Opinion

Allison Morris: Says a lot when a pop princess has more diplomacy than the US president

Ariana Grande said she altered the One Love Manchester show after talking to the mum of victim Olivia Campbell.
Ariana Grande said she altered the One Love Manchester show after talking to the mum of victim Olivia Campbell. Ariana Grande said she altered the One Love Manchester show after talking to the mum of victim Olivia Campbell.

The terrible events in Manchester and London over the last few weeks have undoubtedly put fear into the hearts of many people, as well as brought back terrible memories for many others.

I've seen, reported on and even experienced many sad and tragic events in my life, but few images have ever summed up heartaching loss more than the coffin of little 14-year-old Eilidh MacLeod being carried across the beach on the beautiful Scottish island of Barra.

Such a beautiful setting for the funeral of an innocent victim of a very ugly act, the bombing of a concert at Manchester Arena.

Like little three-year-old Alan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015, after the boat carrying his Syrian refugee family capsized, it sometimes takes a picture to bring home the cruel and unjust nature of the world we now live in.

Rolling 24 hours news, social media with its instant information means that images of war and terror attacks are immediately accessible as long as you’ve a phone in your hand.

After the names and pictures of the victims of such attacks are released, it's only natural for questions to be asked.

In fact the current discussions around the Islamic threat, the reasons for it and possible ways to stop it, can only be positive.

I don't remember any such discussions or desire to understand our own conflict.

There was little effort made to understand the reasons or, until the mid 1990s, to seriously look at a political compromise to stop the violence. Maybe if there had been the resolution would have came sooner and saved more lives.

The current peace, however imperfect, is still much better than what came before it, and it was only made possible through understanding and compromise.

The security response, with soldiers on the streets and harsh anti-terror laws had little impact on violence, instead it just hardened the attitudes of communities impacted.

The depressing talk of introducing internment for anyone suspected of Islamic extremism makes me despair at the utter stupidity of some seemingly educated people.

Have they learned nothing from Britain's involvement in Northern Ireland?

Interning people innocent of any crime radicalised an entire generation who watched their fathers unjustly locked away.

Internment was a disaster and arguably responsible for prolonging conflict here in Northern Ireland for years after it could - and should - have been brought to an end.

While the current Islamic threat is a very different kind of 'war' some of the same issues do still exist.

No one is suggesting trying to reach a compromise with people who think it is morally correct to murder little girls at a pop concert or stab a pregnant woman in the street.

For anyone who has reached that level of fanaticism, prison is the only safe place for them.

But given the majority of attacks in the UK or France have been carried out by people born and raised in those countries, very real thought and serious debate needs to be given as to how you stop young people getting to that point.

We in the media have a role to play in that, proper scrutiny should be given to western foreign policy and what impact it has on all our futures.

Placing equal value on all civilian lives lost, regardless of nationality or skin colour, would hinder those who seek to capatalise on global conflicts.

But we should also be challenging radical Islamic views without fear of appearing racist.

It is a difficult but far from hopeless situation.

Where there is despair there is always hope and on Sunday night a tiny, little pop star that few people under the age of 20 had previously heard of brought joy to a city in mourning with the Love Manchester concert.

It was fans of Ariana Grande who died at the hands of a suicide bomber. Less than two weeks later a singer the size of a doll but with the heart of a lion was back in the city to comfort those very same fans.

She showed more bravery and heart when faced with a terror threat than Donald Trump, who has been an embarrassment in his reaction, exploiting the suffering of innocents.

Comes to something when a 23-year-old pop princess is more impressive diplomatically than the President of the United States, but that is the weird world we now live in.