‘Don’t look back in anger’

Melting pot Manchester stresses unity

MANCHESTER, UK, May 25, (AFP): “Don’t look back in anger”.

The now poignant words of legendary Manchester Britpop band Oasis rang out in a flower-filled square, as the grieving crowd broke out in song after a minute’s silence to remember the 22 killed in Monday’s suicide bombing.

In a city celebrated worldwide for its musical heritage, it was a spontaneous message of defiance as people come to terms with the heartbreaking massacre of innocent young victims who were themselves enjoying a pop concert.

A woman clutching a bouquet of flowers among the crowd of hundreds started the refrain as others urged people to “sing up” to send a loud message to the attackers.

Before, the bells of St Ann’s Church rang out as silence fell over a square filled with hundreds of people, broken by applause which then melted into song.

One man’s cry of “We love Manchester!” marked the end of the musical tribute, followed by further applause as emotions ran high in the square.

St Ann’s has become the focal point for a city in mourning since Monday’s attack at the nearby Manchester Arena, where 22 people including children were killed at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

With so many children caught up in the attack, teddy bears, candles and heart-shaped balloons piled up in the square, along with notes of mourning and many messages stressing the need for unity within the city.

“MCR stronger than hate, unwilling to fear” read one, “The City of Manchester stands united” said another, in reference to the world-famous football club.

“It’s a bereavement for all of us. It’s like your own family just passed away, it’s just so, so sad,” said 69-year-old Carmel McLaughlan, standing next to a sea of thousands of flowers.

“There’s just sadness hanging over Manchester at the moment. It’s terrible, it’s hard to believe it.”

Thursday’s event followed a vigil on Tuesday in the city’s Albert Square, attended by thousands, where silence was broken by cheers and a chant of “Manchester! Manchester!”

Street

On the Manchester street they call the “Curry Mile”, there are no longer just Indian or Pakistani restaurants. A hungry diner can now choose Halal snacks from Beirut, kebabs from Afghanistan or garishly colored sweets from India, among many others.

Traffic along the busy road is just as varied — hipsters on vintage race bikes zoom past a mother in fullface veil pushing a stroller. A block away, Paulette Greig, the daughter of a Jamaican Indian and a white English woman, drinks water in the Albert Inn, a traditional English pub.

The kaleidoscope of Mancunians — as the city’s residents are known — reflects the proudly multiethnic city’s long history of welcoming migrants and, on the whole, successfully integrating them.

“Obviously, you get the odd idiot, but you get them everywhere,” Greig said.

Manchester’s race relations have been in the spotlight since suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a British citizen of Libyan descent, killed 22 people and injured dozens more on Monday night outside an Ariana Grande concert. The attack has been claimed by Islamic State, drawing attention to the city’s Muslim population. Some 80,000 Muslims live in Manchester, according to data from the 2011 census, making up nearly 16 percent of the population at the time.

Alongside many churches and a handful of Sikh temples, there are dozens of mosques dotted around the sprawling city. The large, modern Central Mosque is tucked into a leafy street in the Victoria Park neighborhood just a few blocks from the Curry Mile, and smaller establishments cater to national minorities who tend to be bonded by language.

Mohammed Fadl, a spokesman for Libyan expatriates in Manchester, said there are no exact figures but the community numbers in the tens of thousands and is the largest in the United Kingdom.

It remains unclear how exactly Abedi became radicalized. Libyan anti-terror forces arrested his father in Tripoli on Wednesday, Special Deterrent force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem told the Associated Press. Two of Abedi’s brothers also have been arrested — one in England, the other in Libya.

In the aftermath of Monday’s deadly attack, community leaders have been keen to stress that attackers like Abedi are a tiny minority in the Muslim community, and to underscore the spirit of unity in this melting pot city.