The initiative was launched at an event on Friday marking the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
“It’s not just another date on the calendar,” Saynab Warsame, who survived a terrorist attack in Somalia, said in a message to the UN commemorative event. “It’s a day that reminds me of who I lost, who I am and who I am still becoming.”
Acts of terrorism kill and maim thousands of people every year around the world, and online harm has been reported by survivors in every region.
“In today’s digital world, memories are fragile,” Ms. Warsame said. “With fake videos and information, the truth can easily be lost or changed.”
To address that, the new victim-led initiative was launched by the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network, established by the UN Counter-Terrorism Office last year to drive collective action to support their rights and needs.
Watch the UN Headquarters event here:
‘Tragically, I am not unique’
Rachel Goldberg-Polin is a dual national of the United States and Israel whose 23-year-old son, Hersh, was among more than 250 people captured during the 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova Music Festival in Israel. He was held hostage in Gaza for 328 days before being killed.
“Tragically, I am not unique,” she told the UN event. “There are millions of parents around the world who have had to bury their children.”
She said two human instincts – love and destruction – are “woven into our DNA”, recalling prescient discussions 94 years ago between leading scientist Albert Einstein and psychoanalysis pioneer Sigmund Freud that remain just as salient today.
“Civilisation has to decide whether to rise to the challenge to continually contain our natural tendencies towards war or to give into that slavery of selfish interest even though…it only serves the powerful few,” she said.
“May we use our wisdom, strength and light to do what is right. The choice is hard, but the choice is ours.”
A view of the destruction of the World Trade Center site in 2001. (file)
World Cup nightmare
The scene was a watch party for the FIFA World Cup finals in 2010 in Uganda, when in the 78th minute, two suicide bombers detonated their explosives: more than 70 people were killed and many others injured – including Hassan Ndugwa.
That night became a call to action for him – to recover and also join the fight to prevent the spread of violent extremism.
Angered by the misrepresentation of Islam in the aftermath of the attacks, he and another survivor founded the Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum, which has already reached thousands of young people through job skills programmes and other support.
Then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pays tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November. 6 December 2015. (file)
‘Seeing a brighter future’
“The most fulfilling work that we have done since then is the work to provide alternatives to youth,” Mr. Ndugwa told UN News.
“They are seeing a bright future. They now have renewed hope. So, it’s difficult for you to come and tell them to join an extremist group because they are…seeing a brighter future.”
The forum continues to push back on violent extremism and promote peace through religious and community engagement, he said.
He also underlined the importance of survivor voices and the role of remembrance in healing.
Listen to the full interview here:
United against terror
Echoing that sentiment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to victims and survivors.
“This year’s theme, Healing through memory, reminds us that remembrance is a pathway to recovery and renewal,” he told the commemoration. “But, how we remember matters.”
He said victims’ stories must never be exploited or used to sow more hate, including on digital platforms.
“Instead of letting terror divide us, we can and must stay united,” he said. “Today and every day, let us stand in solidarity with victims and survivors and build a future free from violence and fear.”
A vigil following twin terrorist attacks in Norway that killed more than 90 people in 2011. (file)
