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<P><BR></P><PRE>Rights Action editorial on the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in the
United States.
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***
Terrorist Attacks in the US -- a time for compassion, debate and
involvement
Rights Action condemns the terrorist attacks of September 11. There is
no justification. It is a time for empathy and mourning, and a time to
provide moral and material support for the victims and their family
members and loved ones. These things have been rightly said many times
since the attack. What is less heard is that this is also, urgently, a
time for discussion, debate and widespread citizen involvement and
activism.
Empathy, Mourning and Support
Televised efforts to rescue survivors, and pictures of family members
looking desperately for survivors, show us that the impact of this act
of political terrorism on thousands of direct and indirect victims is
incalculable. Our hearts ache for the suffering and loss of the
victims.
Worldwide, survivors of terrorism, and family members and loved ones of
victims of terrorism, suffer similar fates. They suffer shock and
trauma, due to brutal and sudden crimes. They feel inconsolable anguish
and loss. They lose everything they own and cherish. They
hope-against-all-hope that a missing person is still alive.
In rural communities across Guatemala today, survivors of the recent
genocide are digging up mass graves. As the bodies are displayed,
surviving family members and loved ones gather near to see if they can
identify the bodies. Many hope NOT to find their missing family member,
so as to hang on to the thought that their loved one was somehow,
somewhere, alive. Hope-against-all-hope.
Interviews from New York City remind us of villages in El Salvador,
where massacre survivors explain, crying, how it is that they are still
alive - by chance, by luck or a twist of fate - while their families and
community members were massacred, often in front of their eyes, by a
brutal regime backed by the "west", particularly the United States.
September 11th Is Unforgettable
The victims of September 11, 2001, share this infamous date with other
victims of politically motivated violence against innocent civilians.
September 11, 1973: the United States sponsored the overthrow of the
democratic government of Chile, helping install a 17-year military
regime responsible for the assassination, "disappearance" and torture of
thousands of people. September 11, 1990: Guatemalan anthropologist
Myrna Mack was assassinated in the streets of Guatemala City, one of
approximately 200,000 Guatemalans assassinated, massacred or
"disappeared" by a series of military regimes, 'justified' by the 'war
against communism.'
There are too many September 11s in human history to count. Terrorism
survivors, and surviving family members and loved ones of terrorism
across the globe are our neighbors, friends and family members.
Courageous Debate and Discussion
As we do what we must for the survivors of the September 11 terrorist
attacks, it is a time for serious and courageous discussion about the
impact and significance of this terrorist attack and what should be
done.
To seek understanding about the historical, political and personal
causes of this human brutality is not to justify it. Justice must be
done for the September 11 acts of terrorism, as it must be done for all
acts of terrorism.
Many politicians, "experts" and media portray this as a situation of
'good versus evil'. This is wrong and takes us towards a spiraling use
of military power, terrorism and repression that cannot resolve complex
historical issues of global politics and justice.
We fear for the safety and lives of the already war-torn, traumatized
and impoverished people of Afghanistan, as we fear for the safety and
lives of close to 2 million internally displaced people in Colombia
fleeing political conflict and paramilitary terrorism; for Mayan
campesinos in Chiapas terrorized by paramilitary forces; for human
rights activists in Guatemala and indigenous leaders in Honduras fearing
assassination; etc.
Of 'Innocence' and 'Ignorance'
Interviewed persons say: 'I cannot understand how this can happen to
us'; this attack represents 'a loss of our innocence.' Our sense of
shock, loss and vulnerability is understandable, but innocence is one
thing that North America cannot lose. North America is neither "good"
nor innocent, … nor "bad" for that matter.
In the same way that we have a history of doing good things, we have a
history of planning, carrying out or supporting acts of terrorism and
repression across the globe - directly and indirectly causing the deaths
of uncountable numbers of civilians.
We are told this is an 'attack of terrorism versus freedom and
democracy'. While this was an act of political terrorism, it was not
against "freedom and democracy". The United States is not "freedom and
democracy". It is a country that provides aspects of freedom and
democracy for many people and it is a country that has invaded and
oppressed people and countries across the globe. Again, neither "good"
nor "bad" - but very complex.
We are told this was an 'attack against the norms and principles of
civilized society and behaviour,' that it 'is an attack on our way of
life.' While there is much to be lauded and praised in contemporary
North America and Europe, and in our histories, our "way of life" and
"civilization" have also planned, carried out and benefited from the
slave trade, colonialism and imperialism, the Holocaust, on-going and
recent support for vicious and racist regimes, the keeping in place of
an unjust global economic order, etc.
We (the United States, Canada and the western world) are neither "good"
nor "evil"; neither are they, whomever the "they" might be. We must
resist simplistic explanations of complex and serious global issues.
Our ignorance -- of crimes and injustices that our governments and other
"non-State" actors have committed or contributed to across the globe --
is not acceptable.
A Call to Education, Involvement and Activism
As we reach to the best of all that is human, prioritizing support for
the surviving victims and family members and loved ones of the victims
of the September 11 attacks, we must also reach for the best in each and
everyone of us, and find the courage to step forward in our communities,
homes, organizations and countries, and insist on seeking peaceful and
just solutions to these very global and complex issues.
Over the next weeks, Rights Action will distribute articles and
commentaries concerning the September 11 attack. We encourage everyone
- individually and in their organizations and communities - to circulate
this and other information, with the goal of getting more and more
citizens involved in debating and discussing these brutal, complex and
dangerous issues, coming up with and demanding peaceful and just
solutions to these problems.
While we don't expect agreement with all opinions expressed, as we won't
agree with all opinions ourselves, we are convinced of the imperative
that all citizens become increasingly aware about and involved in these
issues.
Our world, increasingly intertwined and interdependent, is much more
fragile and delicate than we think.
***
Rights Action raises funds for 60 grassroots human rights, community
development and environmental projects in Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras
and - most recently - Peru and El Salvador. If you would like to find
out more about our work, contact: [Canada] Rights Action, 509 St. Clair
Av, W., Box 73527, Toronto ON, M6C-1C0; [USA] Rights Action, 1830
Connecticut Av, NW, Washington DC 20009.; [Guatemala] t:
011-502-251-9803.
General information:
T: 416-654-2074
E: <A target=_top href="http://lw3fd.law3.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&a=02422f7d1cbcba218c415f1e246dfe52&mailto=1&to=info@rightsaction.org&msg=MSG1000996161.6&start=2411807&len=11133&src=&type=x"><FONT color=#000099>info@rightsaction.org</FONT></A>
W: www.rightsaction.org
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