On the other side of tragedy is the making of great things. We have an opportunity to make the best out of the WTC tragedy. One way is to engage in more serious efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. The list below provides insights into the diversity of voices associated with this tragedy. Tragedy is colorblind and free of gender bias. Taking this opportunity to understand how we are all connected can help us reach the next level of becoming a just world community.

1. A Puerto Rican American stockbroker expresses both relief and sadness as he described how an early morning meeting with a client saved him from being in WTC office at the time of the tragedy. May he find peace.

2. A financier from Germany sitting in an ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation realizes that traveling to America is no longer safer than being in her own country. May she find peace.

3. A Japanese businessman is reminded of the poisonous gas attack on a Tokyo subway a few years ago in his country as he stares at the fiery World Trade Center buildings. May he find peace.

4. A New York African American fireman watches five fellow firemen disappear around him from falling debris. He is traumatized and wonders why his life was spared. May he find peace.

5. An Irish Catholic New York city fire department priest focuses on providing a severely injured person last rights instead of the danger around him that eventually takes his life. May he rest in peace.

6. A group of people of different cultural and ethnic groups walk down from the 85 floor to safety while helping each other all the way. May they find peace.

7. An Islamic American woman is afraid to leave her home because she practices wearing a veil and fears that her outfit will make her a target of retaliation. May she find peace.

8. American churches and synagogues are packed, after the tragedy, with people searching for answers from their higher power. May they find peace.

9. The parents of a Swedish couple who traveled to New York for a vacation have not heard a word from them since before the tragedy. They know that no news is bad news in this case, but continues to consider the possibility that their loved ones may still be alive. May they find peace.

10. Hijackers irresponsibly use passages from the Koran as a mantra while flying the airplanes toward the WTC building. May they rest in peace.

Compassion is the key to resolving our pain, fear, and need for retaliation.

Based in part on a poem by Thich Nhat Hahn, The Buddhist Passivist.