“Never Forget” or “Forgive, Forget and Move Ahead?” by Sumesh Shiwakoty

By Sumesh Shiwakoty

NEW YORK, SEPT 10 -- “It was a usual Tuesday morning. I was on my way from JFK airport to Brooklyn carrying passengers on my taxi when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center”, remembered Malkeet Singh Khalsa, one of the several visitors visiting the 9/11 memorial on the eve of the 16th anniversary of that gloomy day. “Within few minutes, there started chaos in the city. People started screaming and running. That was a crazy day.”

Khalsa’s words scrambled as he added, “Coming here today, and seeing all the people showing homage gives me a feeling that no matter how much extremists try to threaten us, we Americans can always bounce back.”

To the question of how that tragic event touched his life personally, he became silent for a while and said that he never felt like an outsider in America before the 9/11 event. He shared the story of his parents who came to the United States from India to escape the violence after the India-Pakistan partition and while growing up in the New York City, he always felt that this country is his home.

“After that event, it was hard to drive taxi wearing a turban,” he said. “People will assume that I am a Muslim and you can feel what is in their heart through their eyes. That was just a hard time. I am glad that time is over”. 

Nearby an old couple was taking their selfies trying to capture the falling of water in the background. “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you come here?” After staring at the falling of water for a while, the husband replied, “Coming here reminds me of just one thing, and that is all the innocent lives that were lost after that tragic event. Innocent lives on both sides. Actually, the loss is more to the Arab world than to us, and on both sides, the one who paid the price were innocent people like you and me”.

His wife interrupted: “How can such a massive building collapse simply because of the crashing of a plane. Didn’t a plane also crash into the Empire State building back in the 40's? I think there is something more to the 9/11 that we will never know.” Her husband responded, “I don’t buy those conspiracy theories. If Guantanamo and Abu Gharib can make it to media, if DNC (Democratic National Convention) and Podesta (John Podesta) emails can get leaked, then I don’t think the 9/11 can stay secret till this long. If there were truth to those conspiracy theories, someone would have leaked it a long time ago”.

A middle-aged man named Austin Elliot from Chicago said the day should also be a reminder that politicians were able to use the fear and anger generated by 9/11 for other purposes. “It’s crazy how the Bush administration was able to persuade Americans to go to war with Iraq although the Iraqi had nothing to do with the 9/11.”