Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Statement
11 September 2003
"So today as we mourn, reflect and remember, we ask that you join with us in pursuit of true peace, security, and
justice. We owe it to the dead, we need it for the living and we must do it for the generations to follow. Let us move
forward together to build a future of peaceful tomorrows." The full statement from Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Statement is below.
* Reminder - Circles of Hope Vigils in Aotearoa / New Zealand today in support of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows:
~ Napier - silent candlelit peace vigil, from 7-30pm to 8-30pm around the waterlily pond in the Clive Square Gardens,
all welcome to bring a candle and join us. Organised by Peace Movement Hawkes Bay, for more info contact Margaret Gwynn
tel (06) 835 2122.
~ Wellington - 'Circles of Hope' - the weekly vigil for peace is extended on the 11 Sept anniversary in solidarity with
Peaceful Tomorrows, 5pm to 7pm at the Cenotaph, corner Bowen Street and Lambton Quay; please bring candles and a placard
with your message of hope for a peaceful world. For more info contact Peace Movement Aotearoa, tel (04) 382 8129 or
email pma@xtra.co.nz
* Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Statement on the Second Anniversary of 9/11 *
Two years ago today our loved ones were tragically murdered in an act of terror that shook the United States and the
world. In the time since their deaths, as we continue our personal paths of grieving, we are comforted by the thoughtful
and compassionate response of people all over the world who have offered sympathy and support to the victims of these
terrible attacks. But much about the US government's approach to responding to our loved ones' deaths stands in stark
contrast to the common sense words and comforting actions of ordinary people. On this two-year anniversary, we stop to
reflect on the dangerous course of current policies and to call for a new approach to 9/11 that is focused on bringing
about true security and justice.
Our loved ones' deaths prompted the US government to attack Afghanistan and overthrow the repressive Taliban government
with the objective of catching Osama Bin Laden and other members of Al Queda thought to be responsible for the attack.
While military efforts to overthrow the Taliban were initially successful, Bin Laden is still unaccounted for, and
recent reports indicate that the Taliban and Al Queda are resurging in Afghanistan even as the central government pleads
for more funds for stabilization and rebuilding. Our military campaign in Afghanistan did one thing for certain: it
created more bereaved families just like ours. Ordinary Afghans were killed by US bombs, injured by cluster bombs, and
displaced by fighting, adding to the suffering of 23 previous years of wars. On our travels to Afghanistan we have met
some of these families and hold them in our hearts today as another set of victims created by the tragedy of 9/11.
Shortly after 9/11/01, the US congress passed the USA Patriot act, ostensibly to improve security in the United States,
with little time for examination of its consequences. In this climate of fear and panic, the Patriot Act and other
measures have eroded basic American civil liberties and threatened our immigrant populations in particular. Today,
unnamed people languish in unidentified locations on unknown charges under the guise of American justice. Yet there is
no evidence that these measures have made us any safer. At the same time, the administration stalls on efforts to
provide an open and honest investigation of the events of 9/11.
Last year at this time, President Bush used the occasion of the one year commemoration of our loved ones' deaths to
begin a marketing campaign to sell the war against Iraq. Despite the lack of a link between Saddam Hussein and the
events of 9/11, the Bush Administration's insinuations of a connection played upon the public's fears of 9/11 and led
the country into an unnecessary war in Iraq, invoking our loved ones' deaths as justification. While the deceptions
behind the stated reasons for going to war are coming to light, ordinary Iraqis and US soldiers in Iraq continue to
suffer, with the death toll mounting every day. Today we pause to mourn the Iraqi dead and all the casualties of the
war, and to call upon our leaders to bring our troops, who have put their lives on the line, safely home from this
misguided mission and to turn control of Iraq's rebuilding to the authority of the United Nations.
One of our members wrote to the New York Times on Sept 14, 2001 "I pray that this country which has been so deeply hurt
not unleash forces that it does not have the power to call back." Have we unleashed these terrible forces? After 9/11
America had the sympathy of the entire world. Since the war with Iraq, international sympathy and support has turned to
hatred and despair. Anti-American sentiment is on the rise all around the world - what better recruiting tool for
terrorists can we provide?
As grieving family members, we know that feelings of fear and anger are a natural part of the healing process. But we
have learned that it is not healthy or constructive to act on these emotions. The government's response to 9/11 has kept
us stuck in the fear and panic that we all shared from the shocking events of 9/11. Rather than basing our policies on
fear and anger, we call upon the government to act in the best interest of the American public by rejoining the
community of nations to work together constructively in solving the issues of worldwide terrorism and war.
While September 11 stands as a unique tragedy in the American experience, the sad reality is that people in other
countries have been experiencing their own September 11ths with much less fanfare all the time. Peaceful Tomorrows
members have met with other victims of violence around the world who are a guiding light in our efforts to put our grief
to work as action for peace. From Israeli and Palestinian parents who lost children to violence, to victims of the US
Embassy bombing in Kenya to the mothers of the disappeared in Central and South America to the survivors of the ultimate
violence - the atomic weapons dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Peaceful Tomorrows members have found
ourselves to be part of a worldwide family of those who have known terror and who have responded with peace. September
11 taught us that human beings have the capacity to commit terrible violence against each other. But it also taught us
that the human heart is capable of overcoming fear and hatred to build a world in which there are no more September
11ths anywhere in the world. It is this hope is that we must build upon as individuals and as nations.
On February 15, 2003 a great worldwide shift was made apparent - so obvious in fact that the New York Times reported it
on the front page. The millions of people in the streets around the world marching against war in Iraq demonstrated that
there are now two superpowers in the world: the Bush Administration and global public opinion. We are honored to stand
with our brothers and sisters around the world who know that we the people must find another way to live together on
this planet.
So today as we mourn, reflect and remember, we ask that you join with us in pursuit of true peace, security, and
justice. We owe it to the dead, we need it for the living and we must do it for the generations to follow. Let us move
forward together to build a future of peaceful tomorrows.