You know me, at this point, all I have and all I am is this war for peace. That's what a writer does, I believe. Glad you enjoyed it. I expect it will be taken as controversial, but what else is new?
Thanks for your encouragement.
Rodya
P.S.: Turns out she was only 22. Who knew? She looked like 30 to me! I'm the last guy who needs to be accused of robbing the cradle. So, oh well...
From Darryl C., Hershey, PA, USA:
SUBJECT: Living with Terror, The Sermon
I thought you might be interested in reading this message I received
today.
_______________
** I sent this to many people on Wednesday, some 24 hours after the
attacks ,in Washington DC and New York. Most of the addresses were of US-based friends and family on my list, so I share it with you now. I ask that
this be distributed and published with my contact information wherever you
see fit -- Vikram.**
Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
This was intended to be a wrap up of views and experiences during ---
and a discussion of my disappointment with --- the World Conference Against
Racism in Durban, South Africa. I went to Durban with the International
Centre for Ethnic Studies and also reported on the conference for the
Voice of America. I returned to Sri Lanka just hours before the attacks in New
York and Washington.
I begin this message in Sri Lanka's nightly blackout, three hour cuts
due to a drought that starves the island's hydropower. I am sweating on the
keys a little; the mosquitos annoy me; the flame of the candle feels hot on one cheek. And I am feeling worse than I've felt in years.
Like so many of you, I cannot describe the sensation of watching the
second 767 strike the World Trade Center, of seeing a structure that seemed as permanent as the earth itself collapse into oblivion. The feeling that floats to the top must be despair. Living myself in a world of terror and reprisal (though we are far from the radar screens of the world), I also feel despair at the surge of bloodlust on the networks and the calls for vengeance from people, politicians, and the media.
Recent attacks on the US have been called evil acts of madmen. Oklahoma City, the Embassies in Africa, the USS Cole, all seen as acts of irrational evil. Evil they are. Nothing else can describe such brutal massacres, such wanton destruction. They are not, however, acts of madmen. None of them. The danger of such rhetoric should not be underestimated.
In my few years in Sri Lanka, I have seen dozens of brutal terrorist attacks, the most shocking and brazen the recent destruction of 12 civilian and military aircraft on the tarmac at the international airport. I have walked among the dead and reported the carnage. The evil of terrorism touches countries worldwide. War and insurgency have killed over 140,000 Sri Lankans in the last 18 years and left a million displaced. The population
of the island is only 18 million. Most terrorist attacks here strike the cities and kill innocent civilians. The government often retaliates with military operations and air strikes.
In this setting, the rebels are the "terrorists" and government retaliation
is justified and celebrated by much of the general public in government-held areas. Such attacks are supported by the international community as the defence of a sovereign nation in a state of war.
But reprisals can never stop the terrorist attacks. Every time a military operation claims an innocent son or daughter or parent or sibling, another terrorist --- or freedom fighter --- is born. The cycle is perpetual. Security can only be flawed; retaliation, however effective, can only contribute to more violence.
Sri Lanka is a gauntlet of military and police checkpoints. Vehicles are inspected going into shopping malls. You have to reach the airport 3 hours in advance and pass through multiple checks and searches, multiple x-rays,
and at least one hand search of all baggage. The bombings continue. The airport remained vulnerable. Security is omnipresent and it is naturally discriminatory, often profiling people of the same ethnic community as the rebels. Checkpoints and searches do not make you feel safe. Because the underlying causes of the violence are not fully addressed, the attacks continue.
Undoubtedly, the attacks on New York and Washington can be attributed to sloppy security at many airports and twin failures by American intelligence
and by American defence forces. Security must be tightened and the citizens
will have to accept the restrictions for their own safety.
But in America, too, increased security cannot stop terror attacks. A
single individual willing to die for a cause is virtually unstoppable. The
fabric that holds diverse societies together is an uncompromising defence of individual rights and civil liberties. Security arrangements can prove
dangerous if they target or harm specific segments of a population, thus
driving people to extremism. Retaliation, unless surgically precise, will
always create a mushroom affect---new men and women willing to die if
their loved ones are slaughtered. We see it now in America: Thousands would
die to exact vengeance on those responsible for Tuesday's attacks.
But we are doomed to an ongoing cycle of terror unless the struggle
Americans are willing to die for is one for justice --- not revenge.
Fighting evil can only succeed if the approach to it is sophisticated and profound. It must be rooted in the most difficult strictures of the scriptures of the major religions and the deepest springs of the human heart. It must be rooted in forgiveness. Force must be tempered by understanding; punitive action complemented by positive action.
Around the roots of many terrorist organizations there often lies a thick
layer of legitimate grievances from which violence drew its nutrients. This
is true of the IRA, the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the PLO, the Kosovar Liberation
Army, and many others. South Africa's ANC spent generations as a "terrorist" organization. Many vicious forces in world were equipped by major powers, including the United States (think of the Taliban itself and the Contras).
In Hollywood, attacks like those in New York and Washington are the designs of madmen bent on wealth and/or power. They are thwarted by mythic heros in
the form of Harrison Ford or Arnold Schwarzenagger. The movie stars didn't
appear on Tuesday to save the day. Similarly, there were no madmen. Acts of
war like these are rooted in strategy; the evil of real life terrorism is based on concrete beliefs and serious efforts to advance those beliefs, often through evil actions.
To fight these forces --- who also believe they are fighting for justice
--- countries must answer questions of who and how. They must also look beyond to questions of why. The U.S. needs to ask and seriously try to answer these difficult questions:
- Why do these people hate us enough to do such horrible things?
- What will the cost of our retaliation be and how can it be just and accurate?
The suspects in these cases are not after mere wealth and power. While retribution is necessary, the cost of that retribution must be estimated. Nations can easily slip into an endless spiral of carnage like that engulfing Israel and Palestine, like Sri Lanka, like so many devastated places on earth.
I despair for the victims in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania, for
their families, and I dread learning of the friends I too must have lost yesterday. I send my wishes to the rescue workers and hope the preservation
of life remains on the top of everyone's mind. I despair for a world in which understanding and empathy are victims of political and economic convenience and for leaders around the world who do not --- perhaps cannot --- realize the possible results of their actions.
I just returned from an international forum from which the US withdrew.
America cannot remain separate from the global community; it must realize that in order to have global support---against terrorism and for many other global concerns---it must at least participate in global processes. It must openly defend its beliefs and interests and attempt to build consensus for its positions. Its positions must be debated inside and outside of the country. It must empathize and attempt to understand the concerns and beliefs of other states and other groups of people. The withdrawal from Kyoto, plans for missile defence, refusing to sign biological weapons and land mine agreements, rejecting an international criminal court, all of these cannot be seen as disconnected from the future of US security.
Though I have strong opinions on all of these, I am not passing judgement on
American positions here. I am saying that such decisions cannot be taken as
if the US exists in a disconnected world.
The United States remains the greatest hope for the concept of mutual
accommodation and tolerance. With many hiccups, we generally live together
in tolerance and even celebration of diversity. We allow all people the pursuit of happiness. As the United States chooses a path after Tuesday's tragic loss, may the leaders find the wisdom to seek out justice, not vengeance, and to take any retaliatory action with care. May Americans remember to keep one hand ready for positive action if the other is striking destruction. May we confront enemies with strength and with kindness and avoid today's global patterns in which one wrong makes a wrong makes a wrong makes a wrong. . .
May we realize the need to re-engage the world. The stakes cannot be higher.
Vikram Singh
Colombo, Sri Lanka,
September 12, 2001
Please feel free to distribute this opinion in any means you see fit with my name and contact information.
Lots of love.
Vikram Singh is an American living in Sri Lanka. He works with an independent research organization and reports on Sri Lanka for the Voice of America.
--
21 Glen Aber Place
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka
+94 1 584955 (home)
+94 1 685085 (office)
+94 77 382771 (mobile)
vikramsingh73@yahoo.com
From "Lady B.", (No City Provided,) GA, USA:
SUBJECT: American, United
This poem, written by another employee, was sent to me from my sister, a Washington D.C. ƯAmerican Airlines employee of nearly 20 years who, after the attack, has been so distraught that she's struggling with whether she can continue her employment.
Please forward it on in support of all airline employees who risk their lives for us everyday.
American, United
We've always done what we do best,
Up in the friendly skies.
And then one awful, fateful day
We're taken by surprise
An unseen, unknown enemy
Attacking us in hate
And using what has made us proud
To destroy what's made us great
We watch in shock the scenes unfold
We watch in disbelief
We shake our heads, we wipe our eyes
Unspeakable, the grief
And through it all, while it unfolds
We cannot help but cry -
American, we cling together
United, we ask, "Why?"
"Please, wake us from this nightmare"
It all seems so unreal
We force ourselves to carry on
In a new world, so surreal
Lean on each other for support
Lend others a helping hand
American, our dedication
United, we will stand
We ask each other, "How they dare?"
We cannot understand
We search for answers, search for meaning
No answer is at hand
Hate must not replace sorrow,
Of this we're very sure
American, we bow our heads
United, we'll endure
The unknown numbers, now with God
As angels, by His side
Must want for us to carry on
To not withdraw and hide
And so, it's in their memory
That we will hold so long
American, we will stand tall
United, we'll be strong
Dedicated to the employees of American Airlines and United Airlines. In memory of the victims of the tragedy of September 11, 2001
Suzanne Moses
September 12, 2001
From Stephen B., (No City or Country Provided):
this article on the Holy Cross just made me laugh. The IRA - including some of the leading parents - have blown children and babies to bits. SF/IRA have upped the ante on territorial issues in recent years anrd are now reaping the whirlwind.
DAN VANDEMORTEL RESPONDS: Dear Mr. B.:
Thank you for your response to my article. During the time I have spent
living in, reading about, and working on issues pertaining to Northern
Ireland, I have always been amazed at the number of times I have come across
reactions such as yours following bad news. The argument goes thus: "What
happened (yesterday/today) or will happen tomorrow is ALL the fault of (pick
one: the IRA/the pan-Nationalist front/the Unionists/the RUC/the Brits/fill
in your own group here." If that were the case, what an easy conflict it
would have been or would be to solve, either with guns or legislation.
As for your assertion that the IRA has killed or injured children, that is
unquestionably correct. And a similar assertion would be correct for almost
if not all paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland, as well as the
governing security forces. However, the events at Holy Cross, as mentioned
in my article, are the first time the conflict has been intentionally,
strategically, and EXCLUSIVELY targeted at childhood's door. That's not an
"IRA thing" or a "Protestant thing," or a "Brit thing." It's just plain
wrong, and everyone involved comes out of it diminished to some extent.
Northern Ireland, in many ways, is a very fascinating, beautiful corner of
the world, with some of the friendliest, sharpest people -- on both sides of
the divide -- that you'll ever meet. But to laugh at an event such as Holy
Cross, and to feel compelled to rationalize it within the context of the
current political spectrum, is really one of the key mindsets that is
preventing true peace from taking root.
Daniel VanDeMortel
From Carmen J., Pittsburgh, PA, USA:
SUBJECT: Holy Cross Children
Great piece. I only wish that the American media would pick up stories like this and print them. Hate has many faces. Many American saw the face of hate from the Ardoyne when they watched the news reports on TV. Fortunately TV carried the stories extensively over here. I too get emotional about the children, to myself of course. I was hoping that this generation of children in Ireland was going to escape the mental trauma that their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents experienced.
I am sorry to say my hope was in vain. God Bless them all. Maybe the next generation. Hope, hope.
Carmen J.,
Pittsburgh, PA
There's still more from YOU as our VOXPOP page Continues (Stay with us!) 
PAGES 1 2 3
via e-mail.