Achievers Hear Concern
from around the World
By
W. Winston Skinner
Assistant News Editor
The Times-Herald
(Monday, September 17, 2001, Newnan, Georgia) –
Through Achievers International-Georgia, Bette
Hickman and Geraldine Welch work with people all
over the world.
They help connect schools throughout the world
through their offices at the State University of
West Georgia’s Newnan Center at Shenandoah. In
the aftermath of last week’s terrorism attacks,
they have heard from friends around the globe.
Those internationally flavored e-mail messages
of support and concern have meant a great deal.
"It’s real people. It’s teachers and students
and people like us," Hickman said. "People to
people, it’s bringing out things they maybe
never would have thought to say."
Messages have come from the British Isles, from
Russia and from Ghana. "This is the family of
the world. That’s what these people are
thinking," Hickman said.
She commented on how modern technology has made
response immediate to Tuesday’s tragedy in
contrast to earlier horrors such as President
John Kennedy’s assassination and the Japanese
attach on Pearl Harbor.
"Through the Internet, you can get messages
rapidly from someone thousands of miles away,"
Hickman noted. "There’s something about the
impact of that technology. I come in here in the
morning and there it is."
Among the messages sent to AIG are:
Here in Germany we are all shocked and horrified
about what happened in the USA yesterday. We are
all very sad about the high number of victims
and the brutality with which it happened. When I
think that I had been at the WTC only four years
ago!
-
Annette Uffmann, Herder Gymnasium,
Schwerin, Germany
This morning I share your pain and grief and
anger. Please know that America has many
friends who love your country and marvel at
its people’s great energy, imagination,
generosity. You invented the democratic
political system, with all it means for
individual freedom. You have defended it
with courage when it has been threatened,
and you have helped others find it. In the
50 years since World War II your country’s
wise statesmanship has helped the world
avoid another major conflict, while your
creativity in technology has transformed all
our lives. In short, you have good reason to
be proud of what you are and what you have
accomplished. Yesterday’s barbarity will
change many things, but affection and
friendship and mutual support among
like-minded people across the planet will
endure. Our hearts and minds are full with
you in this most difficult hour. - Hugh
Millar and family, Former Head Teacher,
Grange Academy, Scotland
Dear Friends in America, I write to express
my sympathy and condolences for the victims
of the 11th September 2001 attack
on our Dear Country, USA. I heard the news
with great shock and I could not believe it
when the whole scene was shown on CNN. The
whole thing looked like an acted film. I
support the stand of President Bush to track
down on the perpetrators of this wicked act
to mankind and the nations who harbor them.
It is my prayer that the perpetrators will
be tracked down as soon as possible and
justice meted out to them. Let us stay in
touch with our friends in US in this time of
tragedy. - Edward Tetteh, Accra
Academy, Accra, Ghana
Accept our deepest condolences concerning
happened terror. I was glued to the TV-set
all yesterday evening along and I cannot
express what I felt! It is a terrible
tragedy. I am sure that "animals," who made
it will be punished by the God. Try to be
strong. - Anfisa, Anzhero-Sudzhensk,
Russia
We’ve watched with disbelief the horrific
events of the past day. Our thoughts and
prayers are with the victims and their
families, the emergency services and with
all of you subjected to this barbaric
attack. We share the shock, fear and anger
you must be feeling. The public reaction
here has been summed up by Tony Blair when
he described this as not an attack on the
U.S. alone but an attack on the free and
democratic world and promised that the U.K.
will stand shoulder to shoulder to drive
this evil from the world. - John Price,
Stoke-on-Trent, England
We were all horrified and shocked at the
events in New York and Washington. We will
all, including our schools, be observing a 3
minute silence at 11 a.m. today. Our
thoughts have been with America all this
week. - Jim, Scotland
Sorry I was out of the office since Tuesday
and did not have your addresses at home. My
thoughts are with you and I hope and pray
that you have not had any friends or family
caught up in the bombings. It is so hard to
grasp the enormity of the disaster here, so
it must be doubly hard for you. God bless. -
Caitriona, Northern Ireland
We have sent the following message to all
members of the program.
"This message goes out to all the members of
the Achievers International world-wide
network on this day of remembrance and
mourning. Our thoughts remain with those
whose lives were so tragically taken, and
with the thousands of friends and families
around the world desperately awaiting news
of their loved ones. People from all walks
of life have been touched by the events of
the 11th September 2001. Our
thoughts are with you all. – Caroline
Bradford, administrative assistant;
Karen Kennedy, programme manager; Tom
Kennedy, director; Nigel Martin,
director, Achievers International HQ, Ayr,
Scotland."
