Sept. 11, 2001 … Sept. 11, 2019

Published in El Universal
(Venezuela) on 7 September 2019
by Paolo Montanari Tigri (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Patricia Simoni. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.

 

 

 

Eighteen years have passed since that sad Sept. 11 in 2001, when terrorism inspired by Islamist fanaticism was intended to bring not only the United States but also the entire democratic Western world to its knees. And I want to emphasize the word democratic, because, lamentably, there are countries that’s leaders have not connected with the pain of, and have even rejoiced over, that catastrophe, and they consider the event to be fair and just punishment for Yankee imperialism.

Eighteen long years have passed since that tragic event grieved by all good men, who, upon hearing the American national anthem, place hands on hearts, shouting, “I, too, feel like an American citizen,” in a show of solidarity, love and brotherhood with the American people.

Eighteen years have passed since we all saw two planes full of people crashing into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the heart of New York City. We, ourselves, witnessed the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings. We were horrified by that terrible wave of violence, and rather than sink into a fathomless oblivion over time, that horrific tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 has become a living and present memory, determining the way we live. The fear we share, that, in whatever moment, we could become innocent victims of fanatical terrorism has shaped the way we live.

All that has transpired since then, including rationally reacting to shameful terrorist aggression, has been deemed to be wrong by a large part of the Western world, to such an extent that many have come to believe that Sept. 11 was an attack not perpetrated by others but committed by Americans on themselves to justify the intervention in Iraq in order to take control of Iraqi oil — a baseless theory that disproportionately feeds the genuine anti-American sentiment held by many.

The terror that at any moment we could fall victim to fanatical terrorism is alive and present.

Nevertheless, the nearly unanimously held idea of an infamous attack perpetrated on the Western world has turned into the idea that the action was a just and deserved punishment against American imperialism. The sad thing is that there are those who believe it.


Han transcurrido 18 años desde aquel triste 11 de septiembre de 2001 en el que la acción terrorista del fanatismo islámico ha intentado poner de rodillas, no solamente a EEUU sino a todo el mundo democrático occidental. Y he querido hacer énfasis sobre el término “democrático” porque, lamentablemente ha habido países cuyos dirigentes no se han asociado al dolor y hasta se han alegrado por esa hecatombe, considerando lo que ha sucedido como un justo y merecido castigo para el imperialismo yankee. Han pasado 18 largos años desde aquel acontecimiento trágico frente al cual todos los hombres de buena voluntad han estado de duelo y al escuchar el himno de EEUU se han puesto una mano en el corazón gritando “yo también me siento un ciudadano americano” en una demostración de solidaridad, de amor, de hermandad con el pueblo americano. Han pasado 18 años, todos hemos visto a dos aviones llenos de gente estrellarse contra las dos torres del World Trade Center en el pleno corazón de Nueva York, hemos presenciado en vivo la muerte de miles de seres humanos inocentes, nos hemos horrorizados frente a esa terrible ola de violencia pero con el tiempo esa horrenda tragedia del 11 de septiembre del 2001 no solamente no se ha hundido en el tremedal del olvido, sino que se ha convertido en un recuerdo vivo y presente que condiciona nuestra forma de vivir. El temor de que todos, en cualquier momento pudiéramos ser víctimas inocentes de ese terrorismo fanático, condiciona nuestra forma de vivir.

Todo lo que ha sucedido después, incluyendo la lógica reacción frente a esa vergonzosa agresión terrorista, ha sido considerado “equivocado” por gran parte del mundo occidental a tal extremo que muchas personas han llegado a pensar que lo que había sucedido el 11 de septiembre del 2001, no había sido un atentado sino un “autoatraco” de los mismos americanos para poder justificar la intervención en Iraq y adueñarse del petroleo iraquí contribuyendo, con esa loca teoría sin pies y sin cabeza, a alimentar de una manera despropositada ese sentimiento antiamericano vivo y presente en mucha gente. El terror de que en aquel momento pudiéramos ser víctimas de ese terrorismo fanático está vivo y presente. Sin embargo el concepto casi unánime según el cual el 11 de septiembre del 2001 se había perpetrado un infamante ataque contra el mundo occidental, se ha drásticamente convertido en un justo y merecido castigo contra el imperialismo americano. ¡Lo triste es que haya quien se lo cree!

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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