All
races should be remembered after attacks
liya
Sternstein is a columnist for the Daily Pennsylvanian at the University
of Pennsylvania.
The year is
2020. Morgan Kay Beamer, newborn daughter of Sept. 11 victim and
hero Todd Beamer, rolls into, lets say, the University of
Pennsylvania. She joins the class of 2024, along with the Daniel
Pearls as-yet unborn baby. The two Quakers enroll in History
432: The World in Wars taught by Stephen Ambrose Jr.
The class exposes
Beamer and Pearl to every conflict from World War I to the war on
terror. They read about Germans that died at the hands of Nazis
in their own country. They hear lectures on the internment of Japanese
Americans in concentration camps. They learn about civilian casualties
of war.
Then, they get
to 2001, and they read in their Houghton Mifflin books:
In January
of 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was senselessly
killed in Pakistan, while doing his job. He left behind a wife who
was seven months pregnant. Pearl represents the American work ethic.
He sacrificed his life for the job. Daniel Pearl was a martyr.
Little Pearl
is proud, as she should be. But something is missing from the above
hypothetical hype. What about the dads murdered in Afghanistan and
the widows left behind, victims of the other side of this war? What
about the Afghan families destroyed? All those reported casualties
from U.S. airstrikes are martyrs, too.
War unavoidably
involves killing women and children. But those victims may not get
credit from Houghton Mifflin. Professor Ambrose may not make baby
Beamer and tiny Pearl memorize those names.
We cannot let
that happen.
We must remember
to keep a global perspective in interpreting the events of Sept.
11 and its aftermath. And we must look beyond Pearl and Beamer in
recording those interpretations for posterity. Surely, the two men
deserve mention and explanation.
However, innocent
people are dying on both sides of this war just as they did
in World War II and in Vietnam. We have to capture the full image.
Works of history
are rife with fallacies and omissions. Some historians tune in to
only one or two perspectives leaving behind biased accounts.
Several scholars usually preside over any compilation but that does
not always guarantee a complete spectrum. Thorough historical analyses
take a whole lot of time, research and energy. The text should read:
In January
of 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was senselessly
killed in Pakistan, while more than 100 civilian Afghans were mistakenly
killed in their own country a few months earlier. Thousands of innocent
victims lost their lives on Sept. 11, and central Asia lost many
of its own during the ensuing battle. Men and women on both sides,
who were going about their daily routines typing memos, shopping
and talking to loved ones died. American and Afghan lives
were lost in the name of freedom.
There are more
characters in this plot than Pearl and Beamer. Hopefully, Pearls
colleagues in continuing his work will retrieve the
names of those who perished. They should be recognized in the textbooks,
next to Pearl. Those lost in the towers, the Pentagon and abroad
deserve paragraphs, too.
As undergraduate
and graduate students at one of the nations best universities,
were the ones who will decide what goes down in the books.
Well be the professors and publishers in 2020 when the children
of Sept. 11 take on the world for themselves. Its up to us
to remember all sides of this story. As a scrupulous, fair journalist,
that is what Danny Pearl would have wanted.
Aliya
Sternstein is a columnist for the Daily Pennsylvanian at the University
of Pennsylvania. This column was distributed by U-Wire.
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