Dressed in black, the two couples held hands as they walked slowly along the memorial, watching the wall etched with names of the 2,983 people killed in the terror unleashed by al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Even though bin Laden was taken out in unilateral raid by American military commandos on May 2 in Pakistan, the wounds of the victims’ families, including Indians, remained fresh. The solemn event telecast live globally was under heavy security cover, following fresh security alerts regarding a possible al-Qaeda attack.
An eerie silence gripped the Ground Zero as the America’s first family—Obama and Michelle along with Bush and his wife Laura—spent about a minute at the 30-foot waterfalls that are part of the new memorial. Obama did not make any speech, but read a passage from the Bible.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling,” Obama read.
People silently held on to American flags as well as photos of their loved ones who died when hijacked twin planes rammed into the iconic World Trade Center here, bringing the skyscrapers down like a pack of cards. The ceremony began with a procession of bagpipers and singing of the national anthem by a choir.
In an emotional rendering, sons, daughters, wives and husbands read out names of all the 2,983 people who died in the attacks as family members wiped away tears, promising “never to forget” what happened on the fateful September day and the service of the people who laid their lives to save others.
Mukul Agarwal and Bela Jagdshi Phukan were among the names that were read of the several Indian-Americans who had died in the attacks.
Mayor Michael R Bloomberg said the attacks had turned “a perfect blue-sky morning” into “the blackest of nights.”
Incidentally, unlike earlier occasions, the ritual of reading the names of the dead took place against a backdrop of the spectacular, three-quarter-built 1 World Trade Center tower, rather than a construction site-Ground Zero.Even though 10 years have passed since the tragic attack, the pain and the suffering still exists.
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