Second anniversary of September 11 attack to be marked with vigil

By Felicia Persaud

A family member holds a photograph of her son, who was killed in the September 11 attacks, during yesterday's protest. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Thursday, September 11, 2003

NEW YORK, New York: At 8:30 this morning members of Roc-NY (the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York) will gather at 99 Hudson Street in New York to mark the second anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The group, which according to its website, was formed after 9/11, to "… support displaced workers and victim's families from world Trade Center area restaurants….," will hold its own private vigil to mark this sad day. 

Many of those who died in the World Trade Center worked at the Windows on the World Restaurant there and were immigrants from around the world including the Caribbean. Several died, but many were jobless after the attacks and ROC, which is staffed by five former employees of the Windows on the World, stepped in to help and provide a shoulder to lean on.

The day will also be especially sad for families of the victims who died, over 100 of whom were from the Caribbean. They included star Guyanese-born cricketer Nizam Hafeez. 

Yesterday, near Ground Zero, hundreds of family members rallied to demand a planned monument there extend down to the bedrock footprint of the razed buildings. Wearing yellow ribbons bordered in black and holding photos of departed loved ones they chanted, "Preserve sacred ground," as the city geared up to mark the day that killed nearly 2,800 people and scarred a nation forever. 

Last night, the family members marched down Broadway to Ground Zero for a candlelight vigil.

This morning, the names of those who lost their lives will be read aloud by l include readings by family members, former Mayor Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Governor George Pataki. Families will then be allowed to descend a ramp into the seven-story pit that was the trade center basement, and place flowers on the bedrock. 

President George Bush will not be in attendance and neither will VP Mr. Dick Cheney, who skipped out at the last minute following concerns of extra security raised by the Bloomberg administration.

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