Last Night’s ‘Four Corners’ Was A Moving Insight Into The Lives Of Manchester Bombing Survivors
"It's kind of made me realise life is short."
Last night, ABC’s Four Corners aired interviews with teenage survivors of last May’s Manchester Bombings, where 23 people were killed during an terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert.
Filmed over months, Manchester Bomb: Our Story is a BBC documentary largely composed of to-camera interviews featuring concert goers in their bedrooms, detailing both their experiences of the May 23, 2017 concert and the subsequent months to come. Viewers are celebrating the episode for depicting their pain, strength and resilience.
The suicide bombing occurred at the concert’s end, after Grande had left the stage. In interviews, fans as young as 11 recount their experiences, describing how excited they were.
Erin, who was 10 at the time, still struggles to open up about the event — her mother said she “refuses” to talk about what happened. Others detailed the loss of friends and siblings.
"I feel as if it's never gonna get better and it's always gonna stay like that," Erin, an 11-year-old survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing in May last year, said of her psychological trauma. #4corners #ujelp18
— Cas (@casbly) September 10, 2018
Some, such as Amelia — who was 17 at the time of the attacks — detail how they now struggle with PTSD. Amelia’s finger was almost severed during the attack, and had shrapnel embedded in her skin for months after the attack.
She talks through her experience of the concert, saying it sounded like she was underwater, and a bright, hot light came towards her — at first, she thought she had been acid on her face. While recovering, she has postponed her studies, though she is optimistic about the future.
The courage and the maturity these kids are displaying is mind blowing. Your heart just aches for them. #4Corners
— Gus McCrae (@GusMcCrae0) September 10, 2018
“It’s kind of made me realise life is short and I want to do stuff and I want to get out there,” she said.
Amelia has quit studying so she can focus on her recovery. She says she’s not scared of another terrorist attack. #4Corners pic.twitter.com/uRjsxSI48O
— 4corners (@4corners) September 10, 2018
Two weeks after the Manchester Bombings, Grande held One Love, a benefit concert which reportedly raised more than £17 million ($30,994,400) for victims of the attacks.
Grande’s recent album Sweetener indirectly references the attacks several times, most notably in lead single ‘No Tears Left To Cry’ and ‘Breathin”, a song about managing anxiety.
Teenage girls are one of the most ridiculed, scrutinised, sexualised and infantilised sections of our society. There is incredible power in letting them tell their own stories #4Corners
— Thea Halpin (@TheaHalpin) September 10, 2018
You can watch the full Four Corners episode here.