International Council of Nurses Condemns Terrorist Attacks
Geneva, 14 September 2001 ----- Speaking on behalf of nurses and the nursing profession worldwide, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has categorically condemned the horrific terrorist attacks inflicted on the United States this week.
³Nothing is gained by such shameful acts of violence. The consequences are only injury, death and destruction², stated ICN President Christine Hancock. ³Nurses around the world share the grief of a nation and send expressions of support to the surviving victims and deepest sympathy to the families who have lost their loved ones, including those from countries other than the United States.²
Christine Hancock went on to urge government leaders to do their utmost to prevent an escalation of violence. ³The desire for retribution must be tempered by the knowledge that more violence will increase suffering but solve nothing.²
On behalf of ICN Christine Hancock acknowledged ³the extraordinary courage of all involved in caring for victims and in rescue efforts, many of whom are having to provide services while dealing with their own personal loss and grieving. We hope their efforts will be successful in saving lives and preventing a widening of the catastrophe."
"Nursesı primary professional responsibility is to provide care to all people in need, without discrimination and regardless of ethnicity, race, gender and beliefs. ICN believes that nurses everywhere would want to support their American colleagues as they demonstrate that the short and long-term relief services respect this fundamental ethical code and basic principle."
İ ... 1999, 2000, 2001 International Council of Nurses (ICN)
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British Columbia nurses respond to US tragedy
September 14, 2001
Union extends condolences to families of the victims. It sends a message of sympathy and support to nurses in New York, and expresses solidarity with Muslim Canadians who have been victims of vigilante attacks.
The BC Nurses Union is responding to the tragic events in the United States in two ways.
On Wednesday the union sent a message of sympathy and support to nurses in New York who are struggling to care for injured victims of the attack on the World Trade Centre.
Today, the union is joining a call by the Canadian Federation of Nursesı Unions for solidarity with Muslim Canadians who have been the victims of vigilante threats and attacks in various parts of this country.
"We share the revulsion being expressed world-wide for the terrible destruction and loss of lives of innocent people that resulted from the attacks in the United States," BCNU vice-president Patt Shuttleworth says. "But the horror we all feel can in no way justify attacks on individuals in this country or elsewhere simply because they are Muslims or from the Middle East. Many members of our own union are Muslim. We must not allow our country to succumb to the same kind of ill-conceived hysteria that led to the injustices committed against Japanese-Canadians and other groups many years ago, wounds that our society needed almost half a century to heal."
The union will help distribute stickers produced by the CFNU proclaiming "Muslim Canadians - We are all Canadians".
Shuttleworth also said that Canadians must not allow revulsion over this weekıs terrorist acts to undermine legitimate movements challenging globalization and other policies that harm working people around the world.
Here is the text of the message sent by the BC Nursesı Union to the New York State Nursesı Association on Sept.12, 2001:
"I would like to convey to you and the members of the New York State Nurses Association the sympathy of the nurses of British Columbia following yesterdayıs disaster in Manhattan. Nurses here have expressed a desire to help their colleagues in New York in whatever way they can. We recognize the personal toll it takes on those involved in rescue operations as well as those who have suffered personal losses and we hope you will contact us if we can help in any way. Our thoughts are with you at this time.
In solidarity,
Patt Shuttleworth, Vice-President, British Columbia Nursesı Union"
------------------------------
Message from New York State Nurses Association
September 14, 2001
Dear Health Care Colleagues,
Thank you to all who have contacted us to offer their condolences and emotional support. Your kind words and concern have been shared within the Association and are greatly appreciated. Also thanks to all who have volunteered to assist in this national disaster. The New York City hospitals have implemented their disaster plans and are coping with staffing needs by using their current staff, supplemented by local RN volunteers.
As of Wednesday night, over 2,000 seriously injured and 1,500 "walking wounded" have been treated, admitted, or returned to their homes. Unfortunately, many more individuals appear to have perished than are surviving and requiring medical or nursing care. The first response hospitals initially handled hundreds of injured with the second response hospitals caring for the less injured. Since this initial activity, hospitals are reporting that they are coping with the limited numbers of patients who are coming in - mostly rescue workers with minor injuries and respiratory problems. The nurses and physicians on site are frustrated, and had hoped to be able to care for more survivors.
New York State's call for help has drawn such a flood of responses that the numbers can no longer be handled. At this time, health care volunteers are not needed in the numbers that were expected. It was assumed there would be many more survivors. Tragically, this appears not to be the case.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and the nurses of New York State truly appreciate the outpouring of offers to assist. The state agencies will keep us informed if there is a need, in the days and weeks ahead, for volunteers. Check NYSNA's website periodically for updates (<http://www.nysna.org>).
Again, thank you for your kind words and condolences, for your caring, and willingness to provide assistance. Pray for the victims and their families. God bless America!
-------------------------------
IPPNW Statement on Terrorist Attacks
September 12, 2001
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) shares the horror felt worldwide at the terrible acts of violence committed in New York City and in Washington, DC. On behalf of tens of thousands of IPPNW physicians in 65 countries, we offer our heartfelt condolences to the thousands of families and to friends and colleagues who have been devastated by this act of unmitigated evil. We call on physicians and other health professionals, whenever possible and appropriate, to join in the effort to care for the survivors. We also support the efforts by US and international authorities to identify the perpetrators of this crime against humanity and to bring them to justice.
Yesterday's commercial airliners were turned into weapons of mass destruction and used against civilian populations who were going about the everyday business of their lives. The hundreds of Pentagon employees who were viciously killed, even those who were members of the US military services, were not combatants in a war and the attack against them was shameful.
As we watched the World Trade Center towers burn and collapse with thousands of people inside, and now watch the frantic efforts to rescue a few apparent survivors, we cannot help but think of the consequences had nuclear weapons been used in this attack. The deaths and injuries would have numbered in the millions, and the hospitals and other emergency response infrastructure would have been destroyed, making it impossible to rescue and care for survivors.
What befell New York and Washington must force us to consider the prospect, indeed the seeming inevitability, that one day terrorism will go nuclear. Current global nuclear policies may indeed hasten the day. The US, as the world's richest most technologically advanced country, is most susceptible to nuclear terrorism. No nation, therefore, has more benefit to derive from the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Though emotions are now running high -- and rightly so -- these events must prompt all of us to reflect on the nature of security in an interdependent world, in which no nation acting alone can ensure that its people will be protected from harm. Missile defenses cannot guarantee protection against nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons themselves heighten our insecurity. Quite possibly there is no impenetrable defense against someone determined to commit the kind of atrocity we witnessed yesterday. In fact, the harder we try to achieve such a defense, the more we may invite acts of even more extreme violence.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called yesterday's attack an act of war "against civilization." We believe Secretary Powell has made an important point and that the only way to prevent even greater carnage -- including the possible use of nuclear weapons -- is for US leaders to make a clear and wise distinction between justice and retaliation, and to show those who committed these acts that
civilization -- and our common survival -- demands more of all of us. A violent response will only fuel the cycle of violence. As Nobel Peace Laureates, we feel a profound responsibility to implore the Bush Administration and the US Congress, at this extraordinarily painful and difficult time, not to act precipitously in response to the understandable public desire for vengeance, but to work with the community of nations to mete out justice within the norms of international law on the perpetrators of these vile acts.
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PSR Statement on the events of September 11, 2001
<http://www.psr.org/september11.html>
Physicians for Social Responsibility is saddened and shocked by the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 on our nation's capital and the financial center of New York. We grieve at the horrific loss of innocent lives and condemn in the strongest possible terms such attacks on the United States, especially the cowardly use of hijacked civilian passenger aircraft as weapons of terror. Terrorist attacks like this indeed strike at the very heart of civilized society around the globe.
We call on physicians and health professionals throughout the nation to do all in their power to assist in the extraordinary efforts needed to provide medical care to the large numbers of injured and traumatized citizens who have suffered from these attacks. Our thoughts and prayers are especially with those families whose loved ones have been killed or whose fates are as yet unknown.
PSR also acknowledges with profound gratitude the large number of messages and resolutions of condolence and support that we have received here in Washington from physicians and organizations around the world.
We recognize and approve UN Security Council Resolution 1368 of September 12 which calls on all states to work cooperatively to bring the perpetrators of these terrorist attacks to justice under law. It is only within the framework of international cooperation and law that terrorism can be effectively addressed.
As an organization committed to preventing war and to reducing violence and its causes, PSR calls on the United States government to expeditiously investigate and apprehend those people and organizations responsible for these horrible deeds. As Americans, we are experiencing deep feelings of anger and sorrow. Nevertheless, we strongly caution against commencing a cycle of retaliatory attacks and reprisals that will only fuel further violence and erode the rule of law. We also believe that all Americans and our government must at this moment cling steadfastly to the ideals of openness, tolerance, civil liberties, and robust debate that are the hallmarks of our democracy at its best.
PSR is also reminded of the very real need for the our nation to reassess our security priorities in the wake of this heinous attack. Clearly, our government's current proposals to build at great expense a vast missile defense system would have proved useless on September 11th. We believe that such immense sums would be better spent in improving security within the United States, in reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, in helping to rebuild and assist victims in New York and Washington, and in beginning to address the inequities in our society and in the world that help breed hatred, violence, and terrorism.
As we weep for our country and take pride in the compassion and heroism that so many of our fellow Americans have shown in this hour, we know that such scenes of human devastation -- whether from war, civil conflict, terrorism, poverty, environmental degradation, starvation, or disease -- are all too frequent around the globe. These are our true common enemies. PSR believes, as with any disease, that it is the prevention of violence that will be our most effective remedy. If there is any hope to be found in this tragedy, it is that Americans and the world may at this time more deeply recognize our common humanity, its preciousness and fragility, and the need to commit ourselves once again to building a more just, equitable, and peaceful global society.
Copyright 2001, Physicians for Social Responsibility
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Have we learnt our lesson?
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,551675,00.html>
by Studs Terkel, The Guardian
September 14, 2001
That which is called the impregnable Fortress America has been touched, and all the commentators and pundits are saying: "How dare they do it?" Now, in the midst of all the grief, unless we do what teacher says - put our thinking caps on - we won't understand. Einstein said that ever since the atom was split, the world has changed irrevocably except the way we think. Now we must think anew.
Peace is indivisible, the world is one and we are not the invincible guardians of the world we once were. For the first time we have been touched, and other people have been touched in different ways. Unless we learn what it is to be that bombed child, wherever that place is - whether it be Vietnam or Iraq or wherever - we have learned nothing.
Since the end of the second world war we have had 15 military adventures elsewhere. Our adventures were Vietnam, Iraq, Grenada - God help us! But these wars have been elsewhere. For the first time since the second world war, we have been affected, tragically and horribly. What have we learned?
Of course bringing the murderers to book is important, but we must learn that we are part of this world, and not Fortress America. The irony is - and this is Einstein's point - that the 21st century can be a tremendous one: we have all the advantages in medicine, in food production.
FDR, back in 1936 during the great depression, with one-third of a nation ill-fed, ill clothed, in poor health - that munificent big government saved our society. Our new religion is the free market - well, the free market in the 20s slipped on a banana peel and fell on its ass. I did a book on the depression, and I asked a prototype of Alan Greenspan, a top executive in the banking world: "What happened?" He said: "We don't know." We looked for some kind of announcement - the answer came from the government. Those who most condemn the government today - their asses were saved by big government. We are suffering what I call a national Alzheimer's disease. We have no memory of yesterday.
When it comes to this event - and it is all related, by the way - will we learn that we are now not invulnerable? Thus far, of course, there is hysteria in the air, and fury, and anger: no one has yet brought up the subject of the role we have played. There is an article in the current edition of Harper's in which we are compared to the Romans. But they did not pretend to do good, they were just conquerors. We are always doing good, we are always innocent. But we are always the ones looked on badly. Why? The question is: are we now thinking what has to be learned from this? I am on the air in a little while on public radio, and I may get into trouble too, telling them what I am saying. I have not heard one politician yet who said anything in the sense of what I am saying now. Not a one.
The second world war vets - well, you know how they are. Bernard Shaw said something on the lines of war being loved by old men as young men go to fight. But I think there is a feeling among younger people that maybe there is something else here to be learned. People have a hunger for a faith of some kind.
Before, in the cold war, it was communism. The Evil Empire is no more, so now it's terrorism. Now we come to the question: what is terrorism? But isn't dropping bombs on people you don't see and are told to do so for the sake of justice and honour - isn't that terrorism too? So that's the big question. Will we learn from this? I hope we will. But nothing of that sort has come through here.
We are part of this world, and as Martin Luther King said years ago, we live together as brothers or die together as fools. And this is precisely what Einstein was talking about. Have we learned this lesson? I don't know.
Studs Terkel was talking to Peter Lennon. Terkel's latest book on Death will be published by Granta next month.
Guardian Unlimited İ Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000
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Mahatma Ghandi: "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
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A Firefighter's Story
by Dennis Smith, New York Times
September 14, 2001
The south tower of the World Trade Center has just collapsed. I am helping my friends at Ladder Company 16, and the firefighters have commandeered a crowded 67th Street crosstown bus. We go without stopping from Lexington Avenue to the staging center on Amsterdam. We don't talk much. Not one of the passengers complains.
At Amsterdam we board another bus. The quiet is broken by a lieutenant: "We'll see things today we shouldn't have to see, but listen up, we'll do it together. We'll be together, and we'll all come back together." He opens a box of dust masks and gives two to each of us.
We walk down West Street and report to the chief in command. He stands ankle-deep in mud. His predecessor chief earlier in the day is already missing, along with the command center itself, which is somewhere beneath mountains of cracked concrete and bent steel caused by the second collapse, of the north tower.
Now several hundred firefighters are milling about. There is not much for us to do except pull hose from one place to another as a pumper and ladder truck are repositioned. It is quiet: no sirens, no helicopters. Just the sound of two hoses watering a hotel on West Street - the six stories that remain. The low crackle of department radios fades into air. The danger now is the burning 47-story building before us. The command chief has taken the firefighters out.
I leave the hoses and trucks and walk through the World Financial Center. There has been a complete evacuation; I move through the hallways alone. It seems the building has been abandoned for decades, as there are inches of dust on the floors. The large and beautiful atrium with its palm trees is in ruins.
Outside, because of the pervasive gray dusting, I cannot read the street signs as I make my way back. There is a lone fire company down a narrow street wetting down a smoldering pile. The mountains of debris in every direction are 50 and 60 feet high, and it is only now that I realize the silence I notice is the silence of thousands of people buried around me.
On the West Street side the chiefs begin to push us back toward the Hudson. Entire companies are unaccounted for. The department's elite rescue squads are not heard from. Just last week I talked with a group of Rescue 1 firefighters about the difficult requirements for joining these companies. I remember thinking then that these were truly unusual men, smart and thoughtful.
I know the captain of Rescue 1, Terry Hatten. He is universally loved and respected on the job. I think about Terry, and about Brian Hickey, the captain of Rescue 4, who just last month survived the blast of the Astoria fire that killed three firefighters, including two of his men. He was working today.
I am pulling a heavy six-inch hose through the muck when I see Mike Carter, the vice-president of the firefighters union, on the hose just before me. He's a good friend, and we barely say hello to each other. I see Kevin Gallagher, the union president, who is looking for his missing firefighter son. Someone calls to me. It is Jimmy Boyle, the retired president of the union. "I can't find Michael," he says. Michael Boyle was with Engine 33, and the whole company is missing. I can't say anything to Jimmy, but just throw my arms around him. The last thing I see is Kevin Gallagher kissing a firefighter - his son.
Dennis Smith is a former firefighter and author of "A Song for Mary."
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company
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Hate crimes follow anti-Arab backlash
<http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/ausarab09142001.htm>
by J.M. Lawrence, Boston Herald
September 14, 2001
An anti-Arab blacklash has struck Massachusetts with vandals attacking businesses in several towns, leaving Muslims and Sikhs fearful of harassment from uneducated revenge seekers.
Three teens in Somerset were arrested after lobbing a firebomb onto the roof of a convenience store owned by an American citizen from India.
³They think we're from the Middle East,² said Ashwin Patel, owner of Olde Village Convenience Store, who stepped out of his store and saw the three running into the woods just after 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Patel said he is comforted by the reactions of local residents. ³People are supporting us. They say they are very sorry,² he said.
The fire caused $1,000 in damages.
Police charged the three teens with hate crimes, assault and arson. They are Craig Jennings, 18, of Fall River; Jeffrey Lizotte, 17, of Somerset; and a 16-year-old from Somerset.
Two of the teens told police ³they wanted to get back at the Arabs for what they did in New York,² according to investigators.
Other incidents were reported in the state, including several threatening calls to the Islamic Center of New England in Quincy.
In Weymouth, police are investigating an 11 p.m. Wednesday fire at a gas station owned by a man from Lebanon. Police believe a man and a woman doused a pump with gas and set it on fire before running away.
Firefighters quickly contained the blaze at Global Gas.
In Everett, vandals threw softballs inscribed with pro-American slogans through the window of a cafe owned by a Greek American.
The softballs had slogans written on them, including ³God bless America² and ³Freedom for all,² police said.
Owner Niko Vramis, who is Greek- and Italian-American, said he believes the assailants were targeting a nearby Middle Eastern cafe, and hit the wrong target.
Boston-area Sikhs said they are especially fearful that attackers might target them because Sikhs have beards and wear turbans to cover their long hair left uncut as part of their religious devotion.
Rhode Island State Police and federal agents pulled two Sikhs and an elderly Muslim man off an Amtrak train Wednesday. Sher J. B. Singh, 28, a telecommunications specialist from Norwood who was born in India, was detained for six hours and questioned until authorities were convinced he was not a terrorist. ³Sikhs are Americans and we share in the sorrow of our fellow Americans on the loss of lives and properties,² said Singh, who was put in handcuffs and faced TV cameras.
³It would be appalling to think a Sikh would do such a thing,² he said, referencing a faith devoted to selfless service of others.
State Police charged Singh with a misdemeanor for possession of a 6-inch ceremonial knife known as a kirpan carried by all baptized Sikhs. The knife was three inches longer than allowed under state law. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to appear in court on Oct. 10.
Another Sikh was pulled over on the Massachusetts Turnpike near Newton and questioned, according to a record of incidents collected by Sikhs on a special Web site.
Greg Gatlin contributed to this report.
İ Copyright by the Boston Herald
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Her life spared, she rushes to help
<http://www.gazettenet.com/09142001/news/6432.htm>
by Michael Scherer, Daily Hampshire Gazette
September 14, 2001
NEW YORK - If not for the $150 cost to change her ticket to an earlier flight, Cecelia Doykos said she would have been on the American Airlines plane that flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
Instead, she heard about the collision while waiting to take off at Logan Airport in Boston.
By Thursday, Doykos, a registered nurse from Sacramento, had driven to lower Manhattan and the site of the deadliest terrorist attack in US history.
She spent the day passing eye drops to firefighters as they searched for survivors in the smoldering debris.
"I had to come here," she said.
She was far from alone.
Hundreds of volunteers made their way downtown on the third day of recovery, passing through police barricades to support rescue workers as they formed bucket brigades, led search dogs and lowered ropes, food and microphones into the rubble.
Rescue crews erupted in rare cheers as a living victim was pulled to safety Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters said they had seen at least two of their own walk away from a sport utility vehicle that had been covered by falling debris more than two days earlier.
Thomas Rogers, a volunteer medic from St. Mary's Brooklyn Hospital, said he saw an injured man waving as he was carted away on a stretcher.
"There is a group of five or six that they are trying to get to now," said Rogers, after rushing from his spot between the two crumbled towers when police warned that another building, 1 Liberty Plaza, might fall down. "They discerned five or six different voices."
The building never fell, but the regular evacuations continued throughout the day, as engineers with equipment aimed at the remaining towers sensed movement and sounded the alarm.
"They blew the whistle three times and said get out and go. So we just went," said Steven Schwabish, a social worker from New York University, who had volunteered to comfort the rescue workers, and found plenty of work.
"No one has ever been prepared for this, ever," he said. "It's real. This looks like a movie set, and it's really a horrific thing."
"You can't even describe it," said Tommy Berte, a firefighter from Staten Island. "I dug dead people out, but I can't say I found any alive."
Though the rescue efforts focused on the razed buildings, the whole of downtown Manhattan showed the effects of Tuesday's attack. Several glass towers south of Wall Street ran on generator power, and normally gridlocked streets were deserted except for emergency vehicles, military trucks and construction equipment. Attack helicopters circled in formation overhead.
"Everything is covered in dust," said Timmy Hansen, a volunteer and registered nurse, who had rushed downtown Thursday morning after finishing his shift at a Queens hospital.
He described walking through the third-floor dining area of the Millennium Hotel, across the street from the World Trade Center, and finding coated breakfast plates suddenly deserted. "Everything is just sitting there," he said. "Eggs, sausages, wine bottles behind the bar."
Doykos, chased from the triage area by an alarm about building movement, took a moment to recollect her journey to the site where she might have died.
She had come to Boston to drop off her son at boarding school.
Arriving at Logan Airport early to return home, she had tried to change her flight, but decided not to pay the additional cost.
It wasn't until she was on the later plane, shortly after 9 a.m., that the traveler next to her said he did not think they would be leaving anytime soon. She asked why.
"He said, 'I don't want to start a panic.' I said, 'Whisper it in my ear,' So he whispered it in my ear" - a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
After she discovered what had happened, she rented a car and rushed to her sister's house in Westchester County, N.Y.
Michael Scherer is a former Gazette reporter who is attending graduate school in New York City.
İ 2001 Daily Hampshire Gazette
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Unions Denounce Muslim Attacks
<http://workers.labor.net.au/111/news2_race.html>
LaborNET, Issue No 111
14 September 2001
Unionists must take a leadership role in ensuring that Muslim workers do not become the targets of misguided retribution for the terrorist attacks on the USA, NSW Labor Council secretary John Robertson has warned.
Robertson says unionists "must step forward in a courageous manner" when they see Muslim people being abused in the community at large, but particularly in their workplace.
There have been reports of conflict between Anglo-Saxons and Muslims in some workplaces, including a Melbourne rail depot. There have also been accounts of abuse directed at Muslim children, schools and mosques.
"We need to focus on the fact that majority of people in the world are not evil, but good," Robertson told this week's Labor Council meeting.
"These terrorists have used religion as a blanket to hide behind - it is not the religion that is to blame for these attacks."
"We need to ensure that Australia retains its reputation as a tolerant and diverse society."
LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW.
İ 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW
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The Working Class, Terrorism, and War
<http://www.kclabor.org/workersterror.htm>
by Bill Onasch, Labor Advocate Online
September 15, 2001
The barbaric attacks on New York and Washington unleashed a powerful surge of the deepest emotions throughout our country. Horror and grief were quickly followed by expression of patriotism, and demands for revenge.
These were inevitable and understandable human reactions to a most inhumane crime. Such demonstrative reflexes can serve as a needed relief of the agony and fury felt by every civilized person. This can be healthyup to a point.
But, just as an individual dealing with tragic loss of family or friend, after a respectful period of time we must collectively accept that life goes on. We need to face the challenge of the future with emotions and actions channeled by reason. If we fail to make that transition we are vulnerable.
We are susceptible not only to terrorist gangs. There are others who will try to take advantage of our disorientation to push agendas of their own. Following familiar examples from history we have already seen:
§ A racist backlash against people perceived as being of Middle Eastern background, and all who practice the faith of Islam. This is not only morally wrong; it also undermines the solidarity of the working class.
§ Attacks on civil liberties. Included in the emergency appropriation bill to provide assistance to victims in New York and Washington was authorization for extensive electronic surveillance of US citizens with no need for warrants from a court. This could easily be abused to include spying on and disrupting the labor movementas has been done covertly by government agencies in the past.
§ A blank check for war. Thatıs essentially what is being proposed by many on both sides of the aisle in congress. The President would be authorized to send the armed forces just about anywhere he sees fit. That makes a tempting potential for using our GIs not only for retribution against those responsible for the New York/Washington attacks but for settling other old scores and trying to secure additional areas for Corporate Americaıs Globalization.
Bringing those responsible for New York/Washington to justice is one thing. As this is written the central targets seem to be bin Laden and the Taliban warlords in control of Afghanistan. Unlike our governmentıs intelligence/security community, who once collaborated with and supported these terrorists when they were fighting the former Soviet Union, Iıve always viewed these elements as scum. They are pursuing mediaeval objectives with 21st Century weapons. Iıd shed no tears if they were taken out tomorrow.
But a wide-ranging war throughout much of Asia and Africaadvocated by someis another matter. That could lead to big loss of life of both American GIs and innocent civilians. It could also fuel yet another cycle of terrorism and retribution. Neither revenge nor expansion of corporate power justifies that.
It was appropriate for our entire nation to unite in our grief. We should respond as one people in helping the survivors recover and rebuild. We can be proud of our country in our time of need.
But, as we emerge from the shock of the terrorist atrocities, we must get our bearings once again. The issues and adversaries that faced us September 10 are still there for American workers. Similar, and even much greater problems exist for workers in other lands. If we are to defeat the true forces of darkness, if we are to have a civilization based on peace and justice, then the working class has to develop a rational response of our own, based on human solidarity, to get us through this time of crisis.
Copyright Labor Advocate Online, Kansas City's Cyber Labor Newsletter
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Statement of the UE General Executive Board
on the Tragic Events of September 11, 2001
Like all Americans, the members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) are devastated by the mind-numbing loss of life caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We share the sense of loss and violation, despair and outrage. We mourn as our nation mourns.
The horror visited upon our nation that Tuesday morning should never have happened; it should never happen to another people again, anywhere. Innocent people suffered deaths more horrific than could be imagined in nightmares. Many of the slain were union members, murdered at their place of work and on the job. With profound sorrow, we mourn our fallen brothers and sisters and express our solidarity with the families of the victims.
We condemn unreservedly the hidden, unseen, faceless killers who are responsible for this crime against humanity. We demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
We are resolved not to yield to terror or to terroristsı designs. Democracy is too precious. We continue with plans for our convention - the highest expression of our union democracy - with renewed commitment to freedom and solidarity. We shall not be stopped by cold-blooded, calculating killers.
And we shall not allow our grief and righteous anger to be polluted by hatred and bigotry. We recall with pride that weeks after Pearl Harbor, as UE mobilized to win the war for freedom, our union condemned anti-Japanese racism as fundamentally opposed to that great cause. Todayıs war against the terrorism of an evil few must not be confused with attacks on an ethnicity or religion. Verbal slurs and physical assaults against our Arab-American and Islamic neighbors and co-workers must be countered, condemned and stopped.
As we mourn and as we rage, we also declare our resistance to efforts to use this tragedy to curtail our civil liberties or to engage in military adventures that can only lead to more carnage and senseless loss of life. Our greatest memorial to our fallen brothers and sisters will be a world of peace, tolerance and understanding, underscored by the solidarity of working people.
-------------------------------
Press Release
United Steelworkers of America
USWA President Condemns Armies of the
Intolerantı for Deaths of Working Americans
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- USWA International President Leo W. Gerard today released the following statement:
³The tragic events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania can only be viewed as an attack on civilization by those who neither understand nor respect its cherished values. Our hearts and prayers cry out for those individuals who perished in this outrageous act of barbarism and unprecedented cruelty.
³Most of yesterday's victims died while performing their jobs. From firefighters and police, to rescue and medical personnel, from secretaries and office workers, to flight attendants and pilots, all were laboring with dignity to serve fellow human beings. We will work with all branches of organized labor and community organizations everywhere to offer support to fellow Americans at this time of critical need.
³Our Union demands justice for the victims, their families and humanity, and strongly urges that all available resources be used to track down and punish those individuals and organizations responsible for this cowardly act. However, care must be taken not to repeat this most recent tragedy by harming innocent men, women and children who, because of geography, find themselves in harmıs way.
³Through our actions, let us reaffirm that terrorism has no place in our civilization and reassert our commitment to combat the poverty and injustice that all too often provide unwitting recruits for the armies of the intolerant.²
Copyright İ 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
Copyright İ 2001 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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Thomas Paine: "My country is the world and my religion is to do good."
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Solidarity, yes! - Racism, never!
OTTAWA, Sept. 14 /CNW/ - On behalf of all working people in this country, the Canadian Labour Congress denounces and condemns all racist and discriminatory acts perpetrated against innocent fellow citizens of Islamic faith or of Arabic ancestry. "It is in difficult times like these, that we must have the public courage to be true to the ideals of solidarity, respect and mutual help that make this country strong," said Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. "I urge everyone to make it a personal responsibility to protect and promote the respect, safety and well-being of our Muslim or Arab sisters and brothers."
Since the attacks on the United States of America, on Tuesday, Canadian Muslims or of Arabic origin have been the victims of a number of unforgivable incidents. It is not acceptable that Canadian citizens and their children are made to suffer unjustly as if they were associated with these attacks. "This is the time for us all to show to one another the true meaning of solidarity" said Georgetti.
The Canadian Labour Congress applauds and endorses the initiative of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions that is asking working people across this country to take part in a sticker campaign with the slogan: "Muslim Canadians - We are all Canadians."
The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 2.5 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together the majority of Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 132 district labour councils. <http://www.clc-ctc.ca>
İ 2001 Canada NewsWire, all rights reserved
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Building a world free of violence
<http://www.cupe.ca/news/cupenews/showitem.asp?id=3246&cl=1>
9/13/01
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is shocked and horrified by the monstrous attacks on innocent civilians in the United States earlier this week. There is no cause on earth that could justify this unspeakable inhumanity.
The events of the last few days are almost a blur. At first it was hard to believe what was happening. Our first reaction was to find those we loved the most family, friends, co-workers. We wanted to make sure they were safe.
Our next immediate thoughts were of the thousands of people who lost their lives or were injured and for their families and friends. We thought of the flight attendants, pilots and passengers on the airplanes. We thought of all the people and workers in the buildings many of them public sector workers, like ourselves. We thought of the amazing courage of the rescue workers, particularly those who lost their own lives trying to save others. We have been thinking of little else since the attacks.
The sheer horror and magnitude of what happened is only just starting to sink in, and we are growing very frightened for the future.
The attacks have exposed how fragile our world is. The attacks have shown that not one of us is immune from violence and war. But the tremendous community response to the devastation also shows that another world is possible.
In the aftermath of the attacks there have been many opinions put forward about how to respond. We have heard reckless calls from some world leaders for revenge and retribution. Thankfully, we have also heard many voices that say this is a time for communities to come together, not to divide even further. We must join with the voices that are saying: ³This is not a time to retreat from our commitment to work for justice and peace. It is a time to build solidarity among peoples in the world in a non-violent movement for true social, economic and racial equality.² Because we know that social, economic and racial equality are essential conditions for both personal and world security.
Our union is committed to building a better world by building strong communities. This is a time to rededicate ourselves to making our world and our communities a fairer place, a compassionate place, a safer place not just for ourselves, but for the worldıs children, whose lives have been touched by this tragedy in ways we can only begin to understand.
We must also do everything we can to counter misplaced anger and blame towards people within our communities. It is wrong to threaten children with Arabic-sounding names. It is wrong to hurl bullets and bombs into mosques. It is wrong to brand entire nations and people for the crimes of a few.
The importance of community is reflected in the stories weıve heard and the images weıve seen on television of the heroic efforts of the public safety workers who are at the heart of the massive life and death operation underway. The firefighters, the paramedics, the health care workers, the police, the construction workers, the hydro workers, the municipal workers, social service workers, all joined by an endless stream of ordinary citizens from all walks of life. And let us not forget the flight attendants and pilots on the aircrafts who tried desperately to stop the attacks.
CUPE members are providing help in countless ways. Paramedics from CUPE 416 are in New York City assisting in the rescue efforts and other local unions representing emergency service workers have been on stand-by, ready to lend their hand. Health care workers, school workers and community staff have provided care and support to many who have been understandably traumatized by the events. Flight attendants have greeted those arriving on planes diverted to Canadian airports, helping passengers and crews needing food and shelter.
From working at shelters, to helping with communications, to giving blood, CUPE members have been on the front lines helping out. The toll for public safety workers has never been greater than in the last five days. And the importance of the work we do in our communities has never been more clear.
In the wake of this tragedy, the Canadian Union of Public Employees pledges to do everything we can to build strong communities. We pledge to build a better, just world free of violence and war.
For those of you who would like to donate money to help with rescue efforts, a rescue fund is being coordinated by the Canadian Labour Congress. Donations will be forwarded to the AFL-CIO, which is working with the United Way and the Red Cross to ensure that your money goes to where it is most needed. Cheques should be made payable to: International Activities Fund/US tragedy, c/o the Canadian Labour Congress, 2841 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 8X7.
Judy Darcy
National President
Copyright CUPE 2001
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Message to CAW members on impact of U.S. tragedy
<http://www.newswire.ca/releases/September2001/13/c7597.html>
Canadian Auto Workers
TORONTO, Sept. 13 /CNW/ - CAW National Executive Board issued the following statement today regarding the tragedy in the US:
Canadians in many ways are being deeply affected by the attack on the US and the incredible numbers of lives lost during this senseless, barbaric, and cowardly act of terrorism, the CAW National Executive Board said today. As well, reports indicate many Canadian families will also be grieving the loss of loved ones who were killed as planes went down and New York and Washington came under attack.
Throughout Canada, all CAW members, especially airline workers are mourning the loss of life of their brother and sister flight attendants and pilots. As well our members who work in the different airlines have endured a tense, emotional period with much more to come as tens of thousands of stranded passengers try to get home. The constant state of alert and the new security measures will bring permanent changes to the way Canadian airlines and airports operate. All of these changes will put additional pressure on already stressed CAW members and others who work for the airlines.
In response to the death of their brother and sister flight attendants and pilots, airline unions in Canada, including CAW Locals 2213 and 1990, have launched a black ribbon campaign. The campaign is designed to draw attention to the increasing danger for all airline workers, as well as recognizing the stress these workers are under. Following a phone call with Sean Smith, President of CAW Local 2213, CAW's largest airline local, CAW president Buzz Hargrove committed the national union to support the black ribbon campaign. The CAW national union will also talk to the International Transport Federation (ITF) to ask this world-wide body of unions to extend the campaign throughout the world. All CAW members should be cognizant of these trying times for our members who work for the airlines.
In communities across Canada, ordinary citizens and agencies are rallying to provide shelter, clothing and food for stranded passengers with reports that the small town of Gander, Newfoundland is looking after 10,000 stranded people.
Hargrove has heard from CAW members engaged in 14 economic sectors who are in personal ways affected by the events - all Canadians, from the youngest to the oldest in the nation know their lives have changed.
Hargrove said it is important that we help out in whatever way we can. He also said we must not succumb to the cry of those who want to attack those of Arab origin living in Canada. "We are a diverse nation, a nation who must strive to protect human rights especially in the face of such a crisis. The perpetrators must be brought to justice, but justice also means respect for the innocent, for the human rights of all."
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September 15, 2001
The Honorable Barbara Lee
U.S. House of Representatives
426 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Lee:
The Student International Forum, the Columbus Campaign for Arms Control, the Progressive Peace Coalition, and the OSU Committee for Justice in Palestine in Columbus, Ohio wish to thank you for your courage to stand up firmly against the resolution to authorize US military action to respond to the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, as you also rightly opposed the use of American troops in Serbia in 1998. We, too, are "convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States," as you put it in your eloquent plea against war. You will be remembered and honored as the lone voice of conscience in US Congress. History will prove the truth of your insight.
Let us work together to end the war as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Yoshie Furuhashi
Department of English
Ohio State University
<furuhashi.1@osu.edu
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