Anfield covered in scarves, shirts and flowers...
Tomorrow marks the 21st anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. On April the 15th 1989, thousands of Liverpool supporters on a beautiful April afternoon made their way to Sheffield to watch their beloved football club play in the FA Cup semi final.
Nobody that morning when they set out to the game though could begin to imagine the horror that would unfold.
96 Liverpool fans lost their lives that day, 96 friends, 96 people who were a Mother, a Father, a Daughter, a Son, a Grandad, a Grandma, a Sister, a Brother, a Cousin, a Soul Mate, a Friend. 96 people went to a football match that day and never returned.
In the 21st century, a disaster so heartbreaking and so preventable is tragic. To make things worse, those 96 friends were not mourned respectfully or with decency. Families were not offered compassion, they were offered lies.
Still to this day, justice for the families and friends of those 96 has not been done.
I was not brought up in Liverpool and i am not related to or close to anyone who was affected by Hillsborough, i cannot even begin to comprehend the hurt, the pain that these people must be going through.
What i am though, is a fan of the football club that ties us all together and brings hope to the people still fighting for justice day by day.
In relation to this i feel the only way i can help in some minor way is to help educate and make sure fans who, like me, may not have been brought up in Liverpool know the truth about Hillsborough, know that at 3:06pm tomorrow we should all pay our respects to the 96 victims, and know that a certain newspaper should NEVER be acknowledged let alone read or bought.
If you are unaware of the full story, or you would simply like to learn more. I urge and ask you to go out there and do some research.
Just some of the very moving and factual links that i have came across over these weeks leading up to the anniversary may be of help:
YouTube video showing how the Hillsborough disaster brought about an everlasting friendship between two people affected in different ways by Hillsborough -HERE
The full story of a doctor who travelled to the game and was in the crowd in the Leppings Lane end on that fateful day (Courtesy of The Tomkins Times) - HERE
BBC News article giving an overview of what happened and some details on the enquiries after the disaster that are still flawed and have failed to provide justice for the families - HERE
A blog post from a fan who had family members at the game, with a very moving personal poem - HERE
Another very moving post by a fan who was also present on that April afternoon in '89 - HERE
The Hillsborough Justice Campaign - HERE
If you do not understand why you should not associate yourself with a certain outlet of media - HERE
Hillsborough: Never Forget.
R.I.P The 96.
Justice?
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