September 11 Fallout

On the 4th anniversary of September 11th further shocking news has been revealed. Some say that carcinogens that spewed out from the burning debris may not cause a health risk to most New York residents. However, the infants of women that were pregnant soon after may face an increased risk of birth defects. Risk of health problems may also apply to over 1000 contractors, volunteers, police and fire-fighters, who spent months clearing up at Ground zero. These findings come from a recent study by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Further studies from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York revealed that unborn babies are more sensitive to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). An estimated 1million tonnes of dust and smoke resulted from the twin tower being toppled by the two hi-jacked jets. One also has to wonder if enough has been done to clean-up the residue of dust and possible dangerous asbestos. Although these studies reveal the risk we hope that people will not suffer.

So there you have it, evil has installed itself physically and mentally. Generations to come will remember these traumatic events. Events that changed the world and brought about a new sense of paranoia, playing into the hands and minds of extremists.

The post September 11 2001 events of hate crimes and lack of understanding appear to be in opposition to what we should project: Respect, understanding, appreciation of our diversity. Instead right-wing extremist positioning is abound. Camp X-ray can be perceived as a global statement of abuse of human rights.

In my column my aim is to talk about solutions. What can we do? We can say that greater education and understanding is the route to enlightenment and comes in many forms - and that we should learn about our differences. Recently, I wrote about the interfaith organisations that forget their different approach to religion and instead focus on common humane causes. For example, let us take a look at the Sudan situation or the 80% of starving in India. Each person suffering is a soul that needs our souls to help them. Should we send them money? Yes but through a channelled effort. Governments should provide sabbaticals, tax breaks, debt reduction and subsidised volunteer schemes. We could also adjust our own debt to help harmonise developing economies.
We need to eradicate the route causes of the violence of September 11. If we are to destroy underground movements and their evil forces we need to strike at the heart of the problem: hate. Hate can only be removed if a sense of fairness is generated. People that are committing the crimes need to ‘see’ that fair approach is being taken. Territories in dispute need to be transferred to an impartial organisation that temporarily labels them as ‘open lands or open zones’. These zones then need to be left for a period of calm. No party should have tanks or weapons. Establishment of their sovernity is not allowed to confuse the issue. Instead, international peace keepers should roam until all parties can settle their issues. If snipers or terrorists attempt to interfere, they jeopardise the final agreement.

We can build planes and send people to the moon. We can even send a remote control robot craft to Saturn, surely we can stretch our brains to work together for peace with innovative approaches.