No Room for 9/11 Survivors

Many people are anticipating the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York City, though not fully completed, will have a grand opening on September 11, 2011. There will be a somber, poignant memorial service to remember the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001. However, the invitation list for this memorial service leaves off some people you might expect to be there: 9/11 survivors.

There will be limited space for people at the Ground Zero memorial on September 11 so officials have restricted attendance to family members of the people who were killed and select politicians, journalists, and security. There is no room for 9/11 survivors, which includes first responders.

Some of the survivors started a petition in an effort to change the policy for who is invited to attend the memorial on September 11, 2011.   The petition begins, “As we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11/01, it is past time to allow the survivors the opportunity to honor our fallen friends, colleagues, and strangers that made the ultimate sacrifice to help us, and to symbolically remind the world that while nearly 3,000 people died at the sacred site, many others escaped and continue to bear the memory of that day.”

This is not an easy situation. Family members of those who died are obviously grieving and want to be at the memorial service.  Survivors of the attacks want the opportunity to attend for reasons that are also heartbreakingly easy to understand. It is not clear why there could not be several ceremonies the same day to allow more people to attend. It is possible that some of the survivors will be able to visit the memorial on September 12, 2011.

One concern that is raised in the survivors’ petition is their search for closure.  It reads,  “Adding to the life changing events of that day, the potential exclusion from the participation in the memorial ceremonies, that may provide some measure of healing and closure, brings a considerable additional hardship.” Although I do wish there was a way survivors could attend the memorial service at Ground Zero on September 11, 2011, I hope they will come to see that even if this concept of closure eludes them, they can continue to heal. Closure is only a way we talk about loss. It is not something we have to find at a certain place or time.

I cannot imagine what it is like to be a survivor of 9/11. May those who lived through this traumatic day find a path for remembrance and healing that gives at least some measure of solace without the unrealistic expectation of closure.