A Derry man blinded by a soldier as a child has said he would never take his sight back if it meant giving up his charitable work - raising millions to help youngsters worldwide.
Speaking to MyDerry, Richard Moore said his time establishing and growing Children in Crossfire over the last three decades has been the 'biggest achievement of his life'.
The charity chief was only 10-years-old when he was struck by a rubber bullet fired by Charles Inness, then a captain with the Royal Artillery, on May 4 1972.
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The two men went on to become close friends after they originally met in 2006. Mr Inness, who is from Whitsome in the Scottish Borders, apologised to Mr Moore in 2020 - an apology he accepted.
In an interview with this publication, Richard said despite accepting the apology, there would never be any justification for his shooting.
"Forgiveness is hard for people," Richard said. "I don't believe that anybody should feel that they're a lesser person for because they can't forgive.
"It's totally understandable that some people cannot forgive because of the pain that's inflicted upon them.
"For me, I am delighted that I've experienced forgiveness. I generally don't have any anger and I think that's a happier place to be.
"The bottom line is, all we want in life is to be happy and I think being angry or bitter about something does affect your ability to be happy.
"The fact that I didn't have that has allowed me to move on in a very content way. I had enough to deal with without having to deal with the baggage of anger and hatred."
Mr Moore's forgiveness and new friendship with Mr Inness has been hailed by the Dalai Lama, whom they met in 2010.
However, the Derry -native admitted that the engagement of the pair didn't come across as 'warm' initially.
He added: "We had communicated by letter beforehand and I had sent Charles what I thought was a warm and friendly letter.
"But the one that I got back from Charles wasn't, to me, as warm and friendly. And he said two things in the letter that really jumped out at me. He said that he didn't feel guilty and that he felt justified.
"When those things are read out to you, you almost blank out everything else. The letter also said that in hindsight he wishes he never fired the rubber bullet, but you don't get that straight away when you hear the first two things.
"[This is a person] that I never knew anything about growing up. I didn't even know his name. As a child when I used to be walking about Creggan with my friends, and the [British] army would walk past, I used to wonder was the soldier there. I used to wonder did he ever see me, and did he know who I was.
"And when I met him [in 2006], I felt obliged to ask him about not feeling guilty and his justification. I wanted to do it in a friendly way, and I wanted to do it in a non-confrontational way."
Richard continued: "Charles explained to me what he meant and I don't believe there is any justification whatsoever but I accept the fact that's what Charles feels.
"And with reconciliation, if you want to move on positively and reach across the divide then my way to do that is to allow the other person to be who they are and they do the same for me.
"Maybe me and Charles will never agree on the justification - I know I will never agree - but I have chosen to respect the fact that's how he feels. In doing that, it has allowed a further space for both of us to move into to begin to become friends - and we are good friends now."
Previously speaking to the media, Mr Inness said: “I was 30 at the time; 1972 was the most unpleasant year of The Troubles, the violence was unbelievable, almost on a daily basis a soldier, a police officer or a prison officer was killed or seriously injured.
“The intention of firing the rubber bullet was to get youths who were in the process of throwing stones and generally causing mayhem around a post, which was an RUC station.
“At some stage I certainly said to Richard ‘I am awfully sorry this happened’. As I say to other people, the intention of the rubber bullet was no more than to get the people who were causing the problem to go away.
“That was the sole intention; the idea I had intended to damn nearly kill a 10-year-old child was never there.
“I had children of a similar age myself, and the last thing in the world I wanted to do was damage a child. But the only means we had of trying to disperse people being violent was a rubber bullet gun.
“The great regret remained with me for a long time.”
However, Richard said he had never dwelt on losing his sight, going on to form the charity Children In Crossfire in 1996, which supports projects helping some of the most vulnerable children on the planet that suffer from the injustice of poverty - including in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
"I thought I could be a voice for children who couldn't speak for themselves," Richard added. "I thought I could use my experience to help other children and turn something negative into a positive.
"Children in Crossfire today works in Tanzania and Ethiopia and it provides pre-primary education for children in very poor circumstances, children who are lucky to get one meal a day.
"I've been out and it's been one of the most humbling and enriching experiences and if I was offered my eyesight back tomorrow but had to give all of that up, I'd rather be blind.
"It's been so rewarding. I've gotten more out of Children in Crossfire than I have ever got anywhere else.
“I been to places where there’s been a lot of conflict and people are suffering and I hope my story helps to show that forgiveness is the best way to move on.
"And if there's a child alive today in Tanzania or Ethiopia, it's not because of me. It's not even because of Children in Crossfire. It's because of those people in my life who showed me what real love and compassion are."
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