Some wept. Some held photos of loved ones At 8.46am, precisely two decades after a passenger plane became a new and deadly weapon here, all fell silent in remembrance.
Families of the victims gathered at the 9/11 memorial plaza in New York on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and helped shape the 21st century.
The sombre ceremony in bright sunshine that was eerily reminiscent of 11 September 2001 was attended by Joe Biden and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama along with victims’ families and first responders. Many wore face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden had hoped that the milestone anniversary could provide a much-needed moment of national unity after ending the war in Afghanistan, launched to root out al-Qaida, which carried out the attacks. But anger is still raw over the the chaotic withdrawal and return to power of the Taliban.
The 9/11 memorial plaza at the former World Trade Center site includes cascading water in the footprints of the twin towers. Mourners placed flowers on the names of the dead inscribed in bronze. » | David Smith in Washington | Saturday, September 11, 2021
The emotional scars of Sept. 11 are still there, but so is the memory of a simple act of kindness. »
11-Septembre : l'histoire glaçante derrière la photographie du «Falling Man» »
Trauer und Ratlosigkeit auch zwanzig Jahre nach dem 11. September: An den Gedenkfeiern zum Jahrestag der Terroranschläge von 2001 ist inständig an die Einheit aller Amerikaner appelliert worden. Bewegende Reden, Schweigeminuten und das Verlesen der Namen der 3000 Todesopfer bei Ground Zero konnten jedoch nicht über die Risse hinwegtäuschen, die die USA durchziehen. »
