To commemorate the memories of both American and foreign-born citizens who perished on Sept. 11, the Memorial Flags Initiative was passed by GUSA at its first meeting of the year Wednesday night. GUSA’s Diversity and Religious Affairs Committee will hang the flags of every country in Red Square to represent victims from around the world.
“This [initiative] will commemorate Americans as well as all individuals from other countries who perished while on U.S. soil,” Luis Torres (COL ’05), chair of the Diversity and Religious Affairs Committee, said. “I felt this was another good way to pay respect to all those who died on Sept. 11.”
The members of the committee will also have a table in Red Square to distribute informative pamphlets regarding the many foreign and domestic victims of Sept. 11. Plans to organize a vigil as well as other remembrance gatherings on Wednesday have yet to be finalized.
Terisa Kretzmann (SFS ’04) and Ifeanyichukw Egbuniwe (SFS ’05), both members of the Diversity and Religious Affairs Committee, have been conducting research for the past few months to determine the official list of countries represented by those killed on Sept. 11, not counting those people still missing after the disaster. Finally, the committee decided to include all nations, as the official list would not fairly represent all of the countries currently experiencing the aftermath the terrorist attack.
“Our initiative . will be a nice complement to the many events scheduled for next Wednesday,” Egbuniwe said. “It’s an educational opportunity not only to commemorate the day, but to fully appreciate the global impact of Sept. 11.”
In an effort to save money, the Diversity and Religious Affairs Committee hopes to acquire the flags through donations from the many foreign embassies located in the District of Columbia. The flags will be arranged in a way to represent all other countries equally, with an American flag at the forefront to represent the large national loss. “These events will remind us always that Sept. 11 changed everyone’s lives,” Torres said. “The impact had no borders.”
