Public Health Association of New York City and APHA Joint Statement

September 21, 2001

PHANYC Contact: Joanne Landy, 212/666-4001 Victor Sidel, 718/920-6586

APHA Contact: Carole Zimmerman, 202/777-2434

The Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) join the nation in grieving over the devastating loss of life that occurred during last week's terrorist attacks. We extend our deepest sympathies to those who are mourning immeasurable losses from this tragedy.

At the same time, we honor the firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians, physicians, nurses, public health workers and others who have worked so courageously and tirelessly in the rescue operations. Many of them are working still. Tragically, many have perished in the rescue effort. PHANYC and APHA will do everything in our power to help provide services to protect and promote the mental and physical health of victims, rescuers, their families and others in our communities who have been affected by the terrorist attacks.

In no uncertain terms, PHANYC and APHA emphatically condemn all acts of terrorism – horrible acts that can wound and destroy not only the lives of individuals but also community well-being and public health. Amidst the widespread fear and anger that these attacks have engendered, we urge public health workers throughout the United States to work to prevent responses of bias, hatred, vengeance and violence in our communities.

Unfortunately, we have already witnessed a rising wave of such incidents across the United States. As the New York Times reported on September 19, people who look Middle-Eastern and South Asian, whatever their religion or nation of origin, have been singled out for harassment. A Sikh gasoline station owner, an Egyptian Christian grocer and a Pakistani Muslim storekeeper have been shot. Mosques have been fired upon and Arab-owned businesses have been burned. The Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn reported: “We have kids scared to go to school, mothers too scared to leave their homes to buy food for their families. Arab-American children reported this afternoon that teachers have attacked them verbally. There are now four reported attacks in Bay Ridge. Families are contacting us because they are too scared too talk to the American police.” These acts of bias and violence must stop.

PHANYC and APHA also urge public health workers throughout the United States to insist that all branches of government prevent erosion of civil liberties during this difficult time. Case in point: Within a week of the terrorist attacks, the U.S. Justice Department announced a major expansion of its power to detain immigrants suspected of crimes, including new rules that would allow legal immigrants to be detained indefinitely during a national emergency. As the American Civil Liberties Union stated, "a free and open society is vulnerable to mass destruction and terror. But this terrible vulnerability is part of the strength of such a society, not a hallmark of its weakness. It takes courage to allow the free movement of people and ideas."

Finally, as public health organizations, we are deeply concerned by the rising calls for war. As President Jimmy Carter wrote in his foreword to War and Public Health, published by APHA and Oxford University Press, "War and militarism have catastrophic effects on human health and well-being. These effects include casualties during war, long-lasting physical and psychological effects on noncombatant adults and children, the reduction of human and financial resources available to meet social needs, and the creation of a climate in which violence is a primary mode of dealing with conflict."

PHANYC and APHA call for national policies that demand punishment, under international law, of the perpetrators of violence. We urge public health workers to support the renunciation of use of force for vengeance and war against populations. In addition, we call for local, national and international policies to alleviate social and economic disparities, health disparities, injustices and violations of human rights that contribute to hatred, conflict and violence.