Family Members Call for Compassion to Extend Beyond 9/11 Victims to Commemorate the Loss of Loved Ones
New York, NY, September 8, 2011—Today, in advance of the 10th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attacks, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of family members of those killed in the attacks, released the following statement:
“The members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows are grateful for the expressions of remembrance and concern being offered on the 10th anniversary of the events which took the lives of our loved ones. On this day we ask those who feel compassion for our loss to expand their compassion to include others who continue to experience loss ten years later: innocent families in Afghanistan and Iraq experiencing the loss of their loved ones and displacement from their communities as the result of war and political strife; Muslim-Americans subjected to bias and violence at home; those denied the protections of our Constitution and law, whether in Guantanamo or in our own country; those suffering from job loss and economic dislocation related to the cost of war and rising military budgets; and those who have seen their civil iberties and freedoms exchanged for the false promise of security.
The lesson of 9/11 is that we live in a connected world. We rise or fall together. As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On this 10th anniversary, let us honor those we lost by recognizing our kinship with people all over the world, and affirming the values and principles that will guarantee peaceful tomorrows for everyone.”
Contact:
Sahil Bhatia/David Lerner, Riptide Communications, (212)260-5000, SBhatia@riptideonline.com
Andrea LeBlanc, aldvm@comcast.net
