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Prayers for Bridgend from fellow-sufferers
From the Revd Mark Bridgen Sir, — I write to offer the prayers of the people of the village of Gnosall for those in Bridgend who face the aftermath of the many apparent suicides there (News, 22 February). Why from this village in Staffordshire? Simply: late last year the village experienced its own wave of suicides that seemed high, considering the population. The press became interested, and the village was treated to headlines such as “Village of the doomed”. The reports of Gnosall, like those of Bridgend, pictured a community far removed from reality — a picture that clothed us in a state of depression, with nothing to do and hence nothing to live for. I would warn the people and churches of Bridgend that the press will not leave you alone to cope with the personal tragedies that lie behind each of the deaths. When I came to be Priest-in-Charge of this rural benefice, I foolishly believed what the press were then saying to me: that they would view my arrival as herald-ing a new start between them and the local people. Sadly, no new start was possible, as below the account of my arrival were once again accounts of the families who had lost loved ones — again not allowing families to grieve in peace. Now, with the deaths in Bridgend, my phone is ringing again, as reporters from the national and local press seek interviews and pictures so that they can gain access to the bereaved families of Gnosall to do another slant on their coverage of the Bridgend tragedy. Naïvely, I had a picture of journalists as reporting on a story, and, yes, interpreting the events that led up to it, but then stepping back and allowing grieving to take place. Not now. The press uses whatever means it can to keep a story going for as long as possible. It matters little if it is about grieving individuals and families. Gnosall and Bridgend are a test of the possibility of responsible journalism. Yet again, it is hardly ever to be found. MARK BRIDGENThe Vicarage Glebe Lane Gnosall ST20 0ER |
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