The atrocity that occurred
on September 11 2001 has shaken us to our very foundations, as individuals,
as a country and as a world. On behalf of myself and staff, our deepest
sympathy goes out to the all who are injured and the family and friends
of those who are injured or lost their lives.
One of my very best friends,
Muriel Fisher lost her son, Gerald Fisher at the
Pentagon. He was there with his team to present a computer program which
they had created to ease government payments to the survivors of slain
service people At the moment they were presenting it to the general,
the plane hit the pentagon and wasted the beautiful lives of kind and
loving people who were attempting to do a good thing for Americans.
What a horrific personal loss to the families and to the many people
whose pain could have been eased and their lives been made easier from
the loving work of "Geepe" Fisher and his team.
In addition to the pain
of the families, we have lost, what over 3,000 people could have contributed
to humanity is staggering. What music and books will not be written?
What medical cures will not be discovered? What progeny will not be
born? I hope if any would be terrorist is reading this you think about
how much good you are destroying in the name of your misguided idea
of religion. To the survivors, my heart is with you.
Love Renaissance
Joy
Here is a poem and a
song which I wrote for the memorial service of Gerald 'Geepe' Fisher,
the son of my very dear friend's Muriel Fisher.
WE
DID NOTHING
by Joy de la Ren
(with acknowledgement to Pastor Martin Niemoller)
When Arafaat stalked
and murdered Israeli athlete youth at Munich, we said, "those are
not my people" and we did nothing.
When a fatwah was issued
on Salomin Rushdie and made his life a living hell, we thought, "its
only the loss of one person's freedom of speech" and we did nothing.
When Ben Ladin blew up
embassies in Africa, we thought, "its so far away" and we
did nothing.
When the world trade
center was bombed the first time, not enough people were killed, and
what did we do?
When they blew up the
SS Cole, we thought, "its only one ship" and we did nothing.
When the Taliban committed
atrocities against their own women: ritual genital mutilation, refused
them work, education, healthcare, murdered them at will and put them
in Burqua under house arrest, we thought, "they are so far away
and our women are free" and we did nothing.
We let them build, we
watched them build and we did nothing.
Now they have come for
us and taken more than 3,000 souls who have touched the lives of every
one of us and we are lucky there are still
some of us left to do something.
A
Mourning Song For Muriel
By Joy de la Ren
Sung
to the melody of Shanandoa
We
sit here stunned
While we are weeping
Away souls are are leaving
We mourn and cry
We wonder why
There seems
no end in sight
As we share our grieving
We
have lost someone we love
Away souls are leaving
We cry and wait
And hope in grief
We'll see
One day we'll see
A world of peace.
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