Justice For The 96

Ian's actual match ticket for the Leppings Lane end...

For this year's Hillsborough anniversary i am proud to say that i have paired up with Ian from PassionatelyRED (@Ian_LFC) to make a blog post. At this surely emotional time i would like to thank Ian for bringing up this idea and helping me make a post which will hopefully reach a few people and help educate them about the disaster. Without further ado i shall hand you over to Ian...

It is an incredible twenty two years on but it still feels like yesterday to me.  I was one of the lucky ones; I survived the hell that was Hillsborough Disaster.  Meanwhile ninety six fellow football fans died on the Leppings Lane terrace.

I was there – you can read about that here PassionatelyRed – Still Hurting After all These Years . But the focus of this blog, on which Kirsty has kindly agreed to collaborate with me, is to continue the call for justice for the people lost and their families.

That nobody has been prosecuted for their failing to prevent a tragedy that was so utterly preventable cannot and should not be tolerated.  It is important that the message is passed from people like me who were around at the time to younger people who may not have even been born in 1989.

I know through following @LFCKirstyLFC on Twitter, and through her blog, that she is as passionate as me about Liverpool Football Club and the injustice of Hillsborough.  The fact that she is not from this city, nor was she born at the time of tragedy, is totally irrelevant.

Last year for instance when Russell Hawker made his ill judge slur blaming the tragedy on the fans on Twitter Kirsty fired off a well constructed e-mail detailing the error of his ways.  She didn’t need to but she’s a fan, she cares and like the rest of us she wants to see justice and the truth.


The Taylor Report...

Together, young and old, we should ensure that the debate is high on the media’s agenda and of those in government to ensure that action is taken through educating those who do not know, or do not want to want to know, THE TRUTH.

For my part I wrote to members of parliament and gave evidence to police at the time of the tragedy A letter from 20 April 1989  I continue the call for the truth and justice but thankfully others like Kirsty are continuing the fight….


Now i'm not here to offend anyone and I realise the fact I don't even come from Liverpool may be an issue for some readers, I truly apologise if this causes a problem but as a Liverpool fan I feel it is somewhat my duty to ensure Hillsborough is never forgotten, to fight until justice is done.

As Ian (@Ian_LFC) said in his paragraphs above, it is of vital importance that both us younger fans and older ones work together to make sure people know THE TRUTH about Hillsborough.

I was born 7 months after the disaster, I don't know anybody who was there, or personally know anybody who was involved. I have spoken to several people online who were there or who had family members present but I simply can't comprehend the hurt they must feel, the pain they must suffer when time and time again journalists and even politicians drag the Hillsborough Disaster through the dirt due to not knowing the FACTS.


Match preview from April 11th in The Liverpool Echo...

For those of you that haven't already seen it, I urge you to watch my short video at the end of this post that I made to try to help educate people about the disaster. It's frustrating to see Liverpool supporters blissfully unaware about such a poignant moment within the clubs history so please take the time to view it.

I understand totally that some young fans haven't learnt about Hillsborough yet, I was there once. I also understand that sometimes if you live on the other side of the world or across the pond it is harder to stay in touch with a club you love so many miles away, but in a fight for justice; passion should prevail. As Liverpool fans we can all unite and provide a family, a support group for those still suffering the consequences of Hillsborough.

Stories like Ian's (please take the time to read his linked articles) only highlight the effects Hillsborough has on people and it's vital stories like his that should continue to be passed through generations of Liverpool fans.

As a fan growing up after Hillsborough it took me a long time to truly understand the scale of the tragedy. In this day and age it is hard to believe that such a disaster could happen within the 20th century and even harder to believe that nobody has been held accountable after such poor organisation, so many fatal mistakes.

However, as a young supporter looking back on the videos pre and post Hillsborough, I feel proud.


Photograph of the many flowers, scarves and gifts left at Anfield after the Hillsborough disaster in a special issue of The Liverpool Echo...

Proud of the unity of the Liverpool fans, the Liverpool players and the Liverpool manager and for me, that's what Liverpool FC is all about.

It will have been 22 years on Friday April 15th since the disaster and still justice has not been done. In spite of this, young and old continue to fight together, for those 96 angels who will never walk alone.

Hillsborough: Never Forget
*Justice For The 96*
Don't Buy The Sun

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www.dontbuythesun.co.uk
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