English: Diolch, Lywydd. Nine-fifteen a.m., Friday 21 October 1966 - the terrible events visited on Aberfan that day reverberated around the world. On the last day of the school term, one small mining village lost 116 children and 28 adults. Nothing would ever be the same for Aberfan, for Wales, for the world. Just one day later, just one hour earlier, things would have been so different. Aberfan was the first major disaster seen by the world through the lens of a television camera, and the impact was immediate. The sight of endless streams of miners, volunteers, emergency workers and the military fighting tirelessly to find survivors, and recover those who perished, is emblazoned in the memories of anyone who was around at that time. Despite these heroic efforts, no-one was found alive after 11 a.m. As a small child, not living in Aberfan, or even in Wales, at that time, this was the first news story that I have a memory of. Such was its impact that the horror of what happened on that day has stayed with me all of my life, as I recall so vividly my parents thanking God that it wasn't me or my brother who had gone to school that day never to come home. Their sorrow poured out for people who they didn't know and they would never meet, but, as young parents themselves, these were people with whom they had complete empathy. At that time, everyone felt the pain of Aberfan. It was, of course, the day that the community of Aberfan changed forever. Survivors would never know the normality of life without tragedy. Families lost sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, parents and grandparents - lives that were torn apart under the mountain of black sludge. The guilt of survivors who lived when their friends perished, the guilt of parents whose children survived when many were left childless, the parents of children lost, unable to visit their graves, or alter a child's bedroom, teachers killed doing their job - the unspoken trauma that we know stays with so many even now. No-one was unaffected by those terrible events, but the community gave each other comfort and strength to come through it. As we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster, it gives us all time to reflect on lives lost, families broken, survivors tormented. But it also allows us to reflect on a community's resilience and the courage shown in the face of the most terrible of tragedies. What happened that day shows us that the price of coal, in a place whose only reason for existence was to dig for it, was too great a price for any community to pay. But coal had also created these mining communities, whose values of solidarity, comradeship and community spirit were rarely seen elsewhere. That spirit has lived on well after the last coal was cut in Merthyr Vale, and that spirit has been such a credit to the people of Aberfan, enabling them to rebuild their lives and their community, and to look forward with courage, dignity and hope. That dignity has been so apparent as the people of Aberfan have come together to make arrangements to mark this anniversary, and I pay tribute to all of you, not just this year, but every day of every year, for everything you do for each other, and for the memory of those who were lost. I've worked with many of you in the recent months and weeks while we've been discussing these events, and it has been my privilege to get to know you and to now call you my friends. While it's difficult to talk about positives when contemplating the scale of suffering visited on this small mining community, there is perhaps some comfort in recognising that it did result in the eventual removal of all coal tips across the country, ensuring that there could never be a repeat of the Aberfan disaster. It led to improvements in health and safety at work, particularly in heavy industry, and resulted in the effect of the experiences of people in Aberfan finally being recognised as the medical condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, so that those who needed it could receive treatment for the traumas that they suffered. So, while these anniversary commemorations will undoubtedly bring back terrible memories for many, it is also a time for the whole country to come together to support Aberfan and let them know that those lost will never be forgotten. This community will grow and become stronger as each year passes and as new generations build their futures and become their new hope. In closing, I must acknowledge that whatever sympathy and empathy we express, only those directly involved can know the true impacts of the effects of 21 October 1966. But we, as the National Assembly for Wales, on behalf of the people of Wales, and so many people beyond, can hope that our acts of commemoration will offer some continuing support and comfort to the community of Aberfan.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd. Chwarter wedi naw y bore, ddydd Gwener 21 Hydref, 1966 - fe wnaeth effaith digwyddiadau ofnadwy'r diwrnod hwnnw yn Aberfan ddiasbedain o gwmpas y byd. Ar ddiwrnod olaf y tymor ysgol, collodd un pentref glofaol bychan 116 o blant a 28 o oedolion. Ni fyddai dim yr un fath byth eto i Aberfan, i Gymru, i'r byd. Un diwrnod yn ddiweddarach, un awr yn gynt, a byddai pethau wedi bod mor wahanol. Aberfan oedd y trychineb mawr cyntaf a welodd y byd drwy lens camera teledu, ac roedd yr effaith yn enbyd. Mae gweld ffrydiau diddiwedd o lowyr, gwirfoddolwyr, gweithwyr brys a'r lluoedd arfog yn ymladd yn ddiflino i ddod o hyd i rai'n fyw, ac i gludo'r rhai a fu farw, yn glir iawn yng nghof unrhyw un a oedd o gwmpas ar y pryd. Er gwaethaf yr ymdrechion arwrol hyn, ni chafodd neb ei ganfod yn fyw ar ôl 11:00 y bore. Fel plentyn bach, nad oedd yn byw yn Aberfan, na hyd yn oed yng Nghymru ar y pryd, dyma'r stori newyddion gyntaf y mae gennyf gof amdani. Cymaint oedd ei heffaith, mae arswyd yr hyn a ddigwyddodd ar y diwrnod hwnnw wedi aros gyda mi drwy gydol fy oes, wrth i mi gofio mor glir fy rhieni'n diolch i Dduw nad fi neu fy mrawd a oedd wedi mynd i'r ysgol y diwrnod hwnnw i beidio â dod adref byth. Roedd eu tristwch yn arllwys allan dros bobl nad oeddent yn eu hadnabod ac na fyddent byth yn eu cyfarfod, ond fel rhieni ifanc eu hunain, dyma bobl roedd ganddynt empathi llwyr â hwy. Ar y pryd, teimlai pawb boen Aberfan. Wrth gwrs, dyna'r diwrnod y newidiodd cymuned Aberfan am byth. Ni fyddai'r rhai a oroesodd byth yn gwybod am normalrwydd bywyd heb drasiedi. Collodd teuluoedd feibion, merched, brodyr, chwiorydd, gwŷr, gwragedd, rhieni a neiniau a theidiau - bywydau a chwalwyd o dan y mynydd o laid du. Euogrwydd y rhai a oroesodd pan fu farw eu ffrindiau, euogrwydd rhieni roedd eu plant wedi goroesi pan gafodd llawer eu gadael yn ddi-blant, rhieni plant a gollwyd, yn methu ymweld â'u beddau, neu newid ystafell wely plentyn, athrawon a laddwyd wrth wneud eu gwaith - trawma mud y gwyddom ei fod yn aros gyda chymaint ohonynt hyd yn oed yn awr. Ni adawyd neb heb ei effeithio gan y digwyddiadau ofnadwy hyn, ond rhoddodd y gymuned bob cysur a nerth i'w gilydd i ddod drwyddi. Wrth i ni ddathlu hanner canmlwyddiant y trychineb, mae'n rhoi amser i ni i gyd fyfyrio ar y bywydau a gollwyd, y teuluoedd a dorrwyd, y goroeswyr a boenydiwyd. Ond mae hefyd yn ein galluogi i fyfyrio ar gadernid cymuned a'r dewrder a ddangoswyd yn wyneb y trychineb mwyaf enbyd. Mae'r hyn a ddigwyddodd y diwrnod hwnnw yn dangos i ni fod pris glo, mewn man lle roedd cloddio amdano yn unig reswm dros ei fodolaeth, yn bris rhy uchel i unrhyw gymuned ei dalu. Ond glo hefyd oedd wedi creu'r cymunedau glofaol hyn nad oedd eu gwerthoedd o undod, brawdoliaeth ac ysbryd cymunedol i'w weld yn aml mewn mannau eraill. Mae'r ysbryd hwnnw wedi parhau i fyw ymhell wedi i'r glo olaf gael ei dorri yn Ynysowen, ac mae'r ysbryd hwnnw wedi bod er y fath glod i bobl Aberfan, gan eu galluogi i ailadeiladu eu bywydau a'u cymuned, ac i edrych ymlaen gyda dewrder, urddas a gobaith. Mae'r urddas hwnnw wedi bod mor amlwg wrth i'r bobl Aberfan ddod ynghyd i wneud trefniadau i nodi'r hanner canmlwyddiant, ac rwy'n talu teyrnged i bob un ohonoch, nid eleni'n unig, ond bob dydd o bob blwyddyn, am bopeth a wnewch dros eich gilydd, ac er cof am y rhai a gollwyd. Rwyf wedi gweithio gyda nifer ohonoch yn ystod y misoedd a'r wythnosau diwethaf wrth i ni drafod y digwyddiadau hyn, a bu'n fraint dod i'ch adnabod a bellach i'ch galw'n ffrindiau. Er ei bod yn anodd siarad am bethau cadarnhaol wrth ystyried maint y dioddefaint a wynebodd y gymuned lofaol fechan hon, efallai fod rhyw gysur mewn cydnabod ei fod wedi arwain yn y pen draw at gael gwared ar yr holl domenni glo ar draws y wlad, gan sicrhau na allai trychineb Aberfan byth ddigwydd eto. Arweiniodd at welliannau mewn iechyd a diogelwch yn y gwaith, yn enwedig mewn diwydiant trwm, ac arweiniodd at gydnabod effaith profiadau pobl yn Aberfan o'r diwedd fel cyflwr meddygol anhwylder straen wedi trawma, fel bod y rhai a oedd angen triniaeth am y trawmâu roeddent wedi'u dioddef yn gallu ei chael. Felly, er bod digwyddiadau'r hanner canmlwyddiant yn sicr yn dod ag atgofion ofnadwy yn ôl i lawer, mae hefyd yn amser i'r wlad gyfan ddod at ei gilydd i gefnogi Aberfan a rhoi gwybod iddynt nad aiff y rhai a gollwyd byth yn angof. Bydd y gymuned hon yn tyfu ac yn cryfhau gyda phob blwyddyn ac wrth i genedlaethau newydd adeiladu eu dyfodol a dod yn obaith newydd. Wrth gloi, mae'n rhaid i mi gydnabod pa gydymdeimlad ac empathi bynnag a fynegwn, ni all neb ond y rhai sy'n rhan uniongyrchol o hyn wybod beth oedd gwir effeithiau 21 Hydref 1966. Ond fe allwn, fel Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru, ar ran pobl Cymru, a chymaint o bobl y tu hwnt iddi, obeithio y bydd ein gweithgarwch coffáu yn cynnig rhywfaint o gymorth a chysur parhaus i gymuned Aberfan.