Secondary: Rapid Response Assemblies
The London bombings - Resisting terrorism
By Stuart Kerner
 Suitable for Whole School
Aim
To respond to the terrible events which took place in Central London on Thursday, 7 July 2005.
Preparation and materials
Have a focus ready for use before the assembly starts. Some newspapers may be appropriate to concentrate students’ minds. An arrangement of flowers might be suitable; a lighted candle simply set on a table or stand with a cloth is also appropriate.
Keep the focus on this as a time of reflection – avoid using it as a time for routine messages and announcements.
The events in London on the seventh of July will undoubtedly have been a source of worry and upset to students. It is, therefore, important to allay the fears of some students who may feel anxious about further attacks. Conversely, many students, familiar with violent films and video games, may be desensitised and so it is equally important to show that this event involves the suffering of real people. You should also ascertain whether any students have been directly affected by the bombings.
It goes without saying that this subject should be tackled with tact and sensitivity.
Assembly
- We will all have certainly heard about the terrible events in Central London on the news: horrific eye-witness stories and dreadful images of destruction.
- At the time of writing, 38 people have been killed and over 700 left injured.
- The answer, resoundingly, must be no. That is exactly what terrorists want us to do. They want us to live in terror and spoil our everyday lives.
- We should remember that this is not the first time London has been faced with a systematic bombing campaign designed to provoke fear and panic.
- During the Second World War, in 1940, London found itself facing the full force of Hitler’s air force. With over eight million people – one-fifth of Britain’s population – the city was the centre of British government, trade and finance. To complete his dream of European domination, Hitler believed that he had to crush the spirit of London’s people.
- Certainly the British government expected Londoners to react to a continued air attack with panic and hysteria. They predicted that the first raid would kill 58,000 people and ignite huge street riots, requiring thousands of soldiers to maintain order.
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One commentator suggested that if the Nazis attacked the capital:
'London would be one vast raving bedlam, the hospitals will be stormed, traffic will cease, the homeless will shriek for peace, the city will be a pandemonium.' (Bertrand Russell)
- In the first months of 1940, British authorities tried to prepare ordinary Londoners for the threat their families faced. All citizens were fitted with gas masks, with Mickey Mouse masks for the youngest children. Home owners buried government-issued bomb shelters in their back gardens. Most schools closed and families were forced apart, with hundreds of thousands of children evacuated. To deal with the predicted crowds of hysterical citizens, the government opened new psychiatric clinics.
- On the seventh of September 1940, the German air force – the Luftwaffe – launched its first major attack, providing a preview of things to come. Hundreds of bombers filled the skies over London and London’s East End became one huge sprawling mass of fire, its massive docks and surrounding neighbourhoods overwhelmed with flames.
- But despite the initial fears, such deadly attacks became a way of life for Londoners. In fact, between the seventh of September and the thirteenth of November 1940, Londoners experienced only one bomb-free night. As the raids wore on, most of the city’s much-loved landmarks sustained severe damage: Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, the British Museum. Even the House of Commons – the symbol of British democracy – was devastated.
- By May 1941, when the blitz ended, London was virtually unrecognizable. Thirty per cent of the city had been destroyed or seriously damaged, including 300,000 houses. (One out of every three Londoners was homeless at some point during the blitz.) Eighty thousand people were dead or severely injured. If the alerts sounded throughout the war were averaged, Londoners faced a threat to their lives once every 36 hours for over five years.
- Yet in spite of the expectations, the people of London endured the blitz with astonishing self-control and even good humour. They went solidly about their everyday lives, vowing that ‘London can take it’ and ‘We’ll show old ’Itler’.
- The blitz unified London’s citizens as never before. It created a remarkable kind of unselfishness, in which jealousies and grudges seemed to have no place. In bomb shelters, group singing kept spirits high. Though fires raged nearby, dance halls and theatres stayed full.
- Housewives opened canteens and first-aid posts in their homes, and Boy Scouts acted as messengers. Drunkenness and absence from work actually declined, and the government’s new psychiatric clinics closed through lack of business.
- As London’s citizens proved sixty years ago, people do not enjoy freedom due to chance or circumstance. On the contrary, we can choose how we respond to terrorism. We can choose panic and selfishness or we can choose courage and the common good.
- But as ordinary people we must not allow the terrorists to unnerve us – we must build our own future. The way we handle this latest challenge, like the people of London and other British cities during the War, will tell us a great deal about ourselves and signify to the terrorists the futility of their actions.
Food for thought
'The terrible thing about terrorism is that ultimately it destroys those who practice it. Slowly but surely, as they try to extinguish life in others, the light within them dies.' (Terry Waite)
Prayers
Lord, make us instruments of your peace;
where there is hatred let me sow love,
where there is injury let me sow pardon,
where there is doubt, let me sow faith,
where there is despair let me give hope,
where there is darkness let me give light,
where there is sadness let me give joy.
Amen.
(St Francis of Assisi)
Most merciful God,
please help this world to rid itself of the evil of terrorism,
and of the greed and injustice that encourage its roots.
In both rich countries and poor ones, may your will be done.
Among all cultures and beliefs, let the thirst for justice,
compassion and peace triumph over terror and hatred.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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