The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
TOP MARKS FOR MERCY PUPIL
IF Killarney’s Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty was alive today he would be helping refugees fleeing their country as he did back in 1940s when he helped allied soldiers and Jews escape the Nazi’s.
That’s according to Rowan Omean Al Salah - the winner of the Hugh O’Flaherty Essay competition this year. Rowan’s heart-felt essay, which detailed her own plight as a Syrian refugee who came to Ireland in search of a new life, was described as a ‘powerful’ essay by the judges of the annual competition.
“Rowan, very concisely, yet powerfully acknowledges her own family’s hardship. With courage they left their wartorn, beloved Syria and all that was familiar to them in their daily lives. Heroically, through care and compassion shown to the family along the way, they journeyed on,” according to the judges’ summation.
“Rowan, your personal story is inspirational. Just like Hugh O Flaherty, you too are intent on making your world and the world around you a better place. You are a hero. Be forever loved in your haven of Killarney.”
Rowan’s concise but powerful essay on “Why she considered Hugh O’Flaherty to be a Hero and, how his example could be applied to today’s world circumstances” proved just how important it is to help others. In her essay she told how many people helped her and her family escape Syria.
“I think a hero is any person really intent on making the world a better place for all people. A hero is someone who gives their life to something greater than themselves, and that is exactly what Hugh O’Flaherty did. Global warming, starvation, homelessness, bullying, racism plague our world today. If Hugh O’Flaherty was alive, he would not give in. He would take daily action to make the world a better place and in doing so would continue to inspire others,” she said. “We do have heroes in today’s world. People who stand up for themselves and people who stand up for others. My family and I stood up for ourselves when we left Syria a few years ago because of war,” she explained.
Rowan was announced as the winner of the essay competition at a special ceremony in Killarney library last week, which was attended by her classmates at Holy Cross Mercy National School and her parents, all of whom are proud of Rowan’s achievement.
Her principal Ursula Coffey praised the wonderful achievement.
“She is a star student in every respect, very popular amongst her fellow students and the teaching staff. Her commitment and ability to learn is remarkable – having arrived at the school only four years ago, without a word of English, she is today winning an award for her well-considered and excellently presented essay on humanitarianism.”
The Killarney school also received the “Best Collective Award” for the quality of the entries received from their fifth- and sixth-class students and the judges praised the students for their understanding of the problems in the world today.