Today I’ve been reading a lot on the Internet and twitter about “The Secret” which is a dramatisation of real events that took place in Northern Ireland in 1991 -a tragedy that totally disrupted and still continues to affect the families of the victims .
The courageous daughter of Lesley Howell (Lauren Bradford) tried her best to stop a programme going ahead . This programme has been advertised and aired on ITV as a “drama”. The drama is based on a tragic event that tore through the hearts of the families involved as well as their respective families and their friends . Lauren decided to make her own voice as well as others heard and wrote an outstanding, impactful letter to The Guardian about why she disagreed with the “drama” and the unforeseen effect of it being on aired on TV would cause . The letter is HERE.
I feel that Lauren has written this letter to ROAR for her own mother Lesley , a wonderful, strong, kind and giving mother. Lesley’s voice was silenced by murder and so she cannot speak for herself about her life or how much her treasured children meant to her . Much more than this however Lauren has given other victims the chance to see that they too CAN and MUST speak out – so in writing her wonderful letter she will have helped others to realise that their voices WILL be heard . The media must no longer hold the power of ‘story telling the lives of others’ in order to make money or gain viewers or readers, they must realise that they don’t know the story so therefore it will never belong to them -it’s not their story after all is it?
Speaking out as a victim must be very difficult – which newspaper does a victim approach ? Which TV company ? How does a victim ensure that their views enable others to empathise with their true story? Here’s how – be like Lauren – write with truth and dignity in your heart.
I am so immensely proud of Lauren because through her words and thoughts she is actually helping others who may not be able to speak out to also have their voices heard . In addition to this Lauren is encouraging us all to think differently about how cases are reported and written about . How can it be right that a person can actually make money from someone else’s tragedy ?
Thank you for reading and please leave your thoughts and comments on Lauren’s article . This will to help the media see there are two sides to every story .
❤️Jenny❤️
@JennyTheM©️ 