In the wake of the suspected terror attack in Manchester, England, The Project hosts have grappled with the disastrous loss of 22 lives.
“It’s hard to watch, isn’t it?” guest panellist Amanda Keller said of the suicide bombing, which took place at the conclusion of pop star Ariana Grande’s concert on Monday night.
“It seems particularly cruel to target young girls at a concert, many of them probably their first concert. They’re with their mums. Heartbreaking. I know we’ll soon see the faces of these people and it will be heartbreaking.”
Mother-of-two Carrie Bickmore struggled to comprehend what this event might mean for the thousands more who watched on.
“For those young people that have survived, they’re going to be scarred by that,” she said. “That is the fear they’ll now live with. [To be attending] something so fun and [for this to happen]…”
For Peter Helliar, the father of three boys, the incident came at a time when he was contemplating buying one of his son’s a concert ticket.
“They’re all terrible,” an emotional Helliar said. “It feels like a particular kind of cowardice. We believe the explosion happened where parents were picking up their kids…
“I was organising this morning to try and organise one of my kid’s first concerts and then literally five minutes later I read this.”
How to talk to your kids about terrorism. Post continues below.
It’s an event that has made the normally jovial comedian think twice about sending his children to a similar event.
“I haven’t booked the tickets yet… it’s on my mind,” he said.
For Waleed Aly, we need to keep going about our usual lives, and not let fear win.
“This is plumbing new depths of depravity,” Waleed said. “And you can’t avoid having that kind of reaction… but living your life, that’s how you stick it up them.”
If you’d like to support the victims of the attack and their families, you can donate to the Manchester attack victims fund here.
Top Comments
The term 'terror attacks' seem to have so much power. But like changing 'king hit' to 'coward's punch' has made us Aussies change how we see and have these incidents reported, perhaps we can start a new trend. This was an act of cowardice, they want us to feel fear. Change the name - terrorist - coward. Terrorist attack - coward attack. Give them no more power! They attacked little girls at a pop concert, trying to get home to their families. Can't get anymore cowardly than that!
The act is cowardly and disgusting, but it takes backbone to blow yourself up for some inane cause.