A commuter injured in the London terrorist attack is aided on July 7, 2005.
By Joseph Daniels
President of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center
This morning, as we return to work after the July 4th holiday and go about our daily lives, we should take a moment to remember the 52 innocent people in London who were doing much the same thing, three years ago to the day, when they were murdered in bombings perpetrated by Islamic extremists.
That day was a horrible reminder of what we experienced here in New York City on September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993. In the wake of the London bombings, many did whatever they could to show support for the British, just as the world community had done for Americans after 9/11. As the U.S. Army band played God Save the Queen in Washington, DC, condolence messages, tributes, and flowers were left at British embassies and consulates around the world. Our thoughts and prayers centered on the victims, their families, and the survivors. It hit home that the acts perpetrated in London were an assault on all those who treasure the freedom to live without fear.
But what can we do today, three years later? What can we do to help prevent something like this from happening again?
We can start by remembering the victims. We can remember Carrie Taylor, who said goodbye to her mother with a kiss on the cheek just minutes before boarding a London underground train that was bombed that day. We can remember Philip Beer, another bombing victim, who was known for his fun-loving spirit and brightly colored hair. And Atique Sharifi, also killed in the bombings. He was an Afghan national whose parents were killed by the Taliban, and had fled his country in order to live his life freely in the United Kingdom, sending money he earned home to support his sister in Afghanistan.
We owe it to the victims to ensure they are remembered, and to prove that the terrorists did nothing to erase the memories of their vibrant lives.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum represents our country’s promise to remember the victims of the 2001 and 1993 attacks. That is why we must do everything possible to make sure that this national tribute is realized.
Last week, a report was released that candidly outlined the many challenges we face in rebuilding the World Trade Center. While we have to be realistic about the complexities of this project, we must also be aggressive. The Memorial is an opportunity to reinforce our nation’s core values. It’s our chance to make a statement to the rest of the world about the tremendous importance we place on individual lives. By working together, we believe the Memorial can be opened to the public in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011. When that day comes, we will be able to take pride in saying we fulfilled our promise to preserve the memory of each victim with common purpose.