Victim’s dad: ‘I
THE father of a teenage victim of the Manchester Arena attack described the aftermath of his daughter’s death as the bomber’s brother was locked up.
Eighteen-year-old Georgina Callander was the first victim to be named after Salman Abedi detonated a bomb after an Arianna Grande concert at the arena in May 2017.
The Tarleton teenager was among 22 people to be killed in the terror attack and was described by her family as being “as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside, with a smile that was never-ending”.
She had recently passed her driving licence and weeks after her death her family learned that she would have been given an unconditional offer to study at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk.
Saffie Rose Roussos, who also lived in the village, was the youngest victim of the attack at just eight-year-old and the death of the two girls caused devastation across the community. Hundreds of people attended a vigil at Mark Square in their honour
Saffie, who was a pupil at Tarleton Community Primary School and had also attended Kew Woods in Southport, had attended the concert with her sister and mum Lisa, who spent six weeks in a coma before learning the devastating news.
Saffie’s funeral at Manchester Cathedral in July 2017 was the last to take place and was attended by hundreds of mourners who gathered to celebrate the life of a little girl with a beautiful smile who loved dancing, gymnastics and music.
Last week, Hashem Abedi, the brother of killer Salman Abedi, was handed 24 life sentences for organising the Manchester Arena bomb plot which killed 22 people and injured hundreds of others.
The 23-year-old again refused to come up from his cell at the Old Bailey to be in courtroom two as the judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, told him he would spend at least 55 years in prison before he could even be considered for parole.
It could not be longer under the law because Abedi was under 21 at the time of the attack.
During the sentencing hearing, the families of those killed told the stories of the crippling grief caused by the evil brothers.
Among these, Simon Callander described himself as the “proud father” of Georgina. Speaking of the aftermath of the bomb, he said: “I didn’t see much daylight for the next few days.
“The house seemed so crowded with family, friends, police and neighbours.
“I walk the streets at night because I can’t go out in the day because everyone wants to come up and talk out of the goodness of their hearts. “But I don’t want to talk.” Hashem Abedi, born and raised in Manchester, was accused of showing “contempt” to the families of those he and his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi killed more than three years earlier by not coming into the dock.
Sentencing, the judge said: “Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible, it was clear the defendant took an integral part in the planning.”
He added: “The motivation for them was to advance the ideology of Islamism, a matter distinct to and abhorrent to the vast majority for those who follow the Islamic faith.
“The defendant and his brother were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused.
“The stark reality is these were atrocious crimes, large in their scale, deadly in their intent, and appalling in their consequences.
“The despair and desolation of the bereaved families has been palpable.”
Abedi, of Fallowfield in south Manchester, was found guilty by a jury in March of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.