One city, many voices
ON Tuesday I was honoured to represent We Stand Together at the opening of the Glade of Light memorial to the 22 victims murdered in the Manchester Arena attack five years ago this month.
It was a sobering occasion with families, friends, colleagues and dignitaries recognising that we must never forget what happened.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in attendance and the Duke said that he was here ‘to remember the 22 lives so brutally taken, to acknowledge the hundreds of lives that were irrevocably changed and to pay tribute to the resilience of this great city’.
He also asserted that ‘on that day you told each other that you would not look back in anger, and you showed the world the true heart of this extraordinary place’.
With those words, the Duke espoused the reason why We Stand Together exists.
It is to prevent such tragedies ever happening again by remembering what has happened and educating all to treat others with respect. In the immediate aftermath of the Arena attack, that is what Manchester did.
Colleagues and friends from different faiths and diverse backgrounds were on the streets the day after the attack and we spoke to many media organisations ensuring that they understood that the attack was not about Islam and hatred was no way to respond. The messages we took to the world were of love and we committed ourselves to the cause of cohesion.
Five years on, a great deal has been done in the name of this cause. #WeStandTogether has become an established charity and we have taken our Anti-discrimination Workshops into schools, colleges, youth and community groups, engaging over 5,000 people in the last
year. However, whilst so many in the immediate aftermath of the attack were vociferous in wanting to take action back in their communities, we have found the reality somewhat inert.
Over the last year we have offered funding to those in neighbourhoods who can bring together people from diverse backgrounds and sustain cohesion initiatives.
The response has not been as we would have hoped.
We recognise that Covid-19 has had an impact but wish that more people and organisations would grasp the opportunity.
We know that, for many, reaching out to those from different backgrounds can be hard.
The reality is that only through taking such chances can communities truly come together and understand and respect each other.
For those who are unsure how to do this, get in touch and we will help you. Do not be afraid to reach out either to us or to those you have not yet met.
The consequence of not doing so, as we saw five years ago, is what we should really fear.
Find out more at www. westandtogether.org.uk.
You can contact #WeStandTogether on Twitter @WeStandTogether, Facebook @WeStandTogetherBritain, Instagram @WeStandTogetherUK or by email: support@ westandtogether.org.uk.