Lockerbie bombing: 30th anniversary marked with poignant 'walk for peace'

Krystal Anderson met the group at the summit
PA
Jacob Jarvis22 December 2018

A beautiful white horse was ridden in a walk for peace marking the 30th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing.

A 50-strong group of residents of the Dumfries and Galloway town and those who helped in the aftermath of the tragedy took part in the poignant event on Saturday.

They carried 21 flags, to represent the 21 nationalities of the 270 victims of the air disaster, with them.

The walkers scaled Burnswark, a flat-topped hill to the south of Lockerbie in Scotland, which overlooks the area affected by the 1988 tragedy.

Residents of Lockerbie and others affected by the bombing climb Burnswark Hill above the town of Lockerbie i
PA

Krystal Anderson met the group at the summit after riding her white horse, Rebel, from Tundergarth, while carrying the Lockerbie Standard.

Ms Anderson is part of one of the many families that helped in the aftermath of the bombing.

She said: "So many people were affected by the bombing, but the community really showed how strong it is, and everybody rallied round. Ever since then people from this area have been working for peace.

"I see the ride as being a way to help spread that message of peace."

Residents of Lockerbie and others affected by the bombing climb Burnswark Hill
PA

Religious leaders and representatives from Allanton World Peace Sanctuary also joined the gathering, with the hill walk was one of three linked Journey Towards Peace events.

The gatherings focus on hope, kindness and the need to end conflict.

Jan Hogarth, an environmental artist working on the events, said: "In the decades since the bombing the people of this area have shown people kindness and compassion.

"These events build on that positive process, bringing together people of all generations and of many backgrounds and beliefs with the common goal of spreading a message of peace and hope on earth."

Another of the event's organisers, Susan Neal, said locals were "done with" their grieving.

They held flags from 21 nations aloft
PA

She said: "The walk had a sense of achievement, looking over the landscape, a beautiful landscape.

"It was very poignant, very interesting to talk to people on the walk and about why they chose to come.

"It was moving, but we're moving on. We wanted to send a positive message about how we feel about the future."

The 63-year-old of Lockerbie was in the town on the night of the atrocity.

Kaoruko Ferguson, originally from Japan but now living in Dumfries climbs Burnswark Hill 
PA

Jessica Wheeler, of May Peace Prevail on Earth International, also helped with the organisation and said: "The land is very healing, being outside in that environment.

"I spoke to the farmer who was there, who found the first evidence of what happened.

"Occasionally, he can still smell it in the air, he still has some sense of it."

The Lockerbie bombing saw Pan Am Flight 103 destroyed by a bomb, with 243 passengers, 16 crew and then 11 people in the surrounding area where the plane crashed in Scotland killed by tragedy.

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