September 11, 2001

As immigrants to the United States of America, as residents or citizens, as neighbors of this great country north of our borders, we Haitians

share the sense of loss, the grief, and the resolve to pursue a life of peace and justice, free of violence and insecurity...

Symbols of power and wealth may have been destroyed, we do not mourn them. But the loss of lives, the suffering, the violence visited upon our loved ones, yes we do! Beyond the "who did it" and "when and where will the retaliation take place", we hope that the U.S. leaders will not fail us in discovering foremost, the "HOW" and the "WHY".

This is not a movie, this is not a game. Blood is red everywhere and we have seen enough of it. May the guilty pay the price, but not those found "guilty by association". The loss of innocent lives anywhere on the planet will never make up for the loss of innocence in New York, Washington D.C. or elsewhere. We embrace a zero tolerance policy against terrorism, including but not limited to the punishment of those who plan and order the suicide bombings. We can no longer afford to ignore the root causes of despair in this world, and this means mending our ways where necessary. Ours is not a fight against "evil" empires, but a fight against despair which produces desperate people who can be programmed to commit desperate acts.

Please consider these differences in perception: those we call "cowards" aren't afraid of dying; what we call cowardice is their martyrdom. Killing "their" brothers and sisters will not serve to protect "our own" nearly as well as understanding the forces that drive people to a perceived martyrdom, and working rationally on all fronts against those forces. That is the war we expect our leaders to wage, 'cause the world is a hell of a lot more complex than a shoot'em up video war game.

Our existence and cherished ways of life, those of our children and future generations are clearly AT STAKE.

Those of us who live in and care for America, should let U.S. leaders know that their response should not thoughtlessly engage us down the path of an irreversible cycle of violence and retribution, which is all too familiar in the Middle East. Freedom needs to be protected and preserved for the right reasons. The greatest victory the terrorists could exact would be the surrender of our resolve to achieve a better world by means of religious freedom, cultural diversity, economic opportunity, and equal justice.

In the United States, and Haitians should take note, greatness is sustained by an interdependent network of people from all walks of life, whose bonds preserve their social integration, infinitely more than symbols of wealth and power. Such symbols may disappear as witnessed, in spectacular fashion. Our individual status symbols are even more fragile and often counter-productive. In the end a near perfect solidarity among people within and without our borders is the weapon that will really save us...

Expressed in great sorrow and undying hope.

Guy S. Antoine
Editor, Windows on Haiti
News and Social Commentary