Twenty Years Later

Photograph: The New York Times

It feels like a lifetime, and yet just 5 minutes ago, that we woke to the surreal words spoken on the radio, ‘The World Trade Center is collapsing’.

Moments later the skies over my home in San Francisco fell silent as planes were grounded and phone lines succumbed to the pressure of family members desperately seeking news of loved ones in New York City.

In a matter of minutes, thousands of innocent lives perished in a senseless act of terrorism that ushered in an era of confusion, fear and ultimately war.

20 years later, the families of the victims in the towers are still coming to terms with their unimaginable loss on that clear September morning, while a new generation is trying to understand why we continue to wage battle in far-flung countries, and millions of Muslims around the world continue to be stigmatized by the nefarious actions of a handful of men.

It will be up to the historians of the future to judge, but our hopes of emerging stronger, wiser and kinder from the debris and trauma of that fateful morning are rapidly dwindling.

As we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, we must consider the possibility that after 20 years of retaliation it is now time for reparation.

Mistakes have been made, lessons are still being learned, but this is our opportunity to make a change and truly honor the victims through actions and policies that promote peace and discourage strife.

That is what they - and the world - deserve, and what this anniversary demands.