with the families that have lost their loved ones- and all we can do in this difficult adversity, is aid the grieving families, through love and prayers.

Apart from the deaths and injured, several people are also missing, and families and friends are out looking for them, in hopes they are not in jeopardy, and that they will return home soon.

Prime Minister Theresa May as well as many other politicians tweeted out their condolences, furthermore the Prime Minister said, "this was among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom"
She also stated, "All acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on innocent people, but this attack stands out, for it's appalling, sickening cowardice. Deliberately targeting innocent defenceless children and young people, who should've been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives".

The 23 year old singer Ariana Grande also tweeted, "broken.
from the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words", and has apparently cancelled further concerts, as of now.

Luckily, the response from the people of Manchester, has been nothing but supportive and sympathetic. The people have unified to help in any way possible. Some have offered their homes for the affected people to stay in, whilst hotels have taken in children who are unable to find their parents. Whilst taxi drivers give out free rides, chippy shops are also providing free food and on top of that- people are queuing up to give their blood to people that are in need of of it!Different communities, in and out of Manchester, have kindly given flowers and cards etc, to represent their support. I consider this response to be a positive one, and I feel despite Manchester has endured a horrific incident, everyone has united and everyone has been showing so much kindness and hospitality. Also, social media has gone crazy, and people from all over the world have really responded optimistically, showing their moral support and love.

I'm sure we all know that this incident went viral, and within only a short amount of time, every single news channel were discussing this event, and nearly every news report had something to do with the Manchester attacks. The internet is gushing with numerous articles and video clips. In other words, the entire world knows about this, and the entire world is spreading the news.

I will try and say this in the most respectful way possible, so not to cause any offence, because believe me- that is not my intention.
Incidents like this happen almost every other day, in war-torn countries like Syria, Gaza, Yemen. Sadly, sometimes it feels like the world has somewhat forgotten the people of these countries. And that's understandable. As a people, we are now so desensitised to the things the news show us, because now, bombings, shootings, genocide, murder, rape, kidnappings are all common and rife in this screwed up world we're currently living in. Innocent kids are killed, and blameless inhabitants of war-torn countries, are mutilated,  burnt, hung and killed in so many other abrasive ways. I'm not saying that I don't have any sympathy for the people that were unfortunately killed and injured in the recent Manchester attacks. But shouldn't we also have the same reaction and the same sympathy for the people of Yemen? For the people of Sudan? For the people of Somalia? The list goes on. Is the mutilation of an innocent man in Syria not bad enough for the western news channels to report? Why can't the news report the brutal truth about these middle eastern countries, and tell the world about the injustice that is going on at the moment? Wouldn't it be fairer if the world had the same empathy for places where bombings and shootings are much worse? Where little children's deceased bodies are found under the heavy rubble, dry blood splattered over their puny bodies? I wish nothing like this ever happens in Manchester again, and I pray we can move on from this unfortunate time of plight.

 I am going to conclude with a profound verse from the Qur'an, "Whoever kills an innocent person, it is as if he has killed the whole of humanity, and whoever saves the life of one, it is as if he has saved the whole of humanity" (5:32)

To see more updates, stories and video clips:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40023488