General Chat

Never forgotten, not just here in Wales but all over the World.

Sue

Thinking of all those involved <3 <3 <3

Remember it was a Friday as I got off early from work on Fridays. Walked into town to do some shopping but saw the placards outside WH Smiths and went home. Dreadful shock.

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A completely avoidable tragedy with all the usual attempts at cover up and passing the buck. Nothing much has changed in that respect. We have seen the greening of the valleys and the end of deep mining.

I doubt anybody who was a young adult at the time will have forgotten the shock and sadness.

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I remember this date and also the dates of the death of President Kennedy and Diana, Princess of Wales. I remember how I found out and where I was at the time. So sad.

Tony Blair, for all the faults he may or may not have had, was the prime minister who led the government that ended the requirement for. wait for it. Aberfan to pay to have those waste heaps cleared.

Yes, they had had had to pay to have the heaps that killed their children removed.

The £ 150000 taken from the memorial fund for tip clearance was repaid by Blair's govt in 1997. The Welsh govt added £ 1.5 million to the fund.

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This is a time to reflect and remember just like SuperCrutch posted.....

Lost lives .....not about money....there is no pockets in shrouds


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True it isn't about money, but I'd liken it to some extent to the treatment of Hillsborough victim's families, and the sheer length of time it took for some justice. Making the victims' families 'pay' over again for their own tragedy, as it were.

I was 9 when Aberfan happened, I remember coming home from school and my mother crying at the evening news. I'd only seen her cry once before, when Kennedy died.

It should never, ever have been about money.

What could be more appalling than this?

Money is the root of most evils. The Aberfan spoil tips greatly exceeded authorised height plus they were built over springs and wells. This was illegal. Various parties complained citing the risk to the school. However the NCB and the NUM colluded to do nothing fearing that the cost of removing the spoil tips would result in closure of the mine and loss of jobs. After days of heavy rain the inevitable happened. In the aftermath nobody was accused of wrong doing. It was the NUM which proposed using fund money to clear the tips. Many of the Aberfan population were badly traumatised by events some still suffering today. The funds have been very important in helping both victims and the community.

Fine words butter no parsnips.
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