THE EMOTIONS of thousands of relatives were again rubbed raw on a windy and blustery New York day as September 11 was marked in downtown Manhattan, where the World Trade Centre fell a year ago in a terror attack.
The media blitz that commemorated the event was however measured so as not to overly traumatise victims of the attack.
However, many still thought the coverage could have been a little more empathising. Fox Television?s coverage of the event was regarded here as the best, with the coverage being free of commercials, whiles that of many other stations had heavy commercials.
Though a year ago, many who sat transfixed behind TV sets and watched the event live were caught up in the general cascade of tears, this time President George Bush, who altogether logged a few thousand miles between the Pentagon, Pennsylvania and New York amid tight security, joined in the show of emotion, and uplifted the spirits of Americans with an assuring message. He also joined the families in weeping as he comforted the bereaved families in New York.
The 2,801 souls that perished during the attack represented a wide spectrum of nationalities from all over the globe. The Ghanaian community here also felt the pain, with four ? not two - casualties officially being recorded. Prominent among them were a Victor Kwakye and Japhet Aryee, a former athletics star. At Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, adjoining buildings draped in American flags resounded with the mention of every victim over two hours, with Colin Powell, Secretary of State at a point climbing the rostrum to take part in the moving spectacle.
Total strangers hugged cried and consoled one another as they built a memorial of candles, stuffed toys, flowers and pictures in the dusty chasm of ground zero.
Ataa Nmai, a Ghanaian-American resident of Worcestor, Massachusetts, complained that some Americans tend to Americanise the 9/11 tragedy and asked that they should see it as a global tragedy.
?The various and varied nationals who were snatched from us is truly a world citizenry?, he said.
Tunde Olajire, domiciled in Atlanta, Georgia noted that the 9/11 crime against humanity must the world against the perpetrators to forestall a recurrence. The day was not all sombre as churches across the new world were open throughout the day for prayers for a hopeful look to the future.
Bishop T. D. Jakes of the Potter?s House in Dallas, Texas, said America is on the way to spiritual and economic recovery. In a TV program dubbed ?The Potter?s Touch?, the man of God said ?Americans have started to exhale after the horrific events of 9/11, stressing, ?there is life after 9/11?.
President Bush, in apparent reference to al-Qaeda and perhaps more importantly to Iraq while addressing the US live warned that ?what our enemies have started, we will finish?.
