They are the ones left behind - children, mothers, fathers, widows, siblings and other kin of 26 Guyanese who were among the near 3,000 who perished on that infamous day when terrorists destroyed New York's landmark Twin Towers in the World Trade Center and severely damaged the Pentagon, in Washington.

While countless ceremonies are being held countrywide today to mark the first anniversary, the focus is on those at `Ground Zero' in downtown Manhattan, where the towers stood and at the refurbished Pentagon in Washington.

The official New York ceremonies were slated to begin at 01:00 hrs with a Bagpipe and drum procession from the five boroughs - Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Bronx and Queens into `Ground Zero' .

Other highpoints of the programme include a citywide minute's silence at 8:46 a.m. - the time when the first aircraft plane hit the North Tower.

Another moment of silence at 9:03 a.m. - when the second tower was hit.

Churches are also encouraged to toll their bells for 140 seconds. These actions would be repeated at the times when the Twin Towers collapsed.

GUYANESE REPRESENTATION
Guyana's dead: Patrick Adams; Rudy Bacchus; Kris Romeo Bishundat; Pamela Boyce; Annette Dataram, also known as Priya; Sabita Guman; Nizam Hafiz; Ricknauth Jaggernauth; Charles Gregory John; Sarah Khan; Amarnauth Latchman; Shevonne Mentis; Marcus Neblett; Hardai Parbhu; Vishnu Ramsaroop; Amenia Rasool; Sita Sewnarine; Shiv Shankar; Kamini Singh; Ronald Singh; Astrid Sohan; Joyce Stanton; Patricia Stanton and Vanavah Thompson are part of a roll call by former NY Mayor Rudy Guilianni.

But there would be a mixed showing of relatives of the dead Guyanese at the ceremony.

Sadiq Rasool, husband of 32-year-old Ameenia described the first anniversary of the attacks which took his wife's life as "one of the hardest periods".

"I have decided to take September 11 every day, as a day away from work, for the rest of my life in tribute to my wife. No words can describe how hard this is for myself and the kids. To lose a loved one...so young and healthy so unexpectedly...it is hard.

"Ameenia was a wonderful mother and a terrific wife and worker. I miss her very much," Rasool said.

The couple have four children, and the youngest, Faraad was only 10 months old when his mother left for work at Marsch and McLennan that fateful Tuesday.

The father said that when he took the boy to pre- school for the first time last week, it hit him that "a major part" of his life has been erased.

"We took all the other kids to school on the first day and she would comfort them if they cried."

The ceremonies at Ground Zero will continue all day, with President George W. Bush scheduled to visit the site at 4:00 p.m. but the father of four was still unsure whether he would attend. The children, he said would attend school and he hoped that they would not be too upset from the ongoing coverage of the day's proceedings on the television and the general solemnity of the day.

Last Saturday, the family held a service for Amenia Rasool after receiving some remains identified as hers.

"At least now there's a headstone with her name and a place where we can go and remember her. I have not been to Ground Zero and I don't know when I will be strong enough to go there. Maybe soon," Rasool said.

The opposite applies however to the family of Annette Dataram who was fondly called ` Priya'.

"We had t-shirts and jerseys printed with her photograph on the front and we have a small memorial to place at `Ground Zero in her memory," Annette's mother Chandra said.

"I think about her every day. January 20th was her birthday. At Mother's Day and Christmas...it was very hard. She would have been married this year. All of us will be there - her brother, sister, father and even an aunt. Up to now I still have all her stuff and I intend to keep them. We never got a body...her things are our memories," the mother said.

A mere 25 years old when she was killed in the attack, Annette was the "life" of her family and loved people. Shortly before her death she had graduated with a degree in Accounting from Manhattan College.

Persons close to the families of other victims said that most are still trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved one. Most never received a body.

Apart from the Rasool family, the family of former cricketer Nizam Hafiz also received some of his remains, identified through DNA recently.

Meanwhile, the Guyanese community in New York and New Jersey has also planned some activities to honour the memory of the fallen Guyanese. Services are planned for this evening at Calvary Roseville United Methodist Church in East Orange, NJ, and at Fennimore United Methodist and Vanderveer Park United Methodist Churches, both in Brooklyn.

U.S.-based Guyanese artists Claire Goring and Ashton Franklin of the Guyana Cultural Association have also honoured the memory of the slain Guyanese. The pair designed a card which portrays the Twin Towers as two candles.

Hard copies of the card have been delivered to the victims' families. But Goring and Franklin did not stop there. Last Monday evening, an electronic version of the token was emailed to the In-boxes of hundreds of Guyanese around the world, with specific instructions for recipients to forward it to others on their mailing lists.

"We asked those who received the card to keep the families of the 26 Guyanese in their thoughts all of Wednesday. We feel the area where the towers stood is a sacred area, where souls were for the last time.

"The flame from the candles or towers go on to form a rainbow. That rainbow signifies hope that there is life after the tragedy," Goring said of the effort.

She also read a part of the inscription which said: "Our world does not always make sense but may the rich memories of your loved ones kindle within you fresh hope and strength in our Creator God."

Meanwhile, Guyana's Ambassador to the Organisation of American States, Dr. Odeen Ishmael told the Chronicle that the decision was taken to fly the Golden Arrow head at half staff at the Washington-based Mission today.

"This will be done as a symbol of sympathy and remembrance", he said.

The Ambassador will be Guyana's representative at the Pentagon, at 9:00 a.m. U.S. President George Bush is also expected to attend that commemorative service.

Another Embassy official will attend a service slated for the same time at the National Cathedral in Washington, Dr. Ishmael said.