MOURN FOR THE VICTIMS... STAND FOR PEACE... WORK FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE!

Sept. 21, 2001

We express our deep condolences to the families and friends of those who were victims of the terrible tragedy on September 11. We absolutely condemn all violence against random individuals. There were dozens of Filipinos among those who died in the attacks. We must also remember those undocumented immigrants who died, but whose families are afraid to report them missing.

People across the US will be emotionally affected by this appalling attack for years to come. We have already witnessed the terrible backlash of racist attacks on Arabs and other immigrants and dark-skinned people. Low-income Filipino workers will likely experience even greater hardship in the following weeks as more businesses downsize due to panic and economic hardship.

We are further concerned that the US government is using the current sense of outrage as a basis for passing repressive legislation aimed at curtailing civil liberties. We fear a new climate of surveillance and a curtailment of rights of both those working for social justice and the population as a whole, including extensive wiretapping and email spying.

This is an extremely delicate time that calls for careful evaluation of the causes of deep hatred for the US, if we are to avert further attacks in the future. US military policy is particularly oppressive in the Middle East where for the last ten years the people of Iraq have been subjected to regular US bombings of their lands and water supply. The people of Palestine have been subjected to 50 years of oppression and terrorist attacks by the Israeli government, which is unconditionally funded by the US government.

Whether in Iraq or the US, the people should not be killed because their government's policies are wrong. In this regard, we would like to point out to the American people that we should not have double standards and care only if they are massacring us, but not do so when our government is involved in massacring them (such as, since the 1950s, in Guatemala, Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor, Panama, Palestine, and Iraq).

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