A Survivor Of The Manchester Attack Returned To The Arena To See Shawn Mendes And This Firefighter Went Along For Support

    Teenager Amelia Mae Thompson told BuzzFeed News she wanted "to create some more positive memories and try to overcome the negative memories that [she has] from there".

    Hazel Shearing
    by Hazel Shearing

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    This is Aaron Parmar. He's a firefighter in Manchester, but he used to be a police officer — and was on duty on the night of the Manchester Arena bombing nearly two years ago.

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    The suicide attack, which killed 22 people, took place as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.

    "I was actually just deployed down on the outskirts of the arena that night to do cordon control, so I didn't really go in on the night. The day after, I was working quite closely with one of the families," Parmar, 33, told BuzzFeed News.

    It was speaking to the mother of one of the victims that encouraged him to leave the police and fulfil his childhood ambition of becoming a firefighter.

    "She made me promise her that I'd apply and follow my dreams. She said, 'Look, life's too short, look what's just happened to us.'"

    Nearly two years on, he is raising money for the victims' memorial, running 22 10km races to commemorate each person who died.

    Aaron Lee @aaronlp1

    You can sit and sulk that things aren’t going your way or you can go out and make them go your way! I’m going for the latter. Head in the game, I’ve got work to do ! 🐝🏃🏻‍♂️🏅 #22ForThe22

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    "It is quite apparent seeing [the families'] posts that they're still going through it. That inspired me to do something to let them all know, the families, that we're still thinking of them."

    "I decided to do a 10K for each person. ... Once I get the medals at the end of the races, I'm getting their name engraved on that medal, then I'm going to give it to the families for keepsake."

    Aaron documents his race days and fundraising on Twitter. His JustGiving page has so far raised over £11,300 — and he has now set his sights on raising £16,500 for the memorial.

    Amelia Mae Thompson, a 13-year-old survivor of the attack, had been supporting his fundraising on Twitter for weeks.

    Twitter

    Amelia is a junior ambassador for Liv's Trust, a charity set up in memory of Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who was killed that night.

    Parmar said that Olivia's grandparents, who set up the charity and arrange fundraising events, have travelled long distances to come to several of the 18 races he's done so far. They brought Amelia to one of them.

    "I met her at one of the races at Blackpool a few weeks ago," Aaron said. "She'd been really supportive on Twitter — retweeting my stuff, trying to help me raise funds, shouting out to celebrities, trying to push it for me."

    "It was just by chance that I saw her tweet saying that she'd got tickets [to Shawn Mendes' concert], that she felt ready to go back to the Manchester Arena," Parmar said.

    Twitter

    When he saw that she was planning on going on her own, he got in touch.

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    "I said, 'You're not going on your own'. She's 13, and it's hard enough for anyone to be going back, but a 13-year-old girl to be going to the arena on her own. ... It was important for me to do that, because she feels safe with me, because I'm a fireman. It's part of my job," he said.

    Parmar arranged with Amelia's mum to take her.

    "It just resonated that she needs to go now, because while she's built up herself to be ready, if her confidence gets knocked now and she doesn't go, she might never go back to the arena. That was my thinking: We'll go, and I'll take her."

    They both returned to the arena on Sunday night for the first time since the attack to see Shawn Mendes perform live.

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    "I'd never been back. It was hard, but being there as Amelia's support took my mind off it, a bit like when it happened. I just went into work mode, you're just there to support everyone else — as a police officer at the time, and again [on Sunday] night."

    He said he was proud of Amelia because she had "faced her fears".

    "She dealt with it really well. I'm really proud of her," he said.

    Amelia told BuzzFeed News that it meant a lot to go back and to have his support.

    Amelia Mae Thompson @Ameliat76387387

    @aaronlp1 thank u for the most amazing time @ShawnMendes Manchester we did it #myhero let me know who’s going back next

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    "It showed others that they can go back too, that if I can get through it then they can get through it too — to create some more positive memories and try to overcome the negative memories that I have from there," she said.

    "I was quite nervous and I did have a couple of wobbles, just because of the entrances we were going in and stuff. It meant a lot for Aaron to come with me because it shows how much support he gives."

    She added that he understood what she had been through, having also been at the arena on the night of the attack.

    "He made me feel so safe, he didn’t rush me, he was saying, 'If you don’t want to go somewhere you don’t have to'."

    A big music fan, Amelia said that Shawn Mendes put on an "amazing" show.

    "I’d literally go and see the concert every single night if I could."

    Aaron has four races left to go. The last race is in Manchester, days before the second anniversary of the attack.

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    "I'm doing that one in my full firefighter uniform, just to push it a little bit further. Helmet, gloves, full kit, and my oxygen cylinder on my back. That is going to be a tough one," he said.

    Amelia continues to support his fundraising, and said that it is "really inspiring" to other people.

    "It’s so important that he’s doing it. It shows the families that people are always there, and that their loved ones are never going to be forgotten," she said.

    Her mum, Lisa, told BuzzFeed News that she "can't thank him enough" for supporting Amelia.

    "She still does struggle, but he gave her the confidence to do it and I think he’s amazing. He’s showing other people what can be achieved," she said.

    And what did Aaron think of his first Shawn Mendes concert?

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    "I thought it was full of teenagers screaming his name," he joked. "But yeah, he was really good live."