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Africa Policy E-Journal
Africa Action: Message to Friends Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List: an information service provided by AFRICA ACTION (incorporating the Africa Policy Information Center, The Africa Fund, and the American Committee on Africa). Find more information for action for Africa at http://www.africapolicy.org
Africa Action September 12, 2001 As many of you know, our New York office is only blocks away from the World Trade Center. Fortunately, only one staff member was in the office at the time of yesterday's attacks. She escaped to safety over several hours yesterday. In Washington, our office is just across from the Capitol, and that office was evacuated yesterday morning. A relative of one staff member is still missing and presumed dead. We do not yet know when or even if the office building in which our New York office is located will be reopened. We expect our Washington office to be open tomorrow. Our work will continue. We thank those of you who have sent messages of concern, and apologize for not having been able to respond sooner. We condemn these attacks that have killed thousands of people, as we condemned the attacks in 1998 against Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. We hold responsible those who were involved in and knew of these acts. The most immediate priority for all who can is to provide assistance to those most hurt and address the direct pain of loss affecting millions more. This murderous attack has brought home to all in this country the vulnerability of human life that we share with others around the world. These acts by as yet unknown assailants reflect the same indifference to human life and the same devastation that many millions of people are facing throughout the world, through deliberate acts of terrorism as well as through the refusal to address entrenched inequities and unresolved conflicts. We are also anxious that the political leaders of this country prove capable of choosing the right measures in response to this tragedy. In the short term, public debate will inevitably focus on security measures, identification of those responsible, and possible retaliation. In the long run, human security in both the U.S. and elsewhere in the world must be addressed not only by defeating organized terrorist groups, but also by seeking solutions to the conflicts and structural injustices that provide fertile ground for terrorism. The quest for greater security for the U.S. must also be one that seeks to promote security for others. The struggle for a better world, with security for all, will continue. We are together with you in that struggle.
Salih Booker
Documents previously distributed in the e-journal are
available on the Africa Action website: To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the source mentioned in the posting.
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Africa Policy E-Journal
