"Dear All,
If Christmas is a time when we get together to celebrate the
family, and Thanksgiving marks a day of gratitude for the
community - New Year's a time of national cohesion .. then I
hope history will remember Tuesday the eleventh of September
2001 as the day when humanity as a race came together to
fight our common enemy within - our own messed up brothers
and sisters who share this world with us.
I have been glued to the television these past two days,
punching redial on my telephone every ten minutes or so for
six hours yesterday until the international phone lines
cleared up, just waiting to hear news of my little boy and
his mother and his brother, all of whom I was worried about.
During these past two days I have heard and seen gestures
and moments of such courage and selflessness that I simply
had to write to you, the only group of Americans I know
(personally in many cases) if for no other reason than to
remind you all that you are in sympathetic company all over
the world. Your nation is not alone. The British Prime
Minister has said today that this was not just an attack
on the American people but on the free world. Leaders from
nearly every country have unanimously stepped up to the
plate to try and share your grief, offer their support and
burden the responsibility of exacting some kind of revenge
on the sad and lost people who did this.
I like to think that the very few people who were in the
vicinity and have so far survived these attacks have set an
example for all of us. Their calmness, their understanding
of what needed to be done, their ability to stop running and
turn to help someone less fortunate than themselves are an
example of what every one of us on this planet are capable
of. If America is the leader of the free world (and I
believe it is) then these Americans have lead by example.
It isn't my place to tell any of you how to react - your own
personal consciences will, no doubt, be your guides but I
would like to add 'my two cents' to your discussions on this
topic and beg you to remember that many of the people who
are saddened and shocked by all this are people who will, in
the days to come, seem like your enemies - people who had no
part in this, who also have children and lovers and family.
Many Islamic countries have condemned this action including
aggressive states like Syria and Iran -even Palestine. I am
not a Muslim nor indeed am I a Christian, I am just another
person bumbling through life, trying to stay on my own two
feet. - and I am not an American, but I can hear what the
rest of the world has to say about this tragedy and from
what I can tell, the rest of the world is holding out a
friendly, helping hand. It's possible that you may not need
any other country's help - but the hand is still there.
I hope that when I see you again soon we can all say that
our reactions to these atrocities have begun the process of
putting an end to world wide terrorism - not perpetuating
it. I sincerely hope that none of your families have been
personally marked by all this.
Sid"
