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resident of the Veneto Region Galan, Padua Mayor Zanonato, Onorevole Napolitano, Minister Loggia, Architetto Libeskind, Members of the Fire Department of New York, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests – on behalf of the American people and the United States Government, I want to thank you for honoring the victims of September 11, 2001 by establishing this World Trade Center Memorial today, the 4th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Who can fail to be inspired by the memorial at the Porte Contarine, anchored by a structural beam salvaged from one of the Trade Center towers, so evident in its message of remembrance and hope? I applaud the design of architect and United States Cultural Ambassador Daniel Libeskind, and all those who carried out his vision. Congratulations.
But today we must also recognize the vision of the Veneto Region and the municipality of Padua in deciding to honor the victims of terrorism. This monument will serve as a constant reminder of the friendship and commonality of values that unite the people of this city and region with the citizens of the United States of America. Please accept my gratitude for this generous gesture.
It is only natural that our friends in the Veneto Region should show solidarity with the United States. We share a robust commercial relationship; well over a half-million American tourists come through the Veneto every year; and over 15,000 U.S. citizens call this region home. In the coming months, we will open a Consular Agency in Venice to serve those American citizens. You are also hosts to our soldiers at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, many of whom are currently deployed in Afghanistan where they work side by side with Italian troops in a NATO operation to develop the country and secure the free and fair elections that will be held just one week from today.
The U.S. presence in Padua is perhaps less apparent, but every bit as real. U.S. universities, including my own alma mater, the University of California, have long based student exchanges in this city. Other top U.S. universities with operations here include Boston University, the University of Rochester and the University of Minnesota. I also know from personal experience that every year Padua receives many of my countrymen who come here to render homage to your patron saint, Saint Anthony, to whom they feel united as a result of Saint Anthony’s passion for the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Faith and spirituality helped us confront the tragic day of September 11th, 2001. The sights, the sounds, the loss of innocence and the sorrow we all experienced that day will never leave us. But that day, which began with such destruction and tragedy, awakened us, bringing into clear focus the fact that intolerance and xenophobia can only be dealt with by emphasizing the bedrock values that underlie Western society: freedom, democracy, tolerance and acceptance of diversity. In reaffirming our values and exposing those who are violent and intolerant, we have worked side by side with the people and government of Italy, the Veneto, and Padua.
Four years have passed, and today, if one looks carefully, the seeds of democracy are beginning to sprout in land no one understood to be fertile. We are optimistic about the upcoming elections in Afghanistan. Iraqis have drafted their own constitution, and are preparing for a plebiscite to ratify it. Following the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the possibility of a democratic Palestinian government, unimaginable even a year ago, seems to be just around the corner. Lebanon is recovering its sovereignty thanks to the bravery of the hundreds of thousands of marchers who risked their lives to urge a Syrian withdrawal. Egypt has just completed its first multi-party presidential election. Women have gained the right to vote in Kuwait. Thanks to your memorial, and the Freedom Tower that will rise 1776 feet - which is an elevation that recalls the year in which we signed our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, and corresponds to 541 meters - on the site of the New York World Trade Center,
we will always remember the victims of September 11, 2001. But there can be no better legacy for these victims than the spread of representative government around the world.
September 11, 2001 was not the first time the West was attacked by zealots, and sadly, did not prove to be the last time. As we recognize and remember the victims in New York - where ten Italian citizens died - Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, I would also call on all of you to remember the victims of Italy’s own war with terrorism and its dead in Iraq, as well as the victims of those terrorist attacks that have become etched in our collective memory: Madrid, Beslan, Sharm al Sheik, Bali, and most recently, London. The monument we dedicate today, so aptly named Memoria e Luce, invites us to remember all these victims, and light the way to a better world in their names.
Two weeks ago, my country was attacked once again, this time by a force of nature. Hurricane Katrina destroyed a wide swath of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and laid waste to the great city of New Orleans. While we were still reeling from the effects of this biblical storm, Italy and the world were already planning how they could aid our desperate victims. An Italian jet was one of the first to arrive in the affected area, providing power generators, water pumps, water purification systems, and medical materials. To date, roughly 105 countries and 11 international organizations have rushed aid to the Gulf Coast, including all our NATO allies and a handful of nations that know firsthand Americàs solidarity when crises have befallen them: Sri Lanka, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Ecuador. Private citizens from the wide world over have sent generous donations to the Red Cross and Caritas for use in sustaining the people of this region, many of whom will be unable to return to work for a year or more. Together, the world will rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Our shared work, however, is not over. Here in Padua we have come together to commemorate the lives of over 3,000 innocent citizens, from more than 90 countries, who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Our unfailing memory and our unflagging determination, our belief in democracy and our commitment to tolerance, our faith in God and our solidarity with our fellow humans the world over, bind the United States to Europe and create a potent force for the construction of a better world. Together we will work to hasten the day when terrorists’ messages fall flat, their financing dries up, and their recruits turn away to take advantage of opportunities made possible by those who would build, not destroy.
Today, with humility and gratitude, and in representation of the American people, I stand before you to thank you. I thank you for standing by us on September 11, 2001, and in the dark days that followed. I thank you for your vision and solidarity in building this memorial. I thank you for your leadership role in rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq. I thank you for your support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Your solidarity with our country will never be forgotten.
Thank you.
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