THIRTY-SIX people were killed in the Limavady Borough during the course of the Northern Ireland Troubles from 1969 to the present day with many more suffering horrific injuries during the conflict.
Now the recently appointed Commission for Victims and Survivors (CVS) wants to know how many victims of the Troubles need physical therapies for pain relief? How many survivors are stuck in a queue for counselling because demand outstrips supply? H
ow many people wish to have their stories acknowledged publicly?
Once it has gained answers to these questions it will be better placed to distribute £36 million in funding allocated for victims and survivors.
The conflict took a terrible toll on the Limavady area with eighteen civilians and eighteen members of the security forces killed over decades of violence. Francis McCloskey (67) was the first person to die during the troubles in July 1969 after being batoned on the head by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Dungiven.
Later, the Borough suffered some of the worst atrocities in Northern Ireland. Six civilians Ruth Dixon (17), Carol Watts (25), Angela Hoole (19), Patricia Cooke (21), Valerie McIntyre (21), Alan Callaghan (17) and eleven soldiers were killed when the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) left a timebomb in a disco at the Droppin Well Bar, Ballykelly.
In 1993 in Greysteel Steven Mullan (20), Karen Thompson (19), James Moore (81), Joseph McDermott (60), Moira Duddy (59), John Moyne (50), John Burns (54) and Victor Montgomery (76) were killed when the Ulster Freedom Fighters shot indiscriminately into the Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel.
The CVS is now seeking answers from those affected by these traumatic events as the basis of a new body of knowledge about the needs of the victims and survivors of the conflict.
Current Commission Chair, Bertha McDougall said, "It's relatively easy to write down a list of the needs, from physical therapies and counselling to storytelling, truth and justice - the difficult challenge is to find out how many victims and survivors are interested in each of those different areas. Until we can put numbers against needs, we cannot guarantee public money is being spent as wisely as possible.
"What is required is a Comprehensive Needs Assessment, to ensure funding for victims and survivors is spent as effectively as possible, and the Commission is taking the first step down that road."
This current round of research is designed to provide a base point, which the Commission hopes to take to the forthcoming Forum for victims and survivors.
"The devolved government has £36 million to spend on individuals and groups over the next three years. It's the Commission's job to set up a Forum to represent the views of those individuals and groups, and a very important part of that work will be to agree the Comprehensive Needs Assessment which we will use to advice government on how best to direct the funding flow.
"We intend to back that up with advice on best practice and delivery standards, to ensure the most effective and efficient use of public funds.
"But the fundamental point is that victims and survivors are individuals, and not all individuals need the same services. Needs assessment is at the core of making a positive difference."
If there is work in which individuals or groups have been involved that provides an assessment of the needs of victims and survivors (e.g. publications etc) and they would like to share this with the researchers please send one copy of it directly to the Social Research Centre at: By Post: Social Research Centre, 178 Ballylesson Road, Belfast, BT8 8JU. e-mail: info@srcentre.co.uk. web: www.srcentre.co.uk. Please note that for materials to be considered as part of this initial review, they must reach SRC no later than 5.00pm Friday, November 21, 2008.
The full article contains 645 words and appears in Londonderry Sentinel newspaper.
