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THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
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MEMORIAL Nations join US in prayer
By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff, 9/15/2001
In Ottawa, a single chime from the landmark Peace Tower seemed to hang interminably in the chill autumn air, as Canadians observed three minutes of sorrowful silence.
In Amsterdam's Dam Square, even the keyboards of the Internet cafes stopped clattering, as tourists and residents bowed their heads in grief.
Weeping Germans dropped bundles of flowers outside the US Embassy, while some in the estimated crowd of 200,000 mourners jamming the boulevard leading to Brandenburg Gate hoisted placards imploring the United States not to take military reprisals against perceived enemies.
The towering gate was once the symbol of Cold War hostilities. When West Berlin was isolated by a Soviet blockade, a US airlift of supplies sustained the city.
''No one knows better than the people here in Berlin what America has done for freedom and democracy,'' said Germany's president, Johannes Rau. ''Therefore, we say to all Americans from Berlin: America does not stand alone.''
In South Korea, sirens blared in eerie tribute to the dead, while children knelt outside the US Embassy in Seoul.
In Iran, once the most implacable of US foes in the Middle East, spectators and players at Tehran's soccer stadium marked a minute of silence before a World Cup qualifying match.
At St. Paul Cathedral in London, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said that although New York's World Trade Center was destroyed, ''another, older American icon was not submerged.''
''The September morning sun continued to shine on the Statue of Liberty, her torch raised ... a symbol of all that is best in America,'' Carey said.
The British prayer service was attended by both Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In Italy, Muslims prayed for the dead at the Rome Mosque, one of Europe's largest Islamic centers of worship. ''This tragedy has hit us all,'' said Omar Camiletti, a cleric at the mosque.
In Paris, President Jacques Chirac snapped to attention outside the Elysee Palace as the Republican Guard played ''The Star-Spangled Banner.''
The Irish Republic ground almost entirely to a halt for a National Day of Mourning, which Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said came ''as near as you can to close a country.''
Nowhere did the sense of shared sorrow seem more palpable than across America's vast northern neighbor.
In Ottawa, tens of thousands of Canadians jammed the vast common in front of Parliament, many wiping away tears as a single Ontario police officer sang the American anthem in a bold, clear voice.
In a rare official day of national mourning, Canadians, so often ambivalent in their attitudes toward their neighbor, demonstrated that the bonds between the two countries are far deeper than the differences.
''Words fail us,'' said Prime Minister Jean Chretien, flanked by US Ambassador Paul Cellucci and Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, the royal regent in Canada. ''We reel before the blunt reality of the evil we have just witnessed.''
From Newfoundland to British Columbia, the Maple Leaf gave way to Old Glory, which fluttered from front porches and apartment balconies.
''It's meant to show that we are standing beside America, just as America has always stood by us,'' said Renee Legault, 33, who hoisted the Stars and Stripes outside her duplex in Montreal. ''Your suffering is our deep sorrow.''
Similar sentiments of solidarity were echoed across the land, Chretien said during the Ottawa ceremony. ''There will be no silence from Canada. Our friendship has no limit.
''Generation after generation we have traveled difficult miles together side by side,'' he said. ''We have lived through many dark times. We are with you. The whole world is with you.''
Lylah Alphonse of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Material from Reuters and the Associated Press was also used.
This story ran on page A10 of the Boston Globe on 9/15/2001.
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