A More Divided 9/11 Anniversary
Some Relatives Dislike, Others Defend Plans for Islamic Center; Dispute Prompts Others to Stay Away
SEPTEMBER 10, 2010.
By SUMATHI REDDY And ANDREW GROSSMAN
From the beginning, there were disagreements over how to memorialize victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. How to compensate the families. How and where to try the responsible parties.
But always, family members of Sept. 11 victims say, the anniversary of the attacks brought a moment of unity.
Not this year.
The plan to build an Islamic community center with a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero has heightened emotions and created discord. A Florida pastor's threats to burn multiple copies of the Quran Saturday, since rescinded, has further inflamed tensions.
As the city and nation brace to remember the moment when two planes flew into the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon and one crashed in a Pennsylvania field, killing thousands of people, those most affected say they feel more isolated and frustrated than ever.
"One of the nice things about 9/11 had always been the sense of unity that you felt with the rest of the country," said Mary-Ellen Salamone, an Essex County, N.J., mother of three who lost her husband on 9/11. "You could look back and see that out of the ashes of all the trauma and the horror there were some good things that were coming out of it. Unfortunately, this year that is not the case."
"This year, the tenor of the day is very volatile and actually almost harder to take because of that," she added.
Some said they expect to observe the anniversary in a new way, like Sally Regenhard, vice-chair of 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters & World Trade Center Victims. After attending the ceremony at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, the Yonkers, N.Y., resident, who lost her son, a firefighter, in the attacks, said she will attend the Stop Islamization of America rally in front of the site of the proposed Islamic community center and mosque known as Park51.
"We're hurt," said Ms. Regenhard. "This is the worst anniversary and the worst pain that I and my family have experienced since 9/11. We are a wounded group of people who were victimized nine years ago, and instead of having concern and consideration for this, we were vilified because we didn't support a project that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that I feel is going to be built for the wrong reasons."
Another family member, Charles Wolf, will speak at a rally Sunday in support of Park51.
"I live in lower Manhattan, this affects me personally because I see good people fighting other good people over how to worship God," said Mr. Wolf, who lost his wife on Sept. 11. "That is the sum of it. If we reject the good guys, what are the bad guys going to do?"
But many families express mixed opinions and say they're trying to stay out of the fray, even leaving the city to mark a day they say is best spent in private. "Do I feel that in terms of the Constitution they have a right to do this?" said Diane Horning of Scotch Plains, N.J., whose son died in the attacks. "I do. But I don't think it was sensitive. Yes, they have a right to build this but I don't think it was the right move."
online.wsj.com |
