Jordan Times
Friday, November 10, 2006
King, Queen mark 1st
anniversary of hotel bombings with victims’ families
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania met with some of the victims of last year’s
tragic hotel bombings as well as their families at Civil Defence Department
headquarters on Thursday.
During a very emotional meeting, the Queen reiterated her support for everyone
affected by the tragedy.
“The more we stand together, the stronger we stand,” she said. “Nothing can fill
the void of your loss, but we stand by you to help you deal with it.”
The gathering observed a moment of silence and prayer for the 90 men, women and
children who lost their lives in last year’s attacks.
A few of the injured and several of the victims’ family members recounted the
emotional experiences of the past year. All the families at Thursday’s meeting
had received psychological counselling, as well as medical and financial
assistance to help ease the burden of the trauma from the Jordanian Society for
the Prevention of Family Violence’s (JSPFV) National Compassion and Support
Centre.
Queen Rania noted the need for psychological support for children, who are the
most in need of a return to normalcy, she said. “What they see and feel at this
stage in their lives, will affect them later on,” she added.
The victims expressed their gratitude to those who helped them in their ordeal.
The sister of one of the men killed in the attacks thanked the counsellors:
“After we had gone through that horrible experience, they helped us realise
there is still good in the world. They also showed us that we weren’t on our
own. It wasn’t just our family that was affected.”
Queen Rania launched the centre after last year’s bombings. The JSPFV initiative
included a toll-free hotline that anyone affected by the bombings could call to
discuss their feelings and needs.
She also discussed the launch of the Humanitarian Support Network with members
of the National Steering Committee.
Earlier, the Queen met with the National Steering Committee of the Humanitarian
Support Network, which was launched prior to her arrival at a signing ceremony
between the four partners: The ministries of health and social development, the
Civil Defence department, and the JSPFV. The four entities, along with
representatives from the private sector, professionals in the field and the
National Centre for Forensic Studies make up the steering committee.
The creation of the network serves to institutionalise support in times of
crisis and provide mechanisms for coordination and cooperation for injured
victims and family members affected by the crisis, while also providing
capacity-building for those dealing with humanitarian aid.
Queen Rania noted that during times of emergencies and disasters,
institutionalised guidelines were needed, and it is during times of non-crisis
that such matters can be outlined.
“Training needs to be continuous,” she said, “because, God forbid, if something
happens a few years down the line, we need to make sure no one forgets the
training he or she received.”
Reem Abu Hassan, who heads the steering committee, briefed Queen Rania on the
centre’s progress over the past year, saying it had taken on 22 cases. Some
families declined assistance, while others received counselling for several
months, she noted. Some of the families who asked for help, are still receiving
psychological counselling, she said.
The team of peer counsellors received up to 45 hours of training and each of the
16 groups worked with two or three families. They continue to make follow-up
visits on a monthly basis to assess the psychological progress of each of the
families.
Also on Thursday, His Majesty King Abdullah and Queen Rania held a banquet for
families of the victims.
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Feisal, Prince Ali and Prince Hamza, Royal Court
Chief Salem Turk, Director of the King’s Office Bassem Awadallah and Chief
Islamic Justice Ahmad Hilayel attended the lunch banquet.
The guests included Huda Akkad, sister of the late Syrian American director
Mustafa Akkad, who was killed in the bombings along with his daughter, Rima.
In interviews following the event, the victims’ relatives said the crime that
claimed the lives of their beloved ones did nothing to “serve the cause of Islam
and the Muslims.”