Saturday, August 09, 2008

Tragedy weighs on minds of those at Marian Days

Reporter Jamie Baranyai of the Springfield News-Leader offers an examination of the reaction of those attending the annual Marian Days observance in Carthage to the deaths of 15 people who were headed toward the festival in a bus crash Friday morning:

Long Tran of Houston, Texas, who was camping on the festival grounds with his family for the weekend, was waiting for a list of the victims' names to be released. He thought someone from his church was on the bus.

"We're worried it might be someone we know," he said.

His sister, Hoa Nguyen, said she considers her family lucky.

Her mom and another of her brothers were on a bus from Houston too -- but not the one that crashed.

"I'm thankful it wasn't them," she said.

Brother Dinh Tuyen Vien, who is a monk, said the bus crash has affected many people at the festival, including himself.

"I was shocked ... my mind just froze up," he said. "Some people had family members who were victims ... some people here had to go home."

Vien said the tragedy has brought people at the festival together.

"We will be more united," he said. "Unfortunately, it brings us together even more."

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