TERRY ROCKEFELLER
Rockefeller is just back from Iraq. She lost her sister, Laura, in the attacks on the World Trade Center and is a member of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which just released the following statement: “On Thursday, September 11, 2008, the first bell will ring at 8:46 am. Bells will ring at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, in a field in Pennsylvania. There will be commemorations in firehouses, churches, synagogues, mosques, and parks. All around the country we will once again be plunged into total recall of those moments that ticked away so slowly. That day seven years ago we waited with terror in our hearts for some reassuring call that would never come. On that day we entered a new era, the ‘post 9/11 world.’ …
“During these last seven years, however, we have come to know that we are not alone. Our grieving has been shaped in large part by the presence in our lives of many people from points around the globe, all of whom have been directly affected by violence — war, genocide, terrorism. Their courage, their wisdom and their willingness to take extraordinary risks to stop the cycles of retaliation and revenge have helped us to see beyond our own private pain.
“In Iraq last week, we attended a meeting of an Iraqi organization called LaOnf, which in Arabic translates to ‘no violence.’ It is an organization started four years ago that is devoted to the teachings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, ‘absolute nonviolence no matter what.’ They have pledged themselves to this concept and are willing to risk their lives to spread a culture of nonviolence in every province of Iraq. While we experienced one day of terror, for them, every day is 9/11. We will stand in solidarity with LaOnf on this anniversary and spread the word across this land — that nonviolence and the recognition of our common humanity are the only way forward to the survival of this earth. This year, let us remember them, too.”
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
