Injured by the Troubles by William McKee

On the 6th October a new book 'Injured' was published by the Wave Trauma Centre in Belfast in Northern Ireland. Former hostage Terry Waite was the guest speaker, a role that he commendably performed without charge.

The book presents fifteen separate stories written by individuals that were injured in the troubles.

One such man, Alex Bunting a taxi driver from North Belfast had a bomb placed under his car by the provisional IRA which resulted in Alex suffering horrendous injuries, injuries that necessitated his stay in hospital for over twelve months. Alex unfortunately lost one leg in the explosion and came extremely close to losing the other. Alex's passenger that day remarkably escaped with only minor injuries.

The ironic part of the tragic event was that it was a case of mistaken identity, a mistake that the IRA issued an apology for through the media.

That day which changed Alex and his family's life forever is in the past now. Alex continues to enjoy life and works tirelessly to help other victims and survivors from the troubles through the Wave Trauma Centre. He is also a member of the newly appointed Victims Forum. The purpose of the Forum is to provide the politicians with the appropriate advice to facilitate the setting up of a new Victims service that will meet the needs of survivors of the troubles. The figure in relation to individuals that have been effected during the conflict is estimated to fall somewhere between 40000 and 100000.

William McKee one of the Irish Books Reviews own weekly columnists has also been appointed as a chairman to one of the committees within the Forum and is seen here with his good friend Alex Bunting a true survivor of the conflict.

William McKee & Alex Bunting