Honoring our friends on 911 – A letter to our fallen

10 years ago we remember the tragedy that shook us and changed the world forever. It was moment the earth stood still in the early hours of a normal Tuesday morning. What took place over the course of the busy morning rush hour developed into a stream of horrific acts of terrorism that took many innocent lives.

Hijackers took to the air, crashing planes into the Twin Towers, which soon crumbled and collapsed one after the other. More than 2800 lives were lost, including the passengers of flight 93, which crashed before it could reach its target and American Airlines flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon.

September 11th wasn’t just an American tragedy, but a global one, and there was no person you could turn to on that day who didn’t feel grief and sympathy for those who were caught up in the events. No matter where we were in the world, what happened that day was an unimaginable horror.

Today we remember those victims and our heroes who stepped and made valiant attempts to save lives in incredibly horrendous circumstances. From firefighters to shopkeepers, law enforcement, medical staff, and ordinary New Yorkers, their courage and unity sent a clear message to the world: No terrorist organization could tear apart the fabric of American culture, and that of the rest of humanity.

So it is today that we would like to honor our heroes 10 years on by pledging to continue to build unity amongst our communities. We will respect people from all backgrounds and religions, irrespective of their faiths, colour or gender. Today, this anniversary is a new chapter to bring us even closer together, and fix the divides between our cultures. Today it is our hope that the victims who fell can be honored by those who rise to make our world a better place.