Five years ago, 32-year-old Ben Freeman was nearly killed in the 7/7 London bombings.
Now living in Cork City, Mr Freeman says the Coroner’s inquest into the attack, which
started this week, is not enough. Mr Freeman, who lives with friends in Glasheen, has
resided in Cork for the last six months. He says the only way there will be justice for
the 52 people that died will be if the British Government can explain why information it
held at the time was not acted upon.
“The only way forward is to get a public inquiry into what happened that day. The
Government said it was Al-Qaeda, but I don’t know. It’s said the Government, MI5 and
MI6 that knew about the group and I want to know why it wasn’t stopped.”
Mr Freeman was a victim of the Aldgate tube bombing and said that he wasn’t even
supposed to be on the train.
“I just barely missed the train before that. The only reason I missed it was because I
was getting a thank you present for my workplace after I was made permanent there.
It was a busy tube. Seven people were killed and everyone that as on it was taken to
hospital.”
Mr Freeman doesn’t have clear memories of the attack and suffered memory loss
afterwards.
“I remember getting on the train and a guy with a blue backpack pushing past me.
Then I remember a rush of air and crawling to the floor. I thought I had just fallen over.
“I remember finding that someone was on top of me. I later found out that it was
because of this man that my injuries were not as bad as they are. He lost both of his
legs, an arm, an eye and had a lot of internal damage. He is still alive though.”
Mr Freeman spent the next three and a half weeks in hospital. He still suffers from
nerve and muscle damage in his left arm, has pins in both his legs and a limp. The attack
has also had a psychological impact on Mr Freeman’s life.
“I don’t do crowds. I get very nervous when I’m in a group of large people. I didn’t
have a problem with crowds before the attack, but I guess I associate large crowds with
the busy tube.
“I’m not great with public transportation. I’m okay with the buses around Cork, but I just
can’t stand trains or tube systems. I guess that’s another reason I decided to move to
Cork; there’s no tube system.”
Despite the fact Mr Freeman still has injuries from the attack, he says he is grateful that it
wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“I’m grateful that I wasn’t any taller. If I were a few inches taller, then it wouldn’t have
been my arm they got, it would have been my heart. I’m also so grateful to that man
who fell on top of me, or else my injuries would have been so much worse.”
Mr Freeman said his move to Cork was one of the best decisions of his life. He is now
studying Architectural Drafting in St John’s College, something he wanted to do since he
was 18-years-old.
“London was just too difficult to live in after the bombings. I had a lot of friends in Cork
and that’s what I needed. It’s also not as as big or as fancy as London, which was just
what I wanted.
“Cork is my home now. I’m slowly getting my life back how I pictured it would be when I
was younger. I feel like I am a Corkonian now.”
Below is footage of the underground train that was bombed in Aldgate.
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