Historic Meeting of 9/11 and 26/11 heroes

Mumbai witnessed a rare evening where the families of 9/11 and 26/11 shared the stage and came together in the spirit of promoting love, compassion and nonviolence.

The evening witnessed Dr. Frank Straub, Director of Strategic Studies and newly created Centre for Mass Violence Response Studies at the Police Foundation (USA), presented his Medals of Honour to Tukaram Omble, Vijay Salaskar to posthumously commemorate the valour of their brave husbands, who lost their lives in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

During the function, Dr. Straub also honoured Dilip Mehta, a victim and survivor of 26/11 at the Taj Hotel, Nidhi Chaphekar, a survivor of the Brussels attack and now a life trainer and also the Management from Taj Mahal Palace, who helped their staff to come out of the trauma showcasing compassionate leadership in the face of adversity.

Dr. Straub, survivor and hero of 9/11 shared his personal experience during the 9/11 attacks. He said his trauma was little to the agony of the survivors who were present at the event.

The evening was organised as part of the World Summit on Countering Violence and Extremism. Delegates came from across the world including Mayors, police officers, police chiefs, former gang members, peace innovation scholars by Mr. Mandar Apte, Organizer of the World Summit on Countering Violence & Extremism. Mandar gave a call to action to those assembled to take inspiration from all the survivors who were honored by Dr. Straub to activate and get involved in promoting peace and compassion with intensity.

The Summit is a special initiative of the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation.