“Brothers and Sisters Throughout the World”

It can be safely stated that every American vividly remembers the day of September 11, 2001 and the emotions they felt following the attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. Due to the religious ideology of those responsible for the attacks, Islamophobia was prevalent in most places across the United States. DeAnna DeBry, our story contributor for today, admits to being caught up in the apprehension regarding Muslims around the world. She couldn't have been thrown back into reality sooner. Her husband and her are members of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and were scheduled to host visitors from a number of countries in Southeast Asia, a region of the world with a large Muslim population. Her grief as a result of the events on 9/11 made it difficult to think about being hospitable.

DeAnna was in for a surprise. She had a knowledge of international relations and knew that good relations could be established better through citizen to citizen interaction rather than between governments and politicians. Read her story below to see the full effect of citizen diplomacy.

September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday, which we all vividly remember. We stayed glued to our televisions from morning to night, horribly mesmerized by each new bulletin from stunned news reporters. Early on, the term 'Muslim terrorists' entered the ongoing reports. On Thursday, the 13th, my husband and I were yanked back into our own little reality by a note from the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (UCCD), a private sector partner with the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, reminding us of an upcoming Home Hospitality dinner. It was to be on September 15, and six representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and a few other Southeast Asian countries were going to be our guests.

How could we do this? How could we watch what was happening in New York “a city we had grown to love when we lived there for 4 years “ knowing we had to be hospitable to people who may have supported the death and destruction we now witnessed? We had invited two good friends to join us. Both professional musicians, he was also a heart surgeon and she a teacher. We had planned to introduce some American music to our guests, like jazz and the Virginia reel. Now, that music seemed totally inappropriate, and we were left with the same question: how could we do this?

Because of our ongoing commitment to Citizen Diplomacy, we have learned so much about international relations. We have learned that some of the most important relationships are
formed not in the board room, or even the classroom, but around the dinner table as people from different political, social, and religious beliefs talk about the things that are really
important: families, friends, peace, and common bonds. Now, though, we were angry, and I must admit, scared. How could we do this? In reality, how could we not?

Our guests arrived and we all introduced ourselves. From the very beginning, they expressed the same shock and disbelief as we were feeling at what was unfolding. They were afraid we would not allow them into our home; they were afraid we would jump to the conclusion they were all terrorists, or agreed with terrorism. They ached for our country. I don't remember the dinner; I'm sure we ate...something.

But it was at the conclusion of dinner, when we all gathered in the living room to hear music, that something profound happened. Our musical friends chose to play "Ashokan Farewell" which is music most widely known from the PBS series "The Civil War." (written by Jay Unger, 1983) While Jeff played the tune on his viola, Kathy read a letter from a Confederate soldier to his young wife. (This is the same way it was done in the PBS series.) In it, he tells of his love for her and his fear that he may never return home to see her. After, we quietly talked about war, peace, family and love for our "brothers and sisters" (their words) throughout the world. The final tune played was "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." They accepted our gifts of music with tears in their eyes, and we embraced each one as they left.

The memory will always remind us of why we still work with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and are committed to person-to-person exchanges.

~DeAnna DeBry
Member, Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy

Posted Friday, July 16, 2010