The next-Sunday Manchester benefit concert, planned after the deadly attack executed by a 23-year-old English kamikaze during a show of Ariana Grande two weeks ago, is a huge response to the terrorism. It could be considered an example of restorative justice.
Such as the slogan "Je Suis Charlie" has been after the Paris attacks: "It's true that this demonstration did not involve any encounter between victim and offenders, and yet it's impetus goes at the core of restorative justice" said Theo Gavrielides, about that phrase. Gavrielides is founder and co-director of "Restorative Justice for all institute".
The individuals as public victims
In fact, restorative justice is a different way of conceiving the relation between victim and criminal. According to this point of view, society has not only to punish the crime, but also take care of the victims. It plays an active role thinking of a new relation with the crime and with the criminal.
The Manchester concert could be considered an example of this because the tragedy affected also the Public Sphere (that have to be restored) beyond the individuals directly involved. Unlikely other crimes, sure enough, with terrorist attacks also the public is "itself the - albeit secondary and/or additional - target" stated the professor of Tilburg Law School, Antony Pemberton.
John Tullock and Tony Blair on 2005 Underground bombing
Indeed, the attack is directed at victims as representatives of the collective. So, the individuals are identified also as public victims. For this reason public reaction could be different from a private reaction.
After the London Underground bombing of July 7th, 2005, "The Sun" published a picture of John Tullock, an injured person, with a blood-stained face: the headline was "Tell Tony He's Right", referring to then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his decision on terrorists' treatment.
In reality, Tulloch had already spoken out against Blair before the terroristic assault and remained to do so also after Blair's extension of the period of detention without charge of terrorist suspects to 90 days.
Morrisey against Theresa May
In the case of Manchester, we can see the same gap between public and private sphere of the individuals.
The former "The Smiths" frontman Steven Patrick Morrissey wrote last Tuesday a post on Facebook criticising the PM Theresa May.
She "says such attacks 'will not break us'", - wrote the singer - "but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues". The question is still if individuals are considered single citizens or representatives for the collectivity. Private hurts are considered difficult to forget instead of public hurts that needed to be recovered rapidly.
So the new Manchester concert is a way to centre the victims - as restorative justice claims, but only the public-side of them. For the private-side, a difficult and inclusive path of restorative practices should be pursued.
