Special victim and survivor event held at Ardinariff Orange Hall

On Friday night, a special victim/survivor panel event was held in Ardinariff Orange Hall near Dungiven.

SEFF's memorial quilt exhibition was hosted at the hall for four days, previously displayed in Coleraine Town hall.

Kenny Donaldson, SEFF's Director stated: "We were pleased to work with the good folks of Ardinariff supported by the North West Cultural Partnership in having our memorial quilts displayed in the Orange Hall and in jointly hosting a victim/survivor panel discussion.

“There were significant numbers of people who passed through over the course of a 4-day period and the hall was packed with those gathered heard from Alison Small (daughter of Spence McGarry, RUC GC) murdered in Limavady and two former UDR CGC members; James McClelland and William Semple.

“All three speakers spoke movingly and with real lived experiences of terrorism; its’ risk and its’ realities. Our welfare office for North Region, Michelle Knight-McQuillan also spoke about the TPDPS/victims pension scheme which we stand ready to assist with. 

“The last two weeks have been extremely important for us in The Causeway and Glens Borough area. SEFF has been supporting significant numbers of families across this area for a number of years now, but it has been piecemeal. We will be firming up our structures, there is a large constituency of victims/survivors who have never been reached by victim/survivor support provision and we are committed to redressing this.”

Mr Donaldson went on to explain the purpose of SEFF’s memorial quilts project as well as referencing the group’s ethos.

The key messages of the memorial quilts are:

· Violence was futile and totally unjustified

· Those remembered are wholly innocent

· The legacy of those represented will live on amongst those left behind.

"SEFF's doors are open and welcoming to all innocents; whether victimised by republican or loyalist terrorism or through criminal-based actions committed by members of the security forces. SEFF is not defined by constitutional politics or denominational religion - its' our values that unite us, consistent opposition to violence," added Mr Donaldson.

For further information and to learn how you might become involved with SEFF, call 028 677 23884, option 1.