As
dawn broke on that Saturday morning, a fateful day began - 15 April,
1989, a date etched eternally into the hearts and minds of Liverpool
fans across the land. Wembley beckoned and the Anfield faithful followed
– to Hillsborough in Sheffield, an FA cup final place up for grabs. I
can feel their excitement. It was a glorious spring morning and there
was magic in the air. I was just 3 at the time and yet I know this as
surely as if I were there. I too have attended such games of the sort
that keep you up late into the night in the weeks before as you live out
your dreams and share your fears with your family, your friends, your
fellow fans. In the run up to Hillsborough I can imagine what was said –
I have had those conversations myself so many times. And yet not one
person could have envisaged what would come to pass. It was a football
game, a pastime, a passion, not a matter of life and death. In the
aftermath of the disaster the famous Bill Shankly quote* must have hung heavy in the air, macabre, stripped of its wit. The truth: 96 dead.
That is the story. A story rehashed so many times
that it has desensitised rather than shocked for those not affected by
the disaster. It seems to divide opinion and arouse debate. Many
question the wisdom of the Justice Campaign, which continues and will
continue until justice is done. “It’s over, it won’t bring them back,
let them rest in peace”, they say. I don’t wish to repeat
the intricate and complex details of the case against the Yorkshire
police here except to say that they have some serious questions to answer**.
This is the focus of the Justice Campaign: to bring to account those
responsible for both the disaster and the subsequent cover-up. Recent
petitions and a Commons debate have provided a glimmer of hope for the
families that this wrong will be righted – we can only hope the
validity of this claim as this coming Sunday, the fight for justice
enters its 23rd year. After a struggle spanning more than two
decades is it not right that the families too be relieved of this heavy
burden and be allowed to rest and grieve for their loved ones?
In situations of such tragedy, we can only begin to
imagine the despair felt by those close to the victims and yet instead
of being crushed by grief, families have fought for justice: this is true in
the case of Hillsborough and for other crimes too. And so even in the saddest of stories, there can be
something to celebrate. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster when
half of the Anfield pitch, the goalmouth and Kop were covered with flowers,
Kenny Dalglish commented that it was “the saddest and most beautiful
thing” he had ever seen. In this statement Dalglish unwittingly captured the essence
of the Justice Campaign as did Jimmy McGovern when he named it, “the
most wonderful example of enduring love”.
It is for this reason that the campaign burns fiercely alongside the eternal flame at Anfield: gone but never forgotten. RIP.
* "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very
disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more
important than that" - Bill Shankly pre-Hillsborough.
** http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough
** http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough
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