Manchester knows from bitter experience that it takes unity to survive a terror attack

In 1996, the IRA detonated a bomb outside a shopping mall that injured more than 200 people. That followed a bomb attack in 1992.

Such incidents are still rare in the U.K., but Manchester has become all too familiar with tragedy.

“Manchester people are strong and we will rally together as we always do,” read one message sent by an unidentified listener to BBC Radio Manchester on Friday.

There were many more messages of defiance from people in a city determined not to be broken. “We are Manchester and we will come together to get through this awful act of terror. Stay strong,” read another.

“The good and decent people of Manchester will stand with you and we always will,” read a message one of the many bouquets of flowers left near the scene of the attack where, on Friday, a large crowd attended a vigil.

‘An attack on all of us’

The attack on the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue left two people dead and at least three seriously wounded after a man rammed a car into pedestrians outside the venue and then attacked them with a knife in what authorities have called a terrorist assault. On Friday, police said one of the victims appeared to have been accidentally shot by an officer as worshippers tried to stop the attacker entering the building.

It was also on Friday that the visible shock of the day before began to turn to anger — particularly in the direction of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who was heckled by members of a crowd at a vigil.

Then came a rallying cry from the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham that typified the city's response to previous tragedies.

“An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us," Burnham said. "That is the permanent principle, the firm foundation on which this city region has been built by you, by us, by everyone here over centuries.

"That is who we are and we will not let this break us in any way, shape or form."

Emblem of solidarity

The northwest England city is famed for its soccer teams, Manchester United and Manchester City, and its music scene, which produced ground-breaking bands such as Joy Division, Oasis and The Smiths.

But it has also earned unwanted notoriety as the scene of terror attacks.

The dead in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 included six children, the youngest being 8 years old.

It prompted an overwhelming sense of togetherness within the city — from the response of people trying to help victims as the awful events unfolded to how Manchester healed as a community.

The worker bee symbol, which has long been associated with the city, gained new prominence as an emblem of solidarity. It was painted on walls and tattooed on bodies as people came together.

Cath Hill was a survivor of the bombing along with her 10-year-old son. She is a lecturer in social work at Lancaster University and has gone on to work with fellow survivors from Manchester, as well as victims of terror further afield.

"For me, what stands out about Manchester is how the community came together, like instantly," she told The Associated Press. "That really stands out to me as what made us different. And that’s what people from other terror attacks around the world have said that they were really impressed with and saw. That sense of, ‘We won’t be divided.’

“I don’t know if it’s northern spirit. I don’t know if it’s just because we have experienced it before. But whatever it is, it meant that people came out into the streets and showed their solidarity with each other.”

‘Rallying of people’

Hill, who said she suffered survivor's guilt after she and her son escaped unharmed, said the response of Manchester provided comfort because the terrorists' chance of winning "is much reduced if we come together as a community.”

She led the ‘Bee the Difference’ initiative which studied the impact of the Manchester Arena attack on young people to help future victims receive better support.

Debra Green, executive director of Redeeming Our Communities, a charity based in Manchester that focuses on community projects, said the city "has this huge, compassionate heart and it’s a hard-working place where people will want to react positively.”

She added: “There’s always a positive. We want to not just go on protest marches and make statements, we want to show love in action. This is something that we don’t want to see happen again. This is something that is absolutely devastating.

"But the only good that can come from something like this is the rallying of people, the solidarity of people to care for those who are suffering, to show respect for those who’ve lost loved ones.”

Tributes at sporting events

Soccer supporters have been asked to pay tribute to the victims of the synagogue attack, with Manchester United 's men's team and Manchester City's women's team both playing matches in the city on Saturday. Fans will observe a minute's silence before the games kick off.

United and City players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect.

“It is a crazy world we are living in at the moment," United head coach Ruben Amorim said Friday.

Manchester United's women's players wore black armbands in their game on Friday against Chelsea at the Progress with Unity Stadium, in Leigh, Greater Manchester, where a minute’s silence was held.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, which has an away fixture on Sunday in London, was caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing, which was attended by his wife and two daughters.

He spoke in 2018 of the moment his wife called to say “something happened,” only for the phone to cut off. His family escaped without injury.

“When this kind of thing happens it shows the best of us,” Guardiola told the BBC. “Sometimes these kind of things happen. The times we are living right now, all around the world many things have happened. ... It needs open arms to go in there and try to help them.”