Sunday, November 20, 2005

A Tragedy In Three Acts

This, reported in the Gold Coast Bulletin, was tragic:

"(Four year old) Emma was with her grandfather and there had been a picnic after the football and she just ran across the road to her grandmother," said Mr Sahovic.

Emma was struck by an eastbound car driven by a woman named Rachelle and thrown into the path of a white van heading west.
What followed was disgusting:

After the accident, people at the soccer ground turned on the van driver, attacking him until police intervened.
The driver was in no way at fault, a point emphasised immediately by police.

That such a sickening display of third-world savagery took place on a Gold Coast street was bad enough. But it took six days before anyone apologised for the actions of the family's friends and neighbours:

Mr Sahovic said he and his family wanted to apologise about the actions of those who attacked the driver.

"It shouldn't have happened, but it was just a sudden reaction and they did not know what had happened," he said. "The Bosnian community is a very close one on the Gold Coast and everyone knew Emma and loved her, so that was just their shocked, sudden reaction, but it shouldn't have happened.

"This was not their (the drivers') fault, it was nobody's fault, it was just a terrible tragic thing and we are all in shock."
One feels compelled to point out two things:

1. The attacked driver - reported two days after the accident as being a nervous wreck - was not simply shoved about. He was driving along doing nothing wrong when a child's body was suddenly thrown into the path of his van. He skidded to a halt and his vehicle was immediately surrounded by a baying mob which rocked and kicked the van then dragged him from the driver's seat and commenced beating him. He was seen bloodied and dazed in press photos after the event.

2. His attackers were Bosnian Muslims.

Welcome to Musgrave Avenue, just outside the grounds of the Gold Coast Mustangs, at Labrador, on the Gold Coast, Australia, in November 2005 and a display of multiculturalism at work.

Incidentally:

There was also a large gathering at the funeral and prayer service for Emma at the Gold Coast Mosque on Wednesday.

Mrs Sahovic could not attend, but her husband said the crowd numbers were quite humbling.
'Mrs Sahovic could not attend' her child's funeral. Perhaps she was too distraught.

Or perhaps she wasn't allowed to.

-- Nick

Footnote: One is unable to link to Gold Coast Bulletin news stories as they are deleted from the site after 24 hours. Here's the entire piece (written in the GC Bulletin's own special hysterical style):

Tears for their angel
19Nov05

SHE looked older, was wise beyond her tender years, and everybody whose lives she touched loved her to bits.

This was four-year-old Emma Sahovic, whose life was cut dreadfully short last Monday when she was struck by two vehicles in a tragic accident in Musgrave Avenue, Musgrave Hill.

Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, her mother Emira said the professional photograph which appears on our front page today was taken 11 days ago.

There was no special reason for the photo shoot and looking at this little cherub, no excuse would have been needed.

"Everybody loved Emma, everybody," said her mother.

"She was bright, happy and very intelligent, ahead of her years and no one who knew her will ever forget her."

Emma is survived by Din, her four-month-old brother.

Neither Emira nor her husband Damir was present at the Musgrave Avenue soccer ground when tragedy occurred about 6pm on Sunday.

"Emma was with her grandfather and there had been a picnic after the football and she just ran across the road to her grandmother," said Mr Sahovic.

Emma was struck by an eastbound car driven by a woman named Rachelle and thrown into the path of a white van heading west.

She was taken to the Gold Coast Hospital with massive injuries, then transferred to Brisbane's Mater Children's Hospital where she lost her battle for life at 4.30am on Monday.

After the accident, people at the soccer ground turned on the van driver, attacking him until police intervened.

Mr Sahovic said he and his family wanted to apologise about the actions of those who attacked the driver.

"It shouldn't have happened, but it was just a sudden reaction and they did not know what had happened," he said. "The Bosnian community is a very close one on the Gold Coast and everyone knew Emma and loved her, so that was just their shocked, sudden reaction, but it shouldn't have happened.

"This was not their (the drivers') fault, it was nobody's fault, it was just a terrible tragic thing and we are all in shock."

He said Rachelle had visited their Southport home with flowers this week. "It must have been very hard for her to do that and we would like to thank her for coming to our home like that," he said.

Mrs Sahovic said the family would also like to thank all police officers, emergency service workers and staff at both hospitals for their help and understanding.

She said the family had been buoyed by the support of their community and friends.

"We have received hundreds of phone calls, including many from Europe and we have had hundreds of people at the home and they have brought a great deal of food, which is our way," she said.

There was also a large gathering at the funeral and prayer service for Emma at the Gold Coast Mosque on Wednesday.

Mrs Sahovic could not attend, but her husband said the crowd numbers were quite humbling.

"There must have been 10 different religions represented and this was most special for a four-year-old girl, whose life was only beginning," he said.

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