U.S. Embassy Honours September 11 Victims

11 September 2011 11:43 am Views - 9820

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Patricia A. Butenis today honoured victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001, through an inter-faith memorial service at her residence.  Embassy staff gathered with invited guests to hear a speech by Ambassador Butenis followed by prayers for the victims by an Anglican priest, a Buddhist monk, a Hindu priest, a Jewish rabbi, a Muslim imam, and a Roman Catholic priest.
 
Ambassador Butenis spoke of the attacks in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which killed nearly 3,000 people from over 90 countries.  She also noted that a Sri Lankan was among the victims.  “Rahma Salie was of Sri Lankan descent, raised in Japan and married to a Greek-American. She and her husband were flying to a wedding, and Rahma was seven months pregnant with their first child when their plane from Boston was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center.”
 
Ambassador Butenis turned her attention towards the future and shared a message praising the resilience of the victims of terrorists both in the U.S. and Sri Lanka.  “My deepest wish for Sri Lanka as a country is that it continues to embrace one of its traditional, essential core values, that of its multi-ethnic, multi-religious identity.  That is its true strength and the country must be resilient enough to hold on to it.”
 
Distinguished guests present at the ceremony included Ministry of External Affairs Director General for Europe, Americas and CIS, Ms. Himali Arunathilaka.