Speeches
Remarks by Ambassador Butenis at Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks
September 11, 2011
Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today, which marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
We are especially honored to have with us today clergy from the several faiths practiced here in Sri Lanka.
I would also like to acknowledge our distinguished guests.
The peace of that clear, sunny morning in 2001 was broken when 19 extremists hijacked four planes and launched the deadliest attack ever on American soil. Those attacks in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killed nearly 3,000 people from over 90 countries. Men, women, and children lost their lives - among them, a Sri Lankan. Rahma Salie was of Sri Lankan descent, raised in Japan and married to a Greek-American. She and her husband were flying to a wedding, and Rahma was seven months pregnant with their first child when their plane from Boston was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center.
Virtually all Americans and people from many other countries as well over a certain age will forever recall exactly where they were when they heard the news. I was in a morning staff meeting in our Embassy in Bogota, Colombia when one of my young vice-consuls interrupted the meeting to alert me to put the news on. At least one of my American staff had family in New York and we tried to reassure her as she sought to reach them by phone. I have heard from many Sri Lankans similar stories, of desperately trying to call or e-mail family and friends in those three locations that day.
A terrible day in American history, however, brought out the best in Americans. Among those who lost their lives were many heroes who died helping those in need. Over four hundred first responders perished on September 11th, rushing into the World Trade Center to rescue those trapped inside. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 prevented hijackers from reaching their intended target in Washington, D.C., forcing their plane to crash in a field in Pennsylvania. And Americans came together to help, volunteering in blood drives, working tirelessly in the recovery efforts, and providing support to emergency personnel.
While this is certainly a day to remember those who died, I’d like to also talk about those who survived. Al-Qaida’s attack on our symbolic buildings was an attempt to destroy our spirit and our way of life. But those attacks failed because of the resilience of the survivors. America emerged from the tragedy stronger, by remaining committed to our core values. Our diversity is an American strength, and our citizens come from all nations and celebrate all religions, enjoying freedom of expression and freedom of worship. One example of our values is the work of two pregnant American women who were widowed by the attacks and who found strength in the friends and family who helped them through that most difficult time. Several months after the attacks the women met and started a charity, called Beyond the 11th, that has helped Afghan widows find their own voices and the strength to help rebuild their country through education and employment grants. Instead of bitterness, the American women found strength and generosity of spirit to focus on the needs of others.
That resilience is seen here in Sri Lanka. Many innocent people lost their lives over the past three decades of conflict in this country, killed not by foreign attackers but by fellow citizens, sometimes from different communities, sometimes by their own communities. Sri Lankans as individuals have shown unbelievable resilience, just by struggling to pick up the pieces of shattered lives and getting on with the business of daily life. My deepest wish for Sri Lanka as a country is that it continue to embrace one of its traditional, essential core values, that of its multi-ethnic, multi-religious identity. That is its true strength and the country must be resilient enough to hold on to it.
Intolerance and extremism remain a threat across the world and no country is immune to these dangers. While we reflect today in remembrance of those who lost their lives, in both our countries, let their legacy be our resolve to be resilient in the face of terrorism.