Dominica is marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, remembering the Dominican nationals who were among the nearly three thousand people killed when two hijacked airplanes struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
The attacks, described as the worst terrorist assault on United States soil, formed part of a coordinated series of hijackings that also targeted the Pentagon in Washington and led to the crash of a fourth aircraft in Pennsylvania. For the Commonwealth of Dominica, a small island with a large diaspora in the United States, the loss was personal as well as global.
Dominicans at home and across the diaspora are pausing to reflect on the lives cut short, including those who had built careers and raised families in New York, the city that hosts one of the largest Dominican communities abroad. The anniversary serves as a reminder of the ties that bind the Nature Isle to the wider world, and of the price paid by ordinary people going about their daily work.
In the years since the attacks, Dominica has continued to honour the memory of its fallen nationals through commemorative events, church services and moments of silence. The events of that day also reshaped international travel, security and diplomacy, with ripple effects felt across the Caribbean, including in Dominica.
As the world observes this solemn milestone, Dominica 1 joins the nation in extending condolences to the families and friends of all those who perished, and in affirming the values of peace, tolerance and community that define the Dominican spirit.
