Speeches

All Saints Anglican Church (Sept. 11, 2003)

Dr. Roy L. Austin
U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
Speech at All Saints Anglican Church
on September 11, 2003

Good Morning!! On this second anniversary of the September 11th attacks, you do us a great honor by your attendance at this time of remembrance and reflection. On this day in 2001, many people throughout the world watched in horror as the suicidal attacks by terrorists on American soil took nearly 3000 innocent lives of citizens of at least 87 nations. In America and elsewhere, we mourned the death of those who perished, and lamented the injury of others; tried to make sense of the tragedy; and sought to heal the physical and psychological wounds inflicted by the abhorrent act. We can be sure that there are those who are still hurting from the atrocious events of that day. Today"s commemoration constitutes part of the healing; but we must draw from it, too, the strength to go about the business of living, and secure a safer and brighter future for our children.

This world will be safer when people who recognize their vulnerability to terrorism join together to defeat this worldwide evil. Already, international cooperation has resulted in the death or capture of sizeable numbers of al-Quaida"s leaders and associates. Also, more than 166 countries have issued orders freezing over $137 million in terrorist-related assets.

It takes little thought to realize that the 9/11 attacks left many victims beyond those people who perished or were physically injured in New York, at the Pentagon, or in the Pennsylvania plane crash. The members of this church whose routine activities have been disrupted by the barrier on Marli Street are victims. Those of us who work in the U.S. Embassy next door are victims, facing the slings and arrows of angry Trinidadians who are unconcerned about our need for enhanced security. The Caribbean tourist industry and all who benefit from it are victims. Need I identify other inconspicuous victims?

Often, I have heard Trinidadians say"this is Trinidad. It can"t happen here." Such a statement mistakenly regards the 9/11 brand of terrorism as having geographic boundaries. Apparently, too, we have forgotten the admonition of our parents and grandparents:"When yo neighbor house on fire," they warned," water yo own." The United States of America is Trinidad and Tobago"s neighbor, a maritime neighbor and a trading partner. The people of our two countries share a belief in enjoying maximum freedom, including the freedom to worship as we prefer or to have no religion; and the freedom to choose our government, and to petition our government for relief from grievances without fear of retribution. In our countries, these beliefs are realized. There is reason to doubt that the religious terrorists inhabiting our planet hold similar democratic beliefs or seek to attain their realization.

The beliefs of the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the bombings in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Bali, Jakarta, and recently in Iraq are opposed to the progressive humanitarian values associated with modernity and socioeconomic development. They wish to turn the clock back to a primitive age of severely restricted freedom. People who are perceived as obstacles to attainment of their regressive desires are expendable. The religious terrorists believe that they speak and act for a God who is intolerant of religious variation, and condones the suppression, by death if necessary, of the human impulse to hold a variety of religious and other beliefs. They regard as dangerous those of us who believe in a benevolent God, and, thereby, prevent their beliefs from gaining ascendancy.

Americans will strenuously resist the efforts of religious terrorists to cower our people into submission so that they can impose a single way of worship on our country, one of their ultimate goals for all countries. Our determination to maintain a country with religious tolerance was enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution which proscribes the establishment of an official religion. The forefathers of our country can confidently claim support for this prohibition in the biblical injunction to"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar"s and unto God the things that are God"s." Additionally, the first group of American immigrants had experienced first-hand the oppression resulting from a failure to separate church from state. Other countries must stand against the terrorist menace if they are to guard their democratic governmental and religious traditions against involuntary change.

Religious and other forms of intolerance have always been defeated by the human desire for freedom, including the freedom to worship as one chooses and to improve our condition. That knowledge should give us confidence that victory will go to the people who know a loving God, one who does not condone the hatred reflected in the terrorist acts of 9/11.

Meanwhile, the fire may still be burning only your neighbor"s house, but make haste to water your own.

I thank Canon Berkeley, Father Williams and the parishioners of All Saints Church for making this sanctuary of peace available to us for this solemn occasion; and I thank you all for standing with us. May God smile on all the people in this world and give us peace.