9/11: Fifteen years on

Fifteen years ago today, the world was changed beyond recognition. To this day, September 11 is known simply as 9/11 but the three numbers tell a far bigger human story. A story that is part horror, part tragedy and all too (in)human. The events of that day changed not only the world, but also us. I can still remember how horrified I was to see those planes ram into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. That feeling resonated around the world, collectively. In fact, the question "where were you on Sept 11, 2001" is often heard in conversations relating to this single biggest act of terrorism ever.

The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others and caused more than US$ 10 billion in damage. The attacks on the Twin Towers come to mind immediately, but one cannot forget the attack on the Pentagon and the heroic story of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 (which was later turned into a film) who overpowered the hijackers and deliberately crashed the plane.

Two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, killing 2,753, including several firefighters. In fact, families of some of the 1,113 victims of 9/11 whose remains have never been identified have often spoken about their agony at still not being able to bury their loved ones. The images of what happened at the Pentagon never left the same imprint. There's no footage of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the western side of the office complex. The Pentagon is 6.5 million square feet spread horizontally, so even the explosion of an airplane looked almost minor compared with the wreckage in the New York Financial District. Flight 93. which the hijackers probably wanted to crash into the White House or similar building, crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, after passengers overpowered the hijackers.

Today, you can reflect on the terrible events of that day at memorial monuments set up in New York near the site of the former World Trade Centre and at the United 93 crash site, though the memorial space at the Pentagon is not open to civilians. Apart from the 9/11 memorial, the 9/11 museum, which charges US$ 24, has drawn 6.67 million visitors since its May 2014 opening. The observatory atop One World Trade Center, (the building that replaced the World Trade Centre) which charges US$ 34, has drawn three million people in the 15 months since it opened. There is also a collection of thank you letters, pieces of the Pentagon, first responder uniforms from the World Trade Center, personal items such as wallets and clothing, Emergency Medical Technician equipment, parts of fire trucks, and portions of the plane from United Flight 93 recovered from Shanksville, Pennsylvania which are showcased separately.

Memories apart, this was the event that really woke the world up to the threat of global terrorism. Until then, terrorist conflicts in many other parts of the world were ignored by the International Community on the assumption that "it's not our problem". However 9/11 was an eye-opener that terrorism in any country could no longer be ignored. It led to a crackdown on many terror groups worldwide (Sri Lanka benefitted in its fight against terrorism as a result of this change in perceptions) as nations banded together to fight terrorism. The UN as well as individual countries passed legislation that sought to restrict the funding activities of terrorists. Sri Lanka benefitted in its fight against the LTTE from these measures as well. In fact, al-Qaeda (suspected of staging the 9/11 attacks), LTTE and many other terror groups were banned around the world.

Even though Sri Lanka was able to contain its own terrorist conflict, globally it was not the same with many other shadowy terror groups that were more transnational. Even as the al-Qaeda received a deadly blow with the killing of their leader Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALs a few years ago, other terrorist groups emerged and spread their tentacles practically all over the world, recruiting indoctrinated youth into their ranks. The biggest such group is the Islamic State, (also called ISIL or ISIS) which has been based mainly in Syria and Iraq, though in recent days the group has been losing ground, literally.

The ISIS has engaged in a series of atrocities one after another in several world capitals including Paris, Nice, Brussels and Istanbul, killing hundreds of innocent civilians in addition to attacks on places of worship. The biggest victims of its attacks have unfortunately been Muslims themselves. It has plundered, pillaged and destroyed thousands of ancient artifacts from Syria and other countries. Its barbaric execution videos have shocked world governments which have been propelled into action against the group. The fightback against the group has mostly been successful with the group dislodged from several key areas held earlier.

The ISIS conflict has also generated one of the biggest human tragedies in living memory as people fleeing the conflict zones have used rickety boats to get across to Europe. Thousands have died when their boats capsized mid-sea. Europe has been inundated with refugees from several countries directly and indirectly affected by the conflict. This has spawned a debate on the merits and demerits of accepting such illegal immigrants - in fact, immigration has become a hot topic in both Europe and North America as the native populations are becoming wary of the immigrants, with fears lingering that some of the refugees could be terrorists in disguise. Some of the acts of terrorism and violence seen in Europe have indeed been committed by immigrants, some new, some long established.

Such transnational terror groups are a threat to the entire world. Sri Lankan authorities and religious leaders must keep an eye on these developments, because there are attempts on a global scale to brainwash more young people into joining the ranks of ISIS and similar groups. There have been several cases of attacks "inspired by ISIS" where the perpetrators were never really indoctrinated by the ISIS itself. No room should be left for such developments.

A lot of water has flowed under the Hudson Bridge since the events of September 11, 2001. On this fifteenth anniversary of that bleak day, all world leaders must resolve firmly to tackle the menace of terrorism head-on, leaving personal and bilateral rivalries aside. It is only through collective global action and intelligence sharing that the designs of terrorists can be defeated. They might also need more 'boots on the ground' military action that would however pose no threat to the civilian populations. Containing terror is the greatest tribute we can pay to the victims of 9/11.