|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Today marks exactly 22 years since the world was shaken by the coordinated attacks carried out by some extremists targeting the United States on September 11, 2001, which led to the loss of thousands of lives, including those of Ghanaians.
After over a decade since the attacks, 9/11 continues to be remembered as an unprecedented day of heinous crimes of terrorism against humanity.
The attacks were associated with Jihadi group Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden who claimed responsibility for them. On the fateful day, some 19 members of the extremist group hijacked four commercial planes that were used in the attacks.
Two of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York while another flew into the Pentagon outside Washington DC. A fourth plane which passengers had attempted to fight off the hijackers to regain control also hit a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Nearly 3,000 people including the passengers, those within the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon lost their lives in the attacks. Several first responders in their attempts to help those affected also died. Thousands of others sustained significant injuries.
Among the nearly 3,000 people who perished were four Ghanaians – two full Ghanaian citizens and two Ghanaian-Americans. They included 37-year-old Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, 35-year-old Victor Kwarkye, 49-year-old Japhet Jesse Aryee, and 36-year-old Sophia B. Addo.
The Jihadist group cited grievances against the foreign policy of the United States as the motivating factor behind the attacks and quoted verses from Islamic religious texts to justify them.
Terrorism is a major threat to all countries around the globe. Even though the site of the World Trade Center and other affected places have been rebuilt, memories from 9/11 continue to haunt many up to date. Several countries have since made efforts to ensure that such destruction never befalls humanity again.
