America remembers 9/11 terrorists attack

The United States Embassy in Banjul last Friday joined fellow countrymen and women the world over in honoring and remembering all those who lost their lives during the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States, 10 years ago.

Reports said nearly 3000 lives were lost when two planes struck the World Trade Center at different time intervals causing not only human, but economic and financial loss.

In The Gambia, the US Embassy observed the day with prayers and short statements from embassy staff, on what the US has been doing after the September 9/11 with regard to security, among others.

In Washington, an official memorial was unveiled.

Addressing the staff of the embassy at the solemn anniversary ceremony, Cindy Gregg, US charge d’affaires, paid tribute to the men and women, both US citizens and non-citizens, whose lives perished during the attack.

“The September 11 attack in the US is an attack on the world, because it is not only US citizens who had lost their lives, but other nationals as well. Americans have learned a lot from this attack. It took us  long to differentiate the attack from Islam, but we know it has nothing to do with Islam as a religion. We have also developed a wonderful renewed sense of tolerance.”

According to her, Al-Qaeda has no link with Islam, but is creating terror in the world.

Abbi Jallow, a staff of the US embassy who witnessed the attack in Washington, shared her experience with the gathering.

“I was in Washington on that day, when my son called my attention that a whole building was burning. No one knew what was going on, but people were running,” she stated.

According to Jallow, she personally saw the second plane going towards the Pentagon, adding that she would not want anybody to go through what she went through that day.

Zineb Jah, also a US Embassy staff, who works under the Public Affairs unit, said the incident met her in London when a friend told her to log in on BBC online to read what was happening in the US on that day.

Lamin Sonko, supply clerk at the embassy, said it is always sad to remember one of the most inhuman and catastrophic murders that have ever happened in the world.

“This was a day when inhuman and ill-guided and disgruntled individuals used Islam as a cover and crashed aircraft into the twin towers of New York, bringing it to the ground,” Sonko added.

Wuyeh Bojang, a front gate receptionist at the embassy said the incident marked the mass murder of thousands of innocent people on American soil.

He added that the act was carried out by a group of fanatics, who used the name of a religion to carry out atrocities in diverse places around the world.

Alex Bangura of the US Peace Corps Banjul Office said although the September 11 attack happened on American soil, it is the responsibility of all alive to ensure that such do not reoccur.

Malick Jeng, the political and economic officer at the embassy; Ebrima Manneh, assistant political and economic officer/security cooperation coordinator; Papa Momodou Njie, assisitant public affairs officer and education advisor, Sheriff Bojang, Managing Director of The Standard newspaper, among others, all spoke at the ceremony, denouncing the act.