"As he stood silently facing the waves on the Bondi shoreline, arm in arm with nearly 1,000 other lifesavers, Lockie Cook let himself feel the pain of the community's most traumatic week in living memory. I feel like that guard's just dropping, he said. Surf lifesavers gathered in their hundreds on Saturday morning to observe two minutes' silence and remember those killed in Sunday's attack on a Hanukah festival."
"Nestled between members of the beach's north and central clubs stood lifesavers who were there on Sunday evening including Cook and his four-year-old son, who he had sheltered when the north Bondi club end-of-year party was interrupted by gunfire and screams. When the shooting stopped, Cook ran to the homes of other club members to tell their families they were alive and saving the lives of others."
"At 8.15am, the two minutes' silence was announced by a man at the beach's central lifeguard post, behind which lie rows of flowers. Two minutes can be a very long time but please look within, he said. Hold hands with the person next to you, close your eyes and think about the families affected so we can grow back stronger for this community."
Nearly 1,000 surf lifesavers and community members gathered along Bondi Beach to observe a two-minute silence for victims of the attack on a Hanukah festival. Volunteer lifeguards, including Lockie Cook and his four-year-old son who sheltered during the shooting, stood arm in arm in red-and-yellow uniforms, forming a long line along the crescent beach. Cook ran to tell families their loved ones were alive and emphasized how much the lifeguard community means to him, calling it their church and urging reconnection and healing. The silence was announced at the central lifeguard post beside rows of flowers; only waves, a dog's bark and a rescue helicopter were heard as people embraced.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]