The 9/11 memorial commemorates the sacrifices made by thousands of people of the New York City who were engulfed by the terror and cruelty of the terrorists. It reminds us of strength and sufferings of the victims—those who died and those who survived, but not without being handicapped mentally, emotionally, and physically. It reminds us of the forbearance of the families of the martyred people—who tolerated with agony the loss of their family members. It reminds us of the time when the whole of America cried in unison for the people who were burnt in the Two Twin Towers. It also reminds us of the things that followed.
Visiting the site one morning, I was appalled to see the somewhat indifferent attitude of the people towards the memorial. They were making selfies and photographs. I also saw many of them making sad videos of different applications such as musically, snapchat and facebook. I was perplexed to see the way the people were showcasing their sentiments relating to the 9/11 memorial in such a way. Does making pictures make them feel good? I wondered if the filtered videos besides the memorial make them feel elated? What about the sacrifices of the thousands of people? Are they forgotten?
I looked at the solemn and the sophisticated architecture of the memorial. I observed it. It reminded me of the days of 9/11, of the days following it. I wondered whether the structure of the memorial even truly commemorated the real struggles of the victims and their families. My heart said a big no. it told me that perhaps if it had been more gruesome in appearance, had it the images of the dead bodies etched over its wall, had the memorial images of the crying people pasted on all sides, people here would have acted differently. Perhaps, making pictures and videos for social media would not have been so important then.
This reminded me of an article that I had read about America’s mania for memorials. The masses of America demanded that a memorial should be built on the site of the World Trade Centre and Pentagon to commemorate the people who suffered in the 9/11 incident. However, the whole project appeared to become more commercial then personal. “Yet memorial culture itself isn’t this straightforward; this is memorial mania” (Doss 31). There were battles about what to keep in the memorial and what not. There were battles about the design and architecture of the memorial. There were battles after battles after battles.
The article further reminded me of another article “Democrats Also Plan to Read Gettysburg Address for 9/11.” The Democrats had decided to read two excerpts from the Gettysburg Address because they argued that the historical value of that address would add to the potency of the one year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. People criticised it for being a political move made by the Democrats. It was argued that they were even using the event of 9/11 which shook the whole nation into tears into a political drama. ”It is a day to be patriotic, and as long as they steer clear of Democratic jingoism, I suppose it is just fine,” said Peter Farago, a Manhattan advertising executive. ”But it is a political ad. It’s them wrapping themselves in the flag” (Archibold 12). The democrats maintained that the excerpt would only be used to express the solidarity of the Democrats and not to exploit some political cause. However, the debates remain vague till now.
I couldn’t take the indifferent attitude of the people, so I moved to the north side of the memorial. There, I saw a family. They were not making selfies or videos. They were simply huddled together and gazing at the memorial with empty eyes. I approached them a bit and saw that there were tears in their eyes. The silence near them was deafening. The solemnity with which they were looking at the memorial was heart breaking. They were not crying or shrieking, but the silence of their pain was heart breaking.
Moving ahead to another side, I also saw another group of people who looked like Muslims. My heart burned in anger. I came near them. They were a family of 4. Mother, father, son and daughter. The children must be of 10 or 11 ages. What they were doing softened my heart. They were not making selfies, nor were they rejoicing at the corners of the memorial. The father was narrating prayers for the victims of 9/11 and the rest of the family was saying Ameen. “Oh Allah, let these people be in Heavens. Reward them for their sacrifices. AMEN. Oh Allah, You are the merciful. Help the families of these victims find peace. AMEN.” The children had bouquets in hand. They placed it near the memorial and left.
No doubt that the persecuted and martyred people of the 9/11 incident might have suffered. But the memorial which was supposed to let the memories of the victims remain etched in our minds is a tourist spot. No doubt that the indifferent attitude of the tourists show that the tears of the whole nation which were shed during the days of the 9/11 are completely dry. No doubt, that the Muslim terrorists might be involved in the whole incident, but no every Muslim person is a potential terrorist. There are good bearded men and there are pious hijabi girls as well.
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