"Never forget..."

[jo]

It is the 20th anniversary of that infamous day in September 2001!

On September 11, 2001 -- New York City, the Pentagon, and a place in Pennsylvania were the objects of terrorist airplane attacks which saw the loss of thousands of lives!

We all have a never-to-be-forgotten memory of that exact second when we first heard the news...and our hearts broke!  We also remember the courage of those who offered aid at the risk of their lives...and there were those who lost theirs at that time...and even beyond. Today is a day of remembrance for America!


To all my American friends --

My longstanding sympathy for those you lost and continue to honor!









I was once a New Yorker, too -- and the shared memory of what happened to such a vibrant city continues to haunt all of us!

Again - I hope the American people will never have to endure another  heartbreaking day  such as September 11, 2011!


Jo

[jo]

[njr]

Jo, I know you meant to type Sept. 11, 2001, not 2011.
I have been watching all the 20/20, Dateline NBC and NatGeo specials. So very sad!
What upsets me on Facebook is some people’s expression of hatred for Islam and all Muslims. I write back “Not all Muslims are terrorists. Please try to remember that.” My daughter married a Muslim from Pakistan. He has been in the U.S. since he was about 12 (he’s 36 now) and his family became American citizens.
One of my favorite anesthesiologists I worked with is a Muslim from Afghanistan. He has also been here many years and became a citizen.

Nancy

[jo]

Lol - it's my fingers to blame for the year

Jo

[jo]

We do have a large Muslim population in our Southern Islands - and that is because of the proximity to other countries like Indonesia which is predominantly Muslim.

But over the years, they have integrated themselves in our metropolitan areas - which is surprising given that our population is predominantly (some 80%) of the Roman Catholic faith. But the integration actually came from the meshing of commercial and business exchanges. There is one major shopping area where one can find practically all Muslim-manned stores and they are very famous for pearls and other jewelry...and other items from our Muslim country neighbors. Even Martha Stewart came over... and wounded up with a baroque pearl necklace. One noted VOGUE writer came over for the same reason and wrote about her experience on Vogue...Politically speaking, we have created a Muslim-based government political subdivision that allows them political & business practices hewing to their faith and culture. Also, there is a practice called barter - where they do trade with other Muslim countries and the goods find themselves into the major metropolises. Now, they even have their own mosques for religious worship in our main metropolitan center.

Our government has also set aside a special national holiday for those of the Muslim faith, just as others are entitled to celebrate their special days.

Maybe co-existence is not that difficult after all.

Maybe part of our resilience towards integration come from our own cultural history. We were a Spanish colony for 3 centuries ( thus, many names have Spanish sounds - like I am actually "Josefina") and half a century under American rule. Then of course the migration of the Chinese started centuries ago. And there are our own Malay forebears. So, we are really sort of a melting pot! Of course the internet (and Hollywood and social media) has made the cross-cultural pollination to hasten! Our language and cuisine are sometimes a mix of all our cultural history backgrounds.

The American ties, though, are very strong. We even have the oldest mutual defense treaty of any country with America.


Jo