20 Years Later
the pain never ends, but we can never forget.
It is weird to think that for my generation (Gen Z), there is no before 9/11.
Just after.
The world as it is.
My hope is that for people my age, in our recollection of this moment in history we remember it all: those we lost, those who gave their lives in service, those who were unfairly targeted, and the leadership who justified cruel acts in the name of revenge.
May we learn from these events and carve out a safer and just world for those who look like us and those who don’t.
May we learn from those old enough to remember and lived through those horrific moments: to pick up the torch of selflessness and to care for your neighbors in times of grief.
But let us never repeat certain mistakes that perpetuate bigotry, war crimes, and poor decision-making out of fear.
Keep Reading
Live Updates: Amid a Painful Year, America Marks Two Decades Since 9/11 (The New York Times)
How Students in 12 Countries are Taught About 9/11 (New York Times)
They weren’t born yet when their dads died on 9/11. The loss shaped their lives. (The Washington Post)
Biden joins survivors and families in New York as US commemorates 20 years since 9/11 terror attacks – live (The Guardian)
9/11 survivors’ exposure to toxic dust and the chronic health conditions that followed offer lessons that are still too often unheeded (The Conversation)
‘I’m the face of it’: the people whose images came to define 9/11 reflect on the day (The Guardian)
I’m a Pakistani-American Muslim in a Prison 5 Miles From the Twin Towers. Since 9/11, I’ve Been Treated Like the Enemy (The Marshall)
After 20 years, Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal has finally ended the 9/11 era (The Guardian)
Rebuilding and Resilience: 20 Years Since 9/11 (Open Society Foundations)
9/11 was a test. The books of the last two decades show how (The Washington Post)
American Muslims are at high risk of suicide – 20 years post-9/11, the links between Islamophobia and suicide remain unexplored (The Conversation)
Lessons about 9/11 often provoke harassment of Muslim students (The Conversation)
cover image by https://unsplash.com/@aaronhjlee