‘It is as if life has stopped’: Memorial Concert Marx Kovid Anniversary

A county Framnagh woman who lost both her parents from Kovid-19, within just one month of each other, said that when they died, “life stopped”.

Hazel Gray was one of those who gathered for a memorial concert in Belfast who honored the loved ones who died during the epidemic.

It was part of one UK-Wide Day of Reflection To mark five years since the onset of outbreak of the virus.

Ms. Gray’s parents George and Violet Little died in December 2020 and January 2021, they were 80 and 78 years old respectively.

“They disappeared. This is the only way I can describe it,” Hazel Gray told BBC News Ni.

“They went to the hospital and never came home. Only one part of them came home, there were two bags of contaminated waste, which was an insult. It is just heartbroken.”

Ms. Gray said that she “did not move forward” with her grief.

“There is no way to convince it until you go through it,” he said.

“It is as if life has stopped and gradually you are trying to regain the fact that this happened, and you have to keep going.”

Ms. Gray, who is from outside the annecillain, said that she takes inspiration from her mother.

“My mother’s motto in life was, ‘is sure what you do?”

He said, “You have to do whatever you have to do to keep going through life and nothing should be allowed to happen.”

“She was handicapped but she never allowed her to stop. So I take it as my inspiration.”

Ms. Gray said that during the epidemics, he came to know some rest with other people who lost loved ones – because they understood.

He also praised the memory stones of the Prem Project, which features stones painted with paintings to reflect the lives of those lost people.

“Memory Stones – This is very special – they just brought back some,” he said.

“My parents are alive again due to some stones. It is very special to see their name and their short story.”

Ms. Gray explained how her mother had a ball of wool and knitting needles in her mother’s stone, as she preferred to weave, as well as a blue tight, as she enjoyed seeing birds in her garden.

Her father portrayed a blue tractor and silver band on his farm, in which he was a member for most of his life.

“The story was the story that was painted by those two stones, which was a little snap shot of his life,” he said.

The Memorial Concert, in which the performance of Solo singers with music from a song player was organized by the Memory Stones of Love Group.

Group Branda Doharti’s co-Leide, whose mother Ruth Burke died early in an epidemic, told BBC News Ni that “Hope” was one of the main subjects of the day.

He said that bringing people together to remember their loved ones helped to deal with the “stigma” of grief.

He said that the group had continued the campaign for a permanent monument in Northern Ireland, who had lost their lives during the epidemic.

“The stones of our memory require a house, and they need somewhere – a positive and reflective place – where people can go and remember their loved ones and respect,” he said.