Saffie: the youngest 2017 Manchester bombing victim, and of Cypriot descent, is brought to life in a new book

In May 2017, thousands of people, many of them children, gathered at Manchester Arena to see American pop star Ariana Grande perform. As the concert ended and families made their way to the exits, a suicide bomber detonated a device packed with shrapnel. The blast killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 others.

Among the dead was eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos, the youngest victim and of Cypriot descent. Her death shocked the nation. She had been at the concert with her mother and her step sister. While they were both seriously injured, Saffie did not survive.

Saffie’s story is now being told in a new book written by her parents, Andrew and Lisa Roussos. The process, Andrew said, was painful but necessary.

“Since the 22nd of May 2017, Saffie became the youngest victim. Her face was everywhere, and people knew her as the baby of the 22,” he said. 

“Even though this was correct, she was much more than that… she was a beautiful, loving little girl full of life.”

This week, the Cyprus Mail spoke with Saffie’s uncle and aunt in Cyprus, Chris and Pat Roussou, and with her father, Andrew, in the UK. Their grief has not faded. But with the publication of a new book about Saffie’s life and legacy, they are determined to keep her memory alive.

Chris Roussou recalled the morning they found out.

“It’s all still so vivid,” he said. 

“I was about to leave for work when Pat, my wife, called me and said, ‘Something’s happened in Manchester last night, I’m sure Lisa and Saffie were there.’”

Chris hesitated to make the early morning call to the UK, not wanting to disturb anyone too soon. 

“I remember saying, ‘It’s 8am here, 6am in the UK, if I call Andrew and wake him, he won’t be happy.’ I wish now that it had just been a matter of waking him up.”

After many failed attempts, a woman finally answered and told Chris to speak to Andrew. Then came the words he will never forget: “Saffie’s gone.”

“That sentence seemed to stretch forever,” he said. 

“I told him, ‘We’ll get your dad and we’re on our way.’”

He had to break the news to his wife, to his elderly father, who had just seen Saffie the week before, and then to his daughters, Renay and Anastacia.

“We were completely devastated,” he said. 

“We searched for the earliest flights, and my dad and I were in Manchester by that afternoon. We went straight to the hospital to be with Andrew and my nephew Xander, who hadn’t gone to the concert.”

Chris remembered the look in his young nephew’s eyes. 

“That day, I saw Xander, only 11 years old, suddenly become a man.”

“The last time I heard Saffie’s voice,” he added, “was just days before, on my birthday, May 17, 2017, when she called to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.”

Chris and Pat say the world lost more than a young girl that night. It lost a force of nature.

“Saffie was the most confident eight-year-old you could ever meet,” Chris said. 

“I remember taking her and Xander shopping on a visit to the UK. I told them both to pick something they liked. Xander picked one toy, Saffie came back with a trolley full and simply said, ‘Pick what you want.’ That was her spirit, bold, joyful, and full of love.”

The Roussou family have lived in Cyprus for many years. Being far from the UK during such a traumatic time added another layer of heartbreak.

“Pat, the girls, and I felt helpless,” Chris said. 

“I would see a car like Andrew’s convertible and just cry, remembering how Saffie loved being in that car. Even seeing the spot on the floor where she’d watch TV brought tears.”

Chris shared a touching memory: 

“There was a time when Andrew, Lisa, Ashley, Xander, and Saffie stayed with us. Renay and Anastacia called me ‘Dad,’ so Saffie did too; she thought that was my name. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

He added, “Even now, Pat struggles with the thought that we weren’t there. The feeling of helplessness has never left.”

Saffie’s father, Andrew Roussos, still finds it difficult to describe the loss.

“Saffie is a larger-than-life character, full of life, love and empathy for others,” he told the Cyprus Mail. 

“She was beautiful from head to toe, stunning big brown eyes with dimples to match. A cheeky character, wanted to make everyone laugh.”

Andrew said Saffie had a unique ability to connect with strangers.

“She never liked people being upset and would do her utmost to make them smile,” he said. 

“Even homeless people, she couldn’t walk past, she made us stop to talk to them and buy them some food.”

He described how Saffie worked hard to master anything she set her mind to, including gymnastics.

“She would practise and practise until she was the best of the best,” he said. 

“This was, as you can imagine, nerve-racking for us to watch.”

He said the public inquiry into the bombing left the family with more questions than answers.

“It is a gruelling, mentally tough journey full of lies, cover-ups and truth on Saffie’s final moments,” he said. 

“The whole response from start to finish was a shambles.”

Andrew said the book helped them offload years of pain.

“Writing the book was a roller-coaster of emotions for us. We laughed, we cried, we got angry. Since the launch on April 25, we feel we can leave all that bad stuff in the book and move forward positively for Saffie.”

“Our wish and goal from the beginning was always to have Saffie’s character come alive through the book. Let everyone know who she is and not just remember her as the youngest victim.”

In Cyprus, the family have found small ways to honour Saffie’s memory.

“At Kourion beach, we write ‘Saffie Rocks’ on pebbles,” said Chris. 

“She truly does, and she always will.”

The Manchester Arena bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the UK since 2005. For many, the image of Saffie-Rose Roussos remains the most haunting reminder of what was lost.

Her family want the world to know she was more than a victim. She was funny, fearless and kind. And through their book, they hope Saffie’s voice will reach new generations.

As Andrew said: “To tell the truth and nothing but the truth… That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”

The book, which is now a No.1 bestseller in its category, is available on Amazon at www.amazon.com/Saffie-youngest-Manchester-familys-justice-ebook/dp/B0DKFV983B.