Recovery work halted and tears flowed at New York's "Ground Zero" on Sunday as thousands of grieving family members gathered for a memorial service at the site of the fallen World Trade Center towers.
Thousands of mourners, some holding photographs of their loved ones, rose from their plastic chairs Sunday as Police Officer Daniel Rodriguez opened the service with The Star-Spangled Banner. Cardinal Edward Egan delivered the invocation, standing at a podium draped in black.
PHOTO: AFP
"They were innocent and they were brutally, viciously, unjustly taken from us," said Egan, the leader of New York's Roman Catholic archdiocese. He called them "strong and dedicated citizens" who were "executives and office workers, managers and laborers."
PHOTO: REUTERS
"We are in mourning, Lord. We have hardly any tears left to shed," he said.
Police said 9,200 people attended the service, held for family members only.
"My daughter is out there some place," said Cathy Mazzotta, mother of 23-year-old Jennifer Mazzotta who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of Tower One. "This is the last place she's been, so it makes me feel good."
Acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli brought tears to many people's eyes with his rendition of Ave Maria, as did violinist Ilya Gringolts as he played a traditional Yiddish piece called Raisins and Almonds, and the Metropolitan Opera's Renee Fleming as she sang God Bless America.
The ruins of buildings still standing around the site formed a haunting backdrop, with their blackened walls and violently mangled girders providing a jarring contrast to the soft music and prayers designed to comfort the mourners.
"We come here today to hold those who hurt so much, to help those who need so much and to heal those who cry so much," said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, a New York Fire Department chaplain.
"Guide us to better days," said Imam Izak-El Mu'eed Pasha, a police chaplain. "In pursuit of justice, let us not hate. ... Let us be the best human beings we can be, and not let those who would do these things turn us against one another."
At the service, few people seemed able to keep their composure, and a handful of mourners, visibly distraught, had to be led away.
Afterward, mourners took flowers from the stage and handed them to firefighters, who placed the purple and yellow blooms on top of the heaps of rubble. The firefighters then placed bits of the rubble in the outstretched hands of the mourners.
At a private ceremony later, relatives were presented with wooden urns containing ashes from the trade center. Given that fewer than 500 bodies have been identified, for many the urns would be the only remnant they would have to bury.
Pat Hannafin, who attended the service in memory of his brother Tom, a firefighter, said it had been a comfort when his brother's body was found and could be buried a few days later.
"That's the only consolation," he said. "I don't know how the other families are going through it."
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS