Marking two decades of the September 2001 attacks on New York City, global thought leaders and activists from across South Asia and the diaspora will meet across time zones this Sunday to discuss the impact of “9/11” on the region and its people.
The online event also commemorates the global International Peace Day, September 21.
Sapan series Imagine! Neighbours in Peace – VI
20 YEARS AFTER 9/11: IMPACT ON SOUTH ASIA, AND SOUTH ASIANS
Date: Sunday, 26 September 2021
Time: 11:00 am U.S. Eastern / 8:00 pm Pakistan / 8:30 pm India / 9:00 pm Bangladesh (Duration: Two hours)
Dr Noam Chomsky, the renowned American linguist, philosopher, historian, and political activist, had travelled to India and Pakistan in November 2001. In Pakistan, he delivered the Eqbal Ahmad Distinguished Lectures series in memory of his late friend and colleague. The event includes references to Dr Eqbal Ahmad’s prescient 1998 talk on ‘Terrorism, theirs and ours’.
Speakers include Afghanistan’s former Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr Sima Samar, a former Ramon Magsaysay awardee. Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy, Chair of the South Asians for Human Rights and former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women will join from Colombo. Mejindarpal Kaur, International Legal Director, United Sikhs will join from the UK. Former air force pilot from Bangladesh, Rais Bhuiyan, a post-9/11 hate crime survivor and World Without Hate founder will join from his base in Seattle.
Raza Rumi, Director Park Center for Independent Media, Ithaca College, founder of NayaDaur Media and founder member Sapan, will moderate the panel and virtual round table. Rumi himself is the survivor of an assassination attempt that killed his driver, an attack that can be traced to the post-9/11 trajectory.
Discussants include well known feminist activist Khushi Kabir in Dhaka, and Chicago-based human rights lawyer Arsalan Iftikhar, themuslimguy.com, author of the recently published Fear of a Muslim Planet: Global Islamophobia in the New World Order.
Since its inception in March, Sapan has conducted a virtual event on the last Sunday of every month. Sapan monthly events traditionally start with a noted figure sharing the Sapan charter — this month, renowned journalist Kanak Mani Dixit.
Sapan events also feature an ‘In Memoriam’ slideshow commemorating the leaders whose vision Sapan is taking forward, as well as victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and other losses over the past month.
The event is free and open to the public and will also be broadcast via Facebook Live.
To join via Zoom, please REGISTER HERE.REGISTER
The event is free and open to the public and will also be broadcast via Facebook Live.
Past discussions have focused on public-health issues including the rights of the incarcerated, sportswomen in South Asia, and the need for a regional approach particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Forthcoming topics include more focus on public-health issues like climate change, gender-based violence, and human rights.
Please share your inputs to this preliminary survey to assess the impact of 9/11 on South Asia and South Asians. It should take less than 2 minutes to fill.
If you’d like to share any other personal experiences on how your life was personally impacted by 9/11, to potentially include in our upcoming event please feel free to email it to us at southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com. Alternatively, drop us your contact details and we will get back to you.
More about Sapan
South Asia Peace Action Network or Sapan was formed on 28 March 2021 after a brainstorming meeting. Sapan is a coalition of individuals and organisations across the region and diaspora joining hands to take forward the principles and ideals of peace, justice, democracy and human rights that mentors and leaders like I.A Rehman, Asma Jahangir, Dr Mubashir Hasan, Nikhil Chakravartty, Nirmala Deshpande, Kuldip Nayyar, Rajni Kothari and others envisioned and worked for.
Members of the Sapan coalition believe that the way forward lies in greater socio-economic cooperation, resource-sharing, and a visa-free South Asia or a confederation of nations with soft borders. Our founding charter, open for endorsements, reiterates our commitment to peace in South Asia, and underscores the need for regionalism and cooperation.
The pandemic-induced humanitarian crisis and unprecedented loss of lives and livelihoods underlines the need for collective action and regionalism, as our 30 May Resolution underlines (also open for endorsements). Our grief is collective, and so is our struggle for justice and peace, through peaceful, collective, consistent action.
You can find media coverage of Sapan here.
For more information, contact: southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com
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