Aberfan

This story is a tragedy. A cataclysmic event.
It’s a story of the impact of social injustice.
It’s a story of untold grief.

It’s about the deaths of 116 children and 28 adults.
It’s about one of the greatest mining tragedies in UK history.

Welsh history. Not a single miner was killed.

It’s about a tip. A slag heap. Tip number seven.
It’s a story of power and greed.
Corrupt bosses. Politics and mayhem.

It’s a story of what happens when people are afraid.
Are threatened. Their voices suppressed.
When people are ignored. When silence prevails.

It’s a story of what happens when lies persist.
When we fail to take control.
When those in office denigrate the people.

When the corrupt go unpunished.
When governments side with ‘the big boys.’
When deprecating assumptions are made.

It’s a story of what happens when lives are dismissed.
When the people are seen as collateral damage.
When children are wiped out.

It’s a story of what happens when no one listens.
When compassion is nonexistent. When no one hears.
When power and control is all pervading.

It’s a story of unrelenting grief.
It’s a story of courage.
It’s the story of Aberfan.