How many victims groups are there in Northern Ireland?

It is perhaps a rhetorical device to ask how many victims’ groups there are in Northern Ireland, much like counting angels on a pinhead. It is almost as difficult as guessing how many rehashed policies the Tories and Labour will produce before the next general election.

This week, the Victims Commissioners announced the establishment of a Victims Forum made up of 30 ‘victims’ of the Troubles, including ex-paramilitaries and ex-security force personnel.

And, true to form (in Northern Ireland), there were rumblings of discontent from forum members before it has had its first meeting.

Trying to wade through the multifarious victims’ groups in Northern Ireland produces more than 3 million results, so how were the 30 new forum members chosen? It seems it could have been done like a Facebook befriending campaign ‘You have been invited to join the Victims Forum’.
There was to be one victims commissioner, instead there are four. We now have 30 individuals - handpicked by these same commissioners – tasked with advising the commissioners on what it is to be a victim of the Troubles.

But the real burning question is…where has the apostrophe gone? Even the usually pedantic staff at the Beeb have dropped the apostrophe from Victims Commission and Victims Forum.

Without the apostrophe, of course, this means that there is no possessive; which by tortured and excessive examination of grammar (or at least what grammar we remember from school!) means that neither the forum or the commission ‘belongs to’ or is ‘for’ victims.

The real owners of the forum, commission etc etc are the media. How else are they to fill the airwaves? Report on real news? Properly cross-examine politicians? Nah, soundbite hell from the usual suspects, while too many victims suffer in silence…