Consul General Speeches

Remarks by Consul General Marjorie A. Ames at “A Day of Remembrance and Hope” at the American School of The Hague, Wassenaar, the Netherlands. 
September 11, 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen:

My family and I were in London, England on September 11, 2001.  We had just arrived a week earlier, and happened to be at home on that day receiving our shipment of household goods.  A colleague called me and told me to turn on my television because “something” was happening.  I will always remember that phone call.  At that time, we didn’t really understand how terrible the day would become but there was no mistaking the sense of urgency and foreboding in my colleague’s voice.  We didn’t have anything in the house except unopened boxes, so we walked down to the nearest shopping street where we found a television repair shop. 

There in the window, on every single screen, were the images – those searing, unforgettable images – of what was happening to people just like you and me in New York, at the Pentagon and in the skies above Pennsylvania.  My husband recalled later that our 1 ½ year old son learned a new word that day –“crash” – and that for months afterwards he would always follow it by saying, “Mama cried.”   

In a telling indication of the profound insecurity of that day, my colleagues told me not to come to the Embassy – because they were unsure what to expect next or whether other cities had been targeted.  We also knew that something of extraordinary magnitude was occurring and that we would need our strength and reserves to react.  Over the next days and weeks in London we did what people all over the United States and indeed the world were doing:  whatever we could to help. 

We spoke with hundreds of people who were desperately looking for news of family or friends in New York.  We assisting those caught up in the chaos of interrupted or cancelled flights as air traffic in the U.S. ground to a halt.  We took thousands of offers of assistance – from people offering a bed to Americans stranded at the airport, to municipalities offering to send fire and rescue squads.  Children emptied their piggy banks and sent to us their own toys and handmade cards.  These offers came to Embassies and Consulates all over the world, and provided light and hope to the American people during one of our darkest hours. 

In the midst of these events we hardly had time for reflection.  No one was particularly interested in getting something to eat.  We had to literally force people to go home and get some rest.  None of that mattered.  All that mattered was doing something, anything to help.

And for me these memories are as compelling as those awful images of terror and loss.  I learned from the generosity of others just how much we share, and just how much we rely on each other.  I learned with absolute clarity the importance of community – from communities such as this one where we gather from diverse backgrounds in a common purpose, to the cities and towns that we call “home,” to the community of nations. 

Six years on, I cannot imagine a time when I will approach this solemn day without reflecting on those who lost their lives.  Without renewed awe for those who showed tremendous courage – risking their own lives to save others on September 11, 2001.  Today, my thoughts go out to the survivors – the family members and friends who carry their loss and their memories with them every single day.  I think of the nearly 3,000 children who lost a parent on September 11, including this year’s first graders who have been deprived the love and simple presence of a mother or father from the very beginning of their journey through life. 

We must take the time to remember them.  Today, we held a simple ceremony at the Consulate General in Amsterdam to acknowledge the victims and their families.  I was moved to see that people dropped by with flowers, which we laid at the base of our American flag.  We heard expressions of condolence – and of solidarity – and I again felt that strong sense of community.  The hope that comes from good people drawing together in times of adversity, united in a common purpose.  We must cultivate and preserve the values that connect us, and act in ways that honor the memory of those we lost.  As we look to the future, we can do so with confidence that hope will triumph over hatred and that humanity will prevail.  For ours and our children’s sake, it must be so.