Gerum 9/11 að alþjóðlegum minningardegi

Grein sem birtist í gær 9/11 í Theran Times er merkileg fyrir ýmissa hluta sakir og þá sérstaklega fyrir yfirvegun og yfirsýn greinarhöfundar, sem heitir  Hamid Golpira. Hann hvetur til þess að 9/ 11 verði gerður að alþjóðlegum minningardegi. Í niðurlagi greinar sinnar segir hann, að slík athöfn á heimsvísu "til minningar um allt það saklausa fólk sem lét lífið þennan dag gæti orðið til að stuðla að friði og sanngjarnari heimsmenningu". Greinarhöfundur minnir okkur síðan á að hinn 9. september árið 2001 hafi fleira saklaust fólk látið lífið en þeir sem þann dag voru drepnir í New York og Washington. Þannig hafi á þessum eina degi 30 þúsund börn og 8 þúsund fullorðnir dáið úr hungri og sjúkdómum sem rekja megi til fátæktar. "Börnin í þriðja heiminum upplifa 9/11 á hverjum einasta degi". Síðan rekur Hamid Golpira atburði sem áttu sér stað á þessum tíma víðs vegar um heiminn og er það umhugsunarverð lesning. Þessi nálgun opnar víða sýn á heiminn. Hún hvetur til raunsæis og er stefnt gegn fordómum. Hún er umburðarlynd. Ég læt greinina fylgja á ensku og síðan vefslóðir bæði á þessa grein og blaðið sem hún birtist í.

The other 9/11
By Hamid Golpira

Today is the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and many ceremonies are being held in remembrance of the people who died on that day, but where are the ceremonies for the thousands of other innocent people who died all over he world on that very day? Over 30,000 children and 8,000 adults died of hunger or poverty-related illnesses on September 11, 2001. The children of the Third World experience ten 9/11s every day of the year.

In Afghanistan, the war and repression continued on September 11, 2001, with the Taleban government in the middle of an offensive it had launched on Northern Alliance positions in the Panjshir Valley in an attempt to capitalize on the death of Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Masood, who was assassinated on September 9, 2001. Until 9/11, very few Westerners paid much attention to the war in  Afghanistan. And Afghans were definitely not expecting the United States to launch a war against the Taleban to take revenge on their guests, 9/11 suspects Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, in which thousands of innocent Afghans would be killed and depleted uranium weapons would be used, irradiating part of the country.

In Palestine, the first anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada was approaching, and the Zionists were continuing their attempt to suppress the uprising through the use of assassinations, collective punishment, demolition of Palestinians homes, and arbitrary detentions, which most of the Third World viewed as state-sponsored terrorism.

In Africa, AIDS continued to decimate countries; wars continued in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, and Algeria; and the Western Sahara problem remained unresolved.

In South America racism against the indigenous people continued and economic crises worsened, making the lives of the poor even more miserable.

 And on September 11, 2001, U.S. citizens experienced a military attack on the mainland United States resulting in widescale death and destruction for the first time since the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865.

Many have said that the United States was globalized for the first time on 9/11. Unfortunately, most U.S. citizens were still unable to empathize with oppressed people in the Third World. This indifference actually serves to promote terrorism.

Terrorist recruiters often say, Look, they dont care when their armies, corporations, mercenaries, and puppet dictators kill our innocent civilians; lets give them a taste of their own medicine.

Killing innocent civilians is always wrong, but it must not be forgotten that this line of reasoning does appeal to certain people, especially those who have witnessed their own relatives being killed or terrorized.

Empathy is the key. Lack of empathy breeds terrorism and war crimes. When one group of people does not view another group of people as human beings, terrible things happen.

Dehumanization of the other leads to genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

In order to create a more just and civilized world, we need to promote a culture of rehumanization. Establishing a global ceremony to commemorate all the innocents all over the world who died on 9/11 would certainly help to promote world peace and to create a more just global culture.