11 anos depois do 11 de Setembro

Editorial que escrevi no segundo número da revista Think South Asia, que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum, assinalando os 11 anos do 11 de Setembro:

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Most people remember exactly where they were when two planes crashed against the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York City, USA. I personally was on vacation and after I had heard a plane had crashed into the WTC, I saw live on television the second plane hitting the WTC, the third one hitting the Pentagon and of course news of the fourth plane crashing into the Pennsylvania countryside. I saw humanity falling down driven by greed, hate and extreme fanaticism.

Today we pin the date 9/11, eleven years after the tragedy. Back in 2001, training camps of Al-Qaeda were mainly in Afghanistan and the Taliban regime harboured these terrorists and all their facilities, while they ruled the Afghani people (and women in an oppressive special way) with tyranny. Western societies felt no option but to forcefully intervene in the faraway lands of Afghanistan. That story we know. But...what happened in the meantime what happens in the future?

 

In this 9/11 special edition of “Think South Asia” we hope you will gain an overall perspective on this issue as presented from different personalities and experts. We have the honour of presenting former Afghani Minister of Women’s Affairs (2004-06) Doctor Massouda Jalal’s in-depth interview, where she outlines the biggest threats and opportunities in Afghanistan and how Afghani women deserve to play an essential role in its future. Madame Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović from NATO also gives us a most lucid interview which is not to be missed, where she reminds us that “The attacks of September 11, 2001 were not only against the United States, but against the principles and values shared by a global community of democratic nations”. The Executive Director of SADF, Mr. Paulo Casaca, shows us how we should be worried about the possibility of the Taliban being back in power in Afghanistan, while Doctor Siegfried Wolf from the University of Heidelberg calls our attention to China’s potential interests in all of this.

 

Without listing anymore reasons to read carefully this special edition of Think South Asia, I should end this note saying that I am happy to count on Mr Pedro Guerra’s country profile of Afghanistan and on Ms Anne Flanagan (last but not least) who gave us precious help with the English editing of the texts and many details which don’t appear but make all the difference. If by any chance there is a mistake, that is of course – and as always – the Editor’s fault. Nevertheless, I thank all of our contributors and the Think South Asia team for doing everything to honour the memory of this 9/11 day.

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Publicado no site do South Asia Democratic Forum: www.sadf.eu
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Para fazer o download da revista Think South Asia 02: http://sadf.eu/thinksouthasia02.pdf