Voice of the Victims Conference Amsterdam June 30, 2009

Sarri Singer, Director, Strength to Strength (formerly One Heart) Speaks at Conference to European Organizations Working with Victims of Terrorism

VNet: The Voice of the Victims in Europe is coordinated to provide the necessary framework for the exchange of different experiences, emotions, demands and testimonials of victims of terrorism in the European Union. Their goal is to raise awareness in European society, and work to achieve a real improvement of the legal, social and psychological support to victims of terrorism and to achieve a real improvement of the status of victims of terrorism. European laws should meet the real needs of victims of terrorism, and as a necessary step to achieve these goals, the Voice of the Victims should be heard.

Maria Lozano, Director, VNET, invited Sarri Singer to share experiences with other organizations throughout Europe. The Conference took place in Amsterdam on June 29-30, 2009 and consisted of approximatley 40 individuals who either were victims of terrorism themselves or professionals working with victims and their families. The theme for the conference was "Social Cohesion and Terrorism".

Sarri spoke about her experience and below are some parts of her speech:

“I boarded the number 14 bus which was very full. I saw two empty seats in the front section and decided to sit down, but instead of taking the aisle seat, like I normally would have, I moved in next to the window, a choice that I know if I hadn’t made I would not be here today....I screamed so loud that a stranger heard my cries and ran toward the mangled bus and pulled me out. I will never forget the kindness and love that was shown to me by those I knew and those whom I had never met....After personally going through a terrorist attack, I found that society as a whole initially is very sympathetic. But after the media fades, society goes about their lives while victims are still dealing with the long-term effects. There is not a day that goes by that I do not suffer pain and anguish from what was supposed to be a short bus ride to meet a friend for dinner and ended up being one of Israel‘s largest bus bombings.

Terrorism does not discriminate – it can happen anywhere at anytime and it is not just our responsibility as victims or those that work with victims, but it needs to be the responsibility of governments, organizations and communities to bring about social cohesion.”