If you walked around campus yesterday, you would have undoubtedly noticed many commemorations in remembrance of the tragedy of Sept. 11. In all, 3,025 people were murdered on that day, representing 82 countries. What you would have missed while walking through Red Square, however, were the flags of 68 nations who lost citizens.
The Georgetown University Student Association’s decision on Tuesday to honor only 14 countries misrepresents the global impact that the terrorist attacks had and trivializes the deaths of the citizens of countries who were not honored. This decision was not intended to be malicious or insensitive by any means, but this does not preclude the ultimate misrepresentation of Sept. 11’s truly international impact. A quick search of the New York Times proves that citizens from more than the 14 countries whose flags were flown this week in Red Square died last Sept. 11. Nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Switzerland and Egypt, to name a few, while officially recognized as losing nationals, were not given as much priority as an arbitrarily selected 14 countries.
As a sophomore representative to GUSA, I took part in the decision-making process that finalized our tribute to 9/11. After the introduction of a resolution to the Assembly, which would have approved the hanging of the flags of 14 countries around Red Square, with an American flag flying above the rest, there was a lengthy debate as to the selection of the countries. Sophomore Class Rep. Luis Torres (CAS ‘05), who introduced the resolution, contended that based on research given to him, only 14 countries had officially been recognized as losing nationals on that day, while more than those 14 were suspected of having lost citizens.
Discussion followed as to the accuracy of this claim, whereby Rep. Dan Spector (SFS ‘04) and I said that we thought that this was untrue. In addition, we argued that large flags of all the 82 recognized countries or all the countries of the world should be placed around Red Square, symbolizing the international character of the terrorist attacks. If this could not be done because of financial constraints, then no large flags should be procured, and the 82 recognized countries or all the countries of the world would have their flags represented on a smaller scale. Ultimately, it was agreed that GUSA could allocate $300 to the project, with the expectations at least in my mind that those 14 countries would not be given some symbolic preference over the other 68.
As someone who has lived in New York City for my entire life and attended Stuyvesant High School, which is located four blocks from where the Towers once stood, I recognize Sept. 11 as a worldwide event as well as one that touches me personally. My morning trips to the Krispy Kreme at the Trade Center and weekday adventures to Borders located next-door shed light on the extent of the global connectiveness that 9/11 had. The population of workers at both the Towers themselves, as well as the rest of New York’s residents, who pride themselves on being comprised of citizens from every nation in the world, symbolizes 9/11’s global impact. I was therefore upset at GUSA’s decision to single out 14 nations and not honor every country in the international system, or at least the 68 others that were directly affected.
GUSA’s other initiatives on 9/11 are to be lauded for their efforts at remembrance and unity. These include the Books of Remembrance that were placed around campus, as well as the decision to open the GUSA office doors as a haven for people to discuss their feelings with fellow students. I applaud the University’s inclusive commemoration of that day, including an interfaith service and a candlelight vigil that brought together students and faculty of all nationalities and backgrounds. I hope that such ceremonies shed light on the far-reaching impact that Sept. 11 had on the world and within our international community.
Sean Fern is a sophomore in The School of Foreign Service and a GUSA class representative.
