Statement by Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11

Twenty-five years ago today, our world changed forever as we saw both the worst and the best of humanity. 

On September 11, 2001, one of the darkest days in modern history, more than 3,000 innocent people, including several Canadians, left their homes, kissed their families goodbye, and began what they believed would be an ordinary day. 

They never came home. 

Among them were 343 New York City firefighters - 60 New York and Port Authority police officers, 8 paramedics, a K9 unit – women and men, who, when confronted with unimaginable danger, did something extraordinary. 

They ran toward it. 

Today, Kitchener remembers and here at our Kitchener Firefighters Memorial, we remember them. All of them. 

We remember their courage. 
We remember their sacrifice. 
And we remember the families who have carried their absence for twenty-five years. 

But on this anniversary, we also remember what happened after the towers fell. 

The world responded - not only with grief, but with humanity. 

Kitchener firefighters travelled to New York to support the recovery efforts at Ground Zero, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their American brothers and sisters. 

Former Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky delivered Blackberrys while in a previous role, to be used in recovery efforts by the City and others. 

Across Canada, Canadians responded with love and compassion as they opened their hearts and their homes as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon, which saw more than 33,000 passengers from over 225 flights land in 17 Canadian airports. 

Nowhere was that more evident than in Gander, Newfoundland, where almost 7,000 frightened strangers arrived on diverted aircraft, the folks who Came From Away, and were welcomed, fed, sheltered and comforted for several days. 

For those few remarkable days, there were no strangers. Decency and humanity prevailed. 

There were simply people who needed help - and Canadians who were willing to give it. 

That same spirit has defined the relationship between Canada and the United States for generations. 

We are more than two countries sharing the longest peaceful border in the world. 

We are friends. 
We are neighbours. 
We are allies. 

We have stood together, beside one another through wars, tragedies and moments of profound uncertainty. 

And at a time when our relationship is facing unprecedented strains, perhaps this anniversary should remind us, especially the current US Administration, not only of where we have been - but of where we need to find our way back to. 

Because twenty-five years later, the enduring lesson of September 11 cannot simply be about what hatred destroyed. 

It must also be about what love rebuilt. 

In a world that once again feels increasingly angry, divided and conflicted, may we have the courage to choose another path. 

Kindness over cruelty. 

Understanding over division. 

Peace over conflict. 

Love over hate. 

And when someone needs us - whether they live next door, across a border, or across an ocean - may we once again simply ask: 

How can we help? 

May we also choose kindness, may we always hug those closest to us a little tighter, and may we call the people we love more often, because as that day showed – tomorrow is never promised.  

That, my friends, is how we honour those we lost. 

And that is how we honour those first responders who ran toward danger, not only on that day, but on every day they go to work to serve our communities. 

That friends, is how we build the kind of peaceful and compassionate world they deserved. 

Twenty-five years later, Kitchener and Canada remember. 

Twenty-five years later, we still stand together. 

And 25 years later, we commit again, we will never forget.