THE DEMOLITION of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York and the partial destruction of the Pentagon in Washington DC did not bring America to its knees, as the terrorists might have hoped. However, the ripple effect of these two horrendous disasters is being felt in countries several time-zones away from the United States of America.

Personnel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are already fretting that the proposed Doha meeting, which is expected to launch the next round of world trade talks, seems to be in jeopardy because of security concerns.

The CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), scheduled to be hosted in Australia within another two weeks, is also in danger of being called off in the wake of the September 11 terrorist incidents in America. The CHOGM gathering attracts Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain as well as the approximately 40 Prime Ministers and Presidents of territories, which were once colonies of England. Fears have been expressed that this sort of gathering would make a perfect target for terrorists, who are aggrieved at the support so many countries are offering the United States in its proposed war on the group suspected of flying hijacked aircraft into each of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and also the Pentagon 20 days ago.

Although the texture of every day life is being restored relatively quickly in the United States, so frightening were the four coordinated hijackings of commercial aircraft on September 11, that hundreds of thousands of would-be travellers have been keeping their feet firmly on the ground. The aviation authorities are reporting that in spite of safety and security assurances given to the public, most of the commercial flights are taking off only half-filled.

Within days of the terrorists’ actions, several airlines began lamenting their incredible losses, which were running at US$200M per day. Tens of thousands of airline workers were shown the door, and the Bush administration, recognising the plight of the airlines, moved to prop them up with loans and grants totalling US$15 Billion.

Repercussions of the terrorist actions first hit the tourism-oriented Caribbean territories some five to six days after the tragedies in the United States. Hundreds of holiday reservations were cancelled and this immediately sent sectors of small-island economies into a downward spiral. Cancelled bookings meant less seats bought from the regional carriers Air Jamaica and British West Indian Airways (BWIA). Less aircraft seats bought translated into low hotel occupancy and even empty hotels; fewer or no tourists automatically means less jobs needed in the hospitality industries, and the chain reaction continues to the detriment of the small economies of small states.

Another aspect of negative fall-out from September 11 has to do with those casualties of the Twin Towers. Nearly two dozen Guyanese are feared missing after the destruction of the buildings, and we are certain that, like clan-conscious peoples of the world, they were sending millions of Guyana dollars in remittances annually to members of their immediate and extended families here and elsewhere. Their monetary contributions will be sorely felt in the months and years to come.

The American economy, which was heading for a downturn in recent months, has indeed been jolted by the extensive devastation of a section of Manhattan and the damage done to the Pentagon. However, we are of the view that within the next few years, businesses will begin to thrive, and Manhattan will rise like a phoenix from the ashes to usher in a period of prosperity that will quicken the American nation and have positive spin-offs for other countries of the world.

In the meantime, countries of every hemisphere should have an increased awareness of the many existing threats to security and take the necessary steps to protect their citizens.