ABSTRACT
On the balmy, Indian summer evening of September 19 in Queens, the Coalition of Colombian Organizations of New York has organized a candlelight vigil in solidarity with the victims of the World Trade Center (WTC) tragedy. It is 6:30 in the evening, and the Juan Manuel de Dios Unanue Plaza—located in the center of Jackson Heights on 83rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue—is filled with hundreds of Colombian immigrants and activists waving U.S. and Colombian flags in unison. Congressperson Joseph Crowley, New York City Council member John Sabini, Colombian Consul Mauricio Suarez Copete, and a wide array of local candidates running for public office all join the crowd. As the invited dignitaries mill about, Congressperson Crowley, a member of the House Committee on International Relations, briefs a small group of Colombian-American peace activists on the latest developments in U.S. foreign policy toward the civil war raging in Colombia. And as the evening progresses, the burgeoning crowd marches solemnly through Jackson Heights as they make their way to the localfire station. Respects are paid to the firefighters who lost their lives at the WTC, invited guests make short speeches condemning terrorist attacks in the United States as well as in Colombia, and candidates for local elected office strategically position themselves for the obligatory photo ops.
