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Suman Guha Mozumder in New York
Holding flags in one hand and flowers in another, thousands of people, including scores of Indian Americans, gathered at the Yankee Stadium on Sunday, as a multi religious prayer service was organised in memory of the victims of the World Trade Centre tragedy.
The four-hour service, christened A Prayer for America, saw the presence of a plethora of religious and political leaders as well as entertainment personalities. They exuded optimism that ultimately good would prevail over evil and the city would emerge stronger than ever before.
"What was meant to divide us has united us. From the ashes (of the WTC) will rise a new America," Oprah Winfrey, who moderated the event along with actor James Earl Jones, said.
"Our spirit is unbroken. It is stronger than ever," Jones said.
Among those who shared the podium with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani were New York Governor George Pataki, former president Bill Clinton and his wife Senator Hillary Clinton.
The religious leaders included archbishop of New York Edward Egan and Imam Izak M Pasha and Roop Sukhram of the Hindu Shri Ram Temple of Brooklyn.
Inderjit Singh, a city council candidate who had stepped down from the contest, represented the members of the Sikh community, most of who came from the Richmond Hills Gurdwara in Queens.
"I am here on behalf of the Sikhs and would like to share with you the pain and suffering that you have felt in the past two weeks," Singh said.
"This pain changed us for ever. The people who committed this horrible act did not know that this country is strong in its diversity. We will not allow anybody to divide us," he said.
Singh's brief remarks were preceded by a gurbani, recited by Jagtar Singh Jachak, a priest from the Long Island Gurdwara. The 100-odd members of the Sikh community, including women and children, rent the air with cries of bole so nihal, sat sri akal.
"Today, there are no blacks or whites or Christians or Muslims. We are all Americans," one of the spectators said.
That nationalistic spirit, the sense of belonging to America and all that it stood for, seemed to grip most of those present at the prayer.
When Bette Midler sang the Wind beneath my wings, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
But what summed up most the mood of all those present was the famous song We shall overcome, sung by the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem.
The audience was spellbound. Many, clutching to photos of their loved ones who perished in the tragedy, wept in full view of the public even as they stood up and waved the flags.
During the four-hour service, security was extremely tight, with police officials standing at every ten feet from the path leading to the venue and helicopters hovering above the stadium. People had to wait to get a pass to enter the stadium, although not many seemed to mind that.
"I think this was a great event. For us, it gave an opportunity to tell our fellow Americans that we are law-abiding citizens despite our turbans and beards, Manmohan Singh, a city official who was among the large contingent of Sikhs, said.
The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage
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