Like almost everyone in my generation, I can remember where I was when I first heard the news of the 9/11 attacks.  (Actually, I can still remember where I was when I heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot, but that is another story – and hopefully it is also evidence that I am not suffering from Alzheimer’s

Disease – but I digress!).

Ten years ago, in September 2001, I was working as Head of a large boys’ school in Adelaide, Australia.  Because of the time difference, the events in New York occurred while we were sleeping.  And so it was

that we woke on the morning of September 12 to be greeted by unbelievable front pages on our newspapers and video footage on television that seemed more like a Hollywood disaster movie or an elaborate hoax than a real newscast.

I remember feeling sick in the stomach as I watched the commentators trying to make sense of it all, and totally confused about what might be happening.  No-

one knew who was responsible, what was the motive, or where it would lead.

The students in my school arrived for the day bewildered – some in what appeared to be a state of near-shock while others were overflowing with questions.  “Was this another Pearl Harbor?”  “Will there be a war?”  “Is there any point in putting in my university applications?”  We called all the students together in an assembly to try and provide some framework to this bizarre event on the other side of the

world, but to be frank, we too had more questions than answers.

Ten years later, last Monday, I found myself sharing my memories of 9/11 with the students in the Middle School and Upper School at assemblies here at Awty.  My reason for doing so was to make the important point that the events of 9/11 did not just affect New York, or the US, but they were of global significance.  Being in Adelaide, I was about as far away from New York as I could be while still being on this planet, and yet like all those around me, I was profoundly

moved by what was happening.

Even though I was half a world away from New York on 9/11, our Deputy Head and Proviseur, Mr Boualem Maizia, was working in New York at the time.  His recollections are, naturally, far deeper than mine, and it was a privilege for me to introduce him to speak to the Middle and Upper School students at Monday’s assemblies.

His words to the students, in part, were these: “On September 11th, 2001, New York City experienced the greatest tragedy in its recent history.  The murderous madness of a few fanatics made victims of over three thousand innocent people… Let us not forget that violence and intolerance remain a large part of our world.  As a community and a school we reject all forms of brutality and cruelty.  We resolve not to give in to the capacity for violence  in our own

natures, and we dedicate ourselves once again to the fight against intolerance and prejudice in our own lives and in the world around us”.

Of course, many of the students attending our assemblies this week were too young to remember the events of 9/11/01 personally.  Almost all the students in the Primary School were not even born in September 2001, which is why the younger children commemorated the events of 9/11 by making small flags to promote peace, tolerance and understanding, and then planting them in our playground. 

The oldest students in the Primary School (those in Year 5) had written personal reflections, and so all of Year 5 joined the Middle School at this week’s assembly, during which several of them read their reflections aloud to their older peers.

Whatever their personal memories of September 2001, most young people can appreciate the magnitude of that terrible tragedy.  With the idealism that fortunately characterizes most our students, they can also appreciate the need for tolerance and intercultural understanding that emerge as clear lessons from the ashes of the WTC. 

On that basis, we used the occasion of our 9/11 assemblies this week to launch the “No Room for Hate” campaign at Awty.  This campaign was initiated by the Anti-Defamation League, an organisation that was founded in 1913 and which now claims to be “the nation's premier

civil rights/human relations agency” (http://www.adl.org/about.asp?s=topmenu).  The “No Room for Hate” campaign aims “to ensure that anti-bias and diversity education are an integral part of the school curriculum”, helping “to create and sustain inclusive school environments where all students feel valued and have the opportunity to succeed by promoting respect for individual

difference while challenging bigotry and prejudice” (http://regions.adl.org/southwest/programs/no-place-for-hate.html).

At Monday’s assemblies, the following pledge was read aloud, after which students were invited to sign one of two large banners to indicate their support for the pledge:

“I pledge from this day forward to do my best to combat prejudice and to stop those who, because of hate or ignorance, would hurt anyone or violate their civil rights. I will try at all times to be aware of my own biases and seek to gain understanding of those who I perceive as being different from myself. I will speak out against all forms of prejudice and discrimination. I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate. I will think about specific ways my community members can promote respect for people and create a prejudice-free zone. I firmly believe that one person can

make a difference and that no person can be an “innocent” bystander when it comes to opposing hate. I recognize that respecting individual dignity, achieving equality and promoting intergroup harmony are the responsibilities of all people.  By signing this pledge, I commit myself to creating a respectful community.”

Almost a hundred years ago, the French poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote: “As for the future, your task is not to foresee it but to enable it.”  This could well be a great aphorism for Awty’s students today, and in the coming decades.  I hope that the “No Room for Hate” commitment will provide just the right framework for our students to play their part in building the better future that our world needs so desperately.