September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Three Years Later: Peaceful Tomorrows
9/11/04 Statement
Nearly three years ago, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born out of a shared belief that America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks which took our loved ones’ lives would result in the deaths of countless innocent civilians and increase recruitment for terrorist causes, making the United States, and the world, less safe and less free for generations to come.Today, as we commemorate September 11, 2004, we find that our worst fears have been realized. The terrorism of September 11th has been neither neutralized, nor ended, by the terrorism of war. [Read more here][Read 9/11/04 message of solidarity to Peaceful Tomorrows from Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
Make a "Peace Connection"this SeptemberHost an event in your community![Read background and links here][Read letter from Peaceful Tomorrows to Russian families touched by terrorism]
This year, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows invites you to make a "Peace Connection" with those affected by terrorism, violence and war. Our goal is to facilitate the creation of one-on-one connections among those in the United States and people around the world who share a desire for dialogue, understanding and peace.
We are asking members of the public to write cards and personal messages of solidarity which can be shared with: Family members of those lost to the recent violence in Russia; Japanese atomic bomb survivors; family members of those lost in the Madrid train bombings; Afghans and Iraqis who have lost family members to the cycle of violence which continues today; those who participated in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa; those who lost family members in the Rwandan massacre; Israelis and Palestinians seeking reconciliation; those who suffered from violence in Northern Ireland, and others who have offered their hopes for a better future with us.
Share a poem or a quote; ask a question; express your personal hopes or wishes for peace. If you are a teacher, make September a month for your students to reach out to students in other countries affected by terrorism, violence and war.
In writing these "open letters," participants will be invited to include their mailing address or email address, in an effort to create a "Peace Connection" which can continue beyond September. Peaceful Tomorrows will distribute these messages to peace groups, schools, non-governmental agencies or individuals in the host countries. They will be translated as necessary. While we cannot guarantee specific outcomes, it is our hope that person-to-person connections will be made that can continue into the future.
Join us in the south plaza of Union Square Park, New York City, on September 10, 2004, from 7-10pm, for a silent vigil around the "Stonewalk" memorial "to the unknown civilians killed in war." We will have writing materials, and art supplies, available for composing your messages to those around the world who have been affected by terrorism, violence and war. Join members of The Peace Boat from Japan in folding paper cranes.
We also invite you to host a "Peace Connection" event and vigil in your own community. Collect your messages, tell us where you’d like them to be sent, and mail them to: Peaceful Tomorrows, PO Box 1818, Peter Stuyvesant Station, New York, NY 10009. Contact us at: peaceconnection@peacefultomorrows.org, or call 212-598-0970.Peaceful Tomorrows also will host Library of Congress representatives in recording your personal impressions, three years after September 11th, during our Union Square Park vigil.
Below are just a few links providing background information on the people and organizations with whom you can make a Peace Connection:
Bill of Rights in Action Looks at controversies in this century involving rules of war. The first article examines the bombing of civilians, initially denounced as barbaric but eventually adopted by all sides during World War II. The second article explores the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. The final article examines efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Voice of HibakushaEye-witness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima, from the video HIROSHIMA WITNESS produced by Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK GensuikinOne of Japan's largest anti-nuclear and peace movement organizations.Parents Circle-Families ForumSeeks to solve the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians through dialogue and mutual understanding. Institute for Healing of MemoriesFacilitating the healing process of individuals and communities in South Africa and internationallyDresden--Fifty Years After the FirestormBackground on the bombing of Dresden, Germany
Guernica Peace Research CenterRemembering and honoring the history of GuernicaAppeal of the Survivors of the Bombing of Guernica and DresdenIraq Body CountCivilians reported killed by military intervention in IraqRAWAT he Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977 as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice in AfghanistanThe Afghan Women's Mission Works closely with RAWA to support health, educational, and other programs for Afghan women.Women for Afghan WomenWAW is a collective of Afghan and non-Afghan women from the New York area who are committed to ensuring the human rights of Afghan women.
Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim UnderstandingCreated in the wake of September 11, 2001, its mission is to build bridges between people of the three Abrahamic religions. [return to top]
Three Years Later: Peaceful Tomorrows 9/11/04 StatementNearly three years ago, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born out of a shared belief that America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks which took our loved ones’ lives would result in the deaths of countless innocent civilians and increase recruitment for terrorist causes, making the United States, and the world, less safe and less free for generations to come.Today, as we commemorate September 11, 2004, we find that our worst fears have been realized. The terrorism of September 11th has been neither neutralized, nor ended, by the terrorism of war.Since our bombing and military action in Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of more than 130 American troops and an estimated 4,000 civilians – and compounded by our failure to rebuild that broken nation--we have seen the return of Taliban warlords, the departure of relief agencies, and the continuing deaths of American service people and innocent civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has acknowledged that he is seeking the support of former Taliban officials in an effort to stabilize the political process. Osama bin Laden remains at large, and al-Qaeda remains a potent terrorist force, as evidenced by the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, Spain.Our illegal, immoral and unjustified invasion of Iraq, a nation that had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks, has cost the lives of 1,000 American troops and an estimated 12,000 Iraqi civilians, while leaving tens of thousands of others physically and emotionally traumatized. Today, our continuing occupation, our failure to provide basic services like electricity and water, and our torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib has turned Iraq into a focus of anti-American sentiment where a new generation of terrorists is being recruited from around the world.In Guantanamo, approximately 600 detainees from 40 countries remain incarcerated without charge and without access to lawyers. Those who have been returned to their home countries attest to conditions that violate the Geneva Conventions and our own democratic principles. In America, the USA Patriot Act gives government free reign to surveil law-abiding citizens. Restrictions on peaceful protest mock our Constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly. Meanwhile, bias crimes and discrimination continue to cast a shadow over our nation.That all of this has been done in the names of our loved ones who died on September 11th makes the suffering of their innocent counterparts around the world even harder to take. When actions that are making the world less secure are carried out in the name of US security, we must reconsider the true sources of the security, freedom, and respect we once commanded around the globe.Is the source of our security and freedom the exercise of overwhelming military power? Have we found security and freedom by dividing the world into "us and them," and labeling entire nations "evil"? Three years ago, the French declared, "We are all Americans," and Iranians held spontaneous candlelight vigils for our dead. Today, American prestige is at an all-time low. Friend and foe alike tremble at the sense of exceptionalism that drives America to conduct pre-emptive war.And what example have we set by our use of violence as a tool for addressing complex grievances? In the past week, heartbreaking pictures of children abducted and killed in Russia remind us that terrorism against civilian populations, which did not begin on September 11th, has not abated as a result of our actions since then. In Iraq, abductions of more than 40 civilians from nations including Japan, Jordan, Italy, China, Ukraine, South Korea, Egypt, Nepal, India, Kenya, the Philippines, Bulgaria and our own have escalated the level of human suffering.On September 11th, 2002, we urged America to participate fully in the global community, by honoring international treaties, endorsing and participating in the International Criminal Court, following the United Nations charter, and agreeing in word and action to the precepts of international law. Today, we redouble our call for America to return to full membership in the community of nations. We call for an end to war as our nation's one blunt instrument of foreign policy in our increasingly complex world. We recognize that our freedoms and security derive not from politicians or the Pentagon, but from our Constitution, and call on all Americans to rise in its defense against the triple threats of fear, lies and ignorance.Finally, we draw hope from those around the globe whose historical experiences of terrorism and war have brought them not to a place of vengeance, but to a commitment to creating a peaceful world. They include victims of the violence in Israel and Palestine; families of victims of the Bali nightclub bombing; family members of those killed in Oklahoma City; atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki; those who survived the bombing of Guernica, Spain and Dresden, Germany; those affected by terrorism in Kenya; Cambodia; Chechnya; South Africa; Northern Ireland; Bosnia; Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Through their witness and their efforts towards reconciliation, they have demonstrated that peace begins in the heart of every individual, and that people united have an unparalleled power to change the world.Every day, we choose to create the world we want to live in, through our words and through our actions. Today, we reach out to others around the world who recognize that war is not the answer. Today, three years after September 11th, we continue to choose peace.--
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
9/11/04 Statement
Nearly three years ago, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born out of a shared belief that America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks which took our loved ones’ lives would result in the deaths of countless innocent civilians and increase recruitment for terrorist causes, making the United States, and the world, less safe and less free for generations to come.Today, as we commemorate September 11, 2004, we find that our worst fears have been realized. The terrorism of September 11th has been neither neutralized, nor ended, by the terrorism of war. [Read more here][Read 9/11/04 message of solidarity to Peaceful Tomorrows from Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
Make a "Peace Connection"this SeptemberHost an event in your community![Read background and links here][Read letter from Peaceful Tomorrows to Russian families touched by terrorism]
This year, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows invites you to make a "Peace Connection" with those affected by terrorism, violence and war. Our goal is to facilitate the creation of one-on-one connections among those in the United States and people around the world who share a desire for dialogue, understanding and peace.
We are asking members of the public to write cards and personal messages of solidarity which can be shared with: Family members of those lost to the recent violence in Russia; Japanese atomic bomb survivors; family members of those lost in the Madrid train bombings; Afghans and Iraqis who have lost family members to the cycle of violence which continues today; those who participated in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa; those who lost family members in the Rwandan massacre; Israelis and Palestinians seeking reconciliation; those who suffered from violence in Northern Ireland, and others who have offered their hopes for a better future with us.
Share a poem or a quote; ask a question; express your personal hopes or wishes for peace. If you are a teacher, make September a month for your students to reach out to students in other countries affected by terrorism, violence and war.
In writing these "open letters," participants will be invited to include their mailing address or email address, in an effort to create a "Peace Connection" which can continue beyond September. Peaceful Tomorrows will distribute these messages to peace groups, schools, non-governmental agencies or individuals in the host countries. They will be translated as necessary. While we cannot guarantee specific outcomes, it is our hope that person-to-person connections will be made that can continue into the future.
Join us in the south plaza of Union Square Park, New York City, on September 10, 2004, from 7-10pm, for a silent vigil around the "Stonewalk" memorial "to the unknown civilians killed in war." We will have writing materials, and art supplies, available for composing your messages to those around the world who have been affected by terrorism, violence and war. Join members of The Peace Boat from Japan in folding paper cranes.
We also invite you to host a "Peace Connection" event and vigil in your own community. Collect your messages, tell us where you’d like them to be sent, and mail them to: Peaceful Tomorrows, PO Box 1818, Peter Stuyvesant Station, New York, NY 10009. Contact us at: peaceconnection@peacefultomorrows.org, or call 212-598-0970.Peaceful Tomorrows also will host Library of Congress representatives in recording your personal impressions, three years after September 11th, during our Union Square Park vigil.
Below are just a few links providing background information on the people and organizations with whom you can make a Peace Connection:
Bill of Rights in Action Looks at controversies in this century involving rules of war. The first article examines the bombing of civilians, initially denounced as barbaric but eventually adopted by all sides during World War II. The second article explores the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. The final article examines efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Voice of HibakushaEye-witness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima, from the video HIROSHIMA WITNESS produced by Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK GensuikinOne of Japan's largest anti-nuclear and peace movement organizations.Parents Circle-Families ForumSeeks to solve the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians through dialogue and mutual understanding. Institute for Healing of MemoriesFacilitating the healing process of individuals and communities in South Africa and internationallyDresden--Fifty Years After the FirestormBackground on the bombing of Dresden, Germany
Guernica Peace Research CenterRemembering and honoring the history of GuernicaAppeal of the Survivors of the Bombing of Guernica and DresdenIraq Body CountCivilians reported killed by military intervention in IraqRAWAT he Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977 as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice in AfghanistanThe Afghan Women's Mission Works closely with RAWA to support health, educational, and other programs for Afghan women.Women for Afghan WomenWAW is a collective of Afghan and non-Afghan women from the New York area who are committed to ensuring the human rights of Afghan women.
Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim UnderstandingCreated in the wake of September 11, 2001, its mission is to build bridges between people of the three Abrahamic religions. [return to top]
Three Years Later: Peaceful Tomorrows 9/11/04 StatementNearly three years ago, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born out of a shared belief that America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks which took our loved ones’ lives would result in the deaths of countless innocent civilians and increase recruitment for terrorist causes, making the United States, and the world, less safe and less free for generations to come.Today, as we commemorate September 11, 2004, we find that our worst fears have been realized. The terrorism of September 11th has been neither neutralized, nor ended, by the terrorism of war.Since our bombing and military action in Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of more than 130 American troops and an estimated 4,000 civilians – and compounded by our failure to rebuild that broken nation--we have seen the return of Taliban warlords, the departure of relief agencies, and the continuing deaths of American service people and innocent civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has acknowledged that he is seeking the support of former Taliban officials in an effort to stabilize the political process. Osama bin Laden remains at large, and al-Qaeda remains a potent terrorist force, as evidenced by the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, Spain.Our illegal, immoral and unjustified invasion of Iraq, a nation that had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks, has cost the lives of 1,000 American troops and an estimated 12,000 Iraqi civilians, while leaving tens of thousands of others physically and emotionally traumatized. Today, our continuing occupation, our failure to provide basic services like electricity and water, and our torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib has turned Iraq into a focus of anti-American sentiment where a new generation of terrorists is being recruited from around the world.In Guantanamo, approximately 600 detainees from 40 countries remain incarcerated without charge and without access to lawyers. Those who have been returned to their home countries attest to conditions that violate the Geneva Conventions and our own democratic principles. In America, the USA Patriot Act gives government free reign to surveil law-abiding citizens. Restrictions on peaceful protest mock our Constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly. Meanwhile, bias crimes and discrimination continue to cast a shadow over our nation.That all of this has been done in the names of our loved ones who died on September 11th makes the suffering of their innocent counterparts around the world even harder to take. When actions that are making the world less secure are carried out in the name of US security, we must reconsider the true sources of the security, freedom, and respect we once commanded around the globe.Is the source of our security and freedom the exercise of overwhelming military power? Have we found security and freedom by dividing the world into "us and them," and labeling entire nations "evil"? Three years ago, the French declared, "We are all Americans," and Iranians held spontaneous candlelight vigils for our dead. Today, American prestige is at an all-time low. Friend and foe alike tremble at the sense of exceptionalism that drives America to conduct pre-emptive war.And what example have we set by our use of violence as a tool for addressing complex grievances? In the past week, heartbreaking pictures of children abducted and killed in Russia remind us that terrorism against civilian populations, which did not begin on September 11th, has not abated as a result of our actions since then. In Iraq, abductions of more than 40 civilians from nations including Japan, Jordan, Italy, China, Ukraine, South Korea, Egypt, Nepal, India, Kenya, the Philippines, Bulgaria and our own have escalated the level of human suffering.On September 11th, 2002, we urged America to participate fully in the global community, by honoring international treaties, endorsing and participating in the International Criminal Court, following the United Nations charter, and agreeing in word and action to the precepts of international law. Today, we redouble our call for America to return to full membership in the community of nations. We call for an end to war as our nation's one blunt instrument of foreign policy in our increasingly complex world. We recognize that our freedoms and security derive not from politicians or the Pentagon, but from our Constitution, and call on all Americans to rise in its defense against the triple threats of fear, lies and ignorance.Finally, we draw hope from those around the globe whose historical experiences of terrorism and war have brought them not to a place of vengeance, but to a commitment to creating a peaceful world. They include victims of the violence in Israel and Palestine; families of victims of the Bali nightclub bombing; family members of those killed in Oklahoma City; atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki; those who survived the bombing of Guernica, Spain and Dresden, Germany; those affected by terrorism in Kenya; Cambodia; Chechnya; South Africa; Northern Ireland; Bosnia; Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Through their witness and their efforts towards reconciliation, they have demonstrated that peace begins in the heart of every individual, and that people united have an unparalleled power to change the world.Every day, we choose to create the world we want to live in, through our words and through our actions. Today, we reach out to others around the world who recognize that war is not the answer. Today, three years after September 11th, we continue to choose peace.--
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
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