Unjustifiable, unspeakable and unforgivable

Stephen Vasciannie

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, to a much greater extent than December 7, 1941, is a date that will live in infamy. On that day, terrorists launched an attack of unbridled brutality on humanity, showing the most callous disregard for life, liberty and rationality. By their multiple acts of barbarism, the terrorists have thrown all civilised people into deep sadness, as we ponder the implications for individuals, families, New York, and indeed, the world.

It is difficult to find the words that explain the levels of revulsion, horror and grief that have been inflicted upon humanity by the action of the September terrorists. The World Trade Center has been a symbol of human order and success. Like its companion symbols, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center stood as a constant reminder of the capability of mankind.

Mankind can triumph over nature, and can reach for the heavens with architectural power. From their base in South Manhattan, stretching upwards almost as far as the eye could see (it seemed), the twin towers were centres of human commerce and interaction: major stock brokerage houses, banks and trading entities may have commanded the upper reaches of the buildings, but at the base, you could find a hundred stores satisfying both esoteric and commonplace needs, and beneath them, at the very foundations, train stations for transit uptown or to the boroughs, and into neighbouring New Jersey.

The World Trade Center thus represented a way of life for countless thousands; and now, it has been reduced, by deliberate and diabolical planning, into a way of death. When the counting is over, thousands will be lost, struck down by the unknown face of unforgivable cruelty, their families and loved ones left to grieve for the length of their own natural days. For the rest of their days, too, they will be left to imagine the mayhem of September 11, as fire ballooned across the upper floors, as victims in panic hurled themselves from the 80th floor, as they perished at the hands of evil.

A life is a life

At the Pentagon, no less, the forces of evil also struck with precision and brutality. Some may wish to make a distinction between attacking the twin towers, a civilian target, as against the Pentagon, a military office complex; but, for me, the central point is the senseless loss of life, and it cannot be that by simply working at the Pentagon, one forfeits the right to life. Just as it cannot be that, by simply taking a flight, one should end up dead in a field in Pennsylvania. The acts which led to this tragedy of unspeakable proportions are unforgivable.

In the time since September 11, it has not been easy for me to get past the shock, horror and brutality of the attacks, to the point of objective, neutral analysis. But, like thousands of Jamaicans, I have watched and listened. I believe the United States Government is right to promise a strong and forceful response: this kind of terrorism, which pays no attention to the concerns, cares and lives of total strangers, must not stand.

The United States, not for purposes of hegemonic self-aggrandisement, but primarily in the interests of justice, must strike back when they have clearly identified the perpetrators of this horror. I also believe that the reactions of the Jamaican authorities have been well-placed and sincere. We have lost some of our own in this tragedy, but even if we had not, there would be cause for national mourning, given the modus operandi of the killers.

To paraphrase Prime Minister Patterson, this was indeed an attack on the world, undertaken on American soil. But, while official responses have been appropriate, there are strands of opinion being advanced in the local media that seem both heartless and confused. In the first place, have you noticed how many people call radio stations to say: "I am sorry about the attacks but we must remember that America did so and so." There is nothing that America has done in this generation that can even vaguely begin to justify the brutality of September 11.

Those who make this point that we must remember American transgressions at this time may really be demonstrating that their own anti-Americanism prevents them from thinking. The people jumping from the 80th floor of the World Trade Center have, in all likelihood, exercised no direct influence over American foreign policy. Why should they have died? And, how could their deaths ever be justified by reference to American foreign policy initiatives? Equally confused are those who are inclined to justify last week's attacks by reference to the abiding Middle East crisis. The reasoning here, as I understand it, is that America, by siding with the Israelis since the days of Ben Gurion, has set its face against Palestinian Arabs in particular, and the Muslim world, more generally. From this, it is suggested that the attacks amount to an extension of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in which America has placed itself.

No rationality

This line of reasoning is confused inasmuch as it seeks to justify an unjustifiable series of actions. Even if the United States has retained a strong pro-Israel stance in controversial circumstances, this does not give unknown terrorists the right to send thousands to their deaths, just so. Civilised human beings have ways of addressing fundamental differences of opinion, and limits must be placed on the public expression of hatred and brutality. If, by seeking to explain the actions of the terrorists, we appear to be rationalising on their behalf, then we are giving them succour and comfort at a time when they should be given only condemnation and retribution. On another point, some commentators have noted that the tragedy in Rwanda produced more deaths than at the World Trade Center, and that, therefore, we should remember to view the matter with perspective. I reject this way of viewing the matter as well.

Of course, the Rwanda tragedy has resulted in countless deaths, and untold tragedy. But, two considerations need to be kept in mind. First, even assuming that the crisis in Rwanda was more horrible than the World Trade/Pentagon attacks, what purpose does making this point actually serve at this time? Is it to give consolation to the aggrieved? To say that we should all be less horrified at what happened last week? To demonstrate sophistication in world affairs?

Secondly, we must recall that the crisis in Rwanda took place over a period measurable in months, and away from the glare of international cameras. In contrast, the events in America constituted an immediate and public tragedy. Ethnic cleansing and genocide over a period of time shocks the conscience of mankind, but it is not usually in your living-room as it happens. Here, however, was sharp, brutal death, inflicted by terrorists, for all to see. That can only add to the level of horror we feel.

Stephen Vasciannie, an attorney-at-law, teaches at the University of the West Indies.

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