Daughter of Sept 11 victim to speak at Saudi forum (where Gore spoke)

For the first time on Monday, a relative of a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks that were mostly carried out by Saudi nationals will speak in public in the kingdom.

Sonia Tita Puopolo, is the daughter of Sonia Morales Puopolo, who was a passenger on American Airlines flight 11 that crashed into one of the towers of New York's World Trade Center.She is to speak during a session titled "Terrorism - The Human Toll" at the Jeddah Economic Forum starting in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in the west of the ultra conservative kingdom on Saturday.

"This session will provide a platform for the families of victims of terrorist acts to share their experience and discuss how terrorism has affected their lives," said a statement from organizers of the three-day forum.

The annual event which bills itself as the "Think Tank of the Middle East" was started in 1999 and features keynote speeches and panel discussions by Saudi and world politicians and business and civic leaders.

This year's event will seek to "honour and recognize culture, identity and diversity as the building blocks for a world of 'common grounds' rather than a global economy of one size fits all," according to organizers.

Puopolo's appearance at the forum will be the first of its kind in the ultra conservative kingdom, which has been waging its own war against suspected members of the Al-Qaeda terror network.

Many average Saudis still deny any Saudi involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington saying they were a "conspiracy by the West and Jews."

By George, I think you may be right!

Dressed in traditional female Saudi robes with her platinum blond hair tucked under a black veil, the daughter of one of the victims said she wants her fellow Americans to stop blaming Saudi Arabia for the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed almost 3,000 people.

"We should not focus on blame. I think it's time for people to move forward in the process of healing," Sonia Tita Puopolo said.

She is the only relative of a 9/11 victim to visit the kingdom since the attacks and was asked to speak at the Jeddah Economic Forum on Monday during a session on terrorism.

"I am here to ask for help in forging a bridge of peace, understanding and dialogue," she told delegates.

A picture of her mother Sonia Morales Puopolo, a passenger on the American Airlines flight 11 that crashed into one of the towers of New York's World Trade Center, was included in the forum's programme.

Some Saudis listening to Puopolo's speech sympathised with her loss but said the deaths of civilians in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, two Muslim nations, had made the healing process more difficult.

US university professor Gregory Payne, who accompanied Puopolo, said the only way to change misperceptions that Saudis and Americans had about each other was to reach out to the young and expose them to each other's cultures.

One month after the attacks, he and Prince Faisal al-Abdullah al-Saud, a former student of his and a member of the Saudi royal family, started a program called the "Saudi American Exchange: Understanding through communication."

The prince was also a classmate of Puopolo at Emmerson College in Boston.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the deaths of civilians in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, two Muslim nations, had made the healing process more difficult

BULL HOCKEY!!

Bet it killed 'em to reveal that personal relationship. This woman IS delusional.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.