Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
This is a testament to the family I lost in Tunisia massacre
Award-winning mum hails lost son, dad & brother
says: “They’d gone on holiday to celebrate after Owen finished his GCSES. I’d spoken to them that morning and was at home when I got a phone call from Owen saying what had happened.
“He was screaming down the phone. I couldn’t process it. It was just horrific. My legs went from underneath me.”
Over the past five years, the disaster has had a heartbreaking impact on Suzanne’s life.
She explains: “I had to go and tell my mum what had happened but she wasn’t strong enough to carry on and died three years later.
“She was the fourth victim. She was just broken.” Suzanne believes her family would be overwhelmed by the achievements of Smile For Joel, the charity she set up in 2017.
She says: “We can’t change what happened to our family but we can try to help others.”
Due to coronavirus, Suzanne was unable to commemorate this year’s fifth anniversary of the attack.
She explains: “We were going to have a memorial service at Joel’s school church and have a choir come and sing.
“So far, we’ve helped over 1,500 family members and we’re so grateful to our supporters.
“Receiving the Pride of Birmingham Award from Kym Marsh at Walsall Football grounds was really special as the boys all had season tickets.”
Suzanne is also in awe of Owen, 21.
In 2015, Owen was also honoured at the Pride of Birmingham Awards for his courage in helping others.
Now, Suzanne hopes to make Smile For Joel a national charity.
As well as raising money, she wants to raise awareness about security in hotels – and why it needs to be improved.
The Pride of Birmingham Awards premieres on Youtube tonight at 7pm: youtube.com/prideofbritainawards. To sign up for the 5th anniversary Run For Joel, visit smileforjoel.com