atoneproject

[atoneproject]

An article in Art and Cake, 11/12/21, written by Genie Davis.

[atoneproject]

Ayat, age 2

[atoneproject]

The rubbings were made on archival velum paper using a black wax crayon (similar to what are provided for the families of the victims on 9/11 to make rubbings onsite), each are approximately 7.5x11". The names and ages of the Ahmadi family: Ayat 2 Sumaya 2 Malika 3 Binyamen 3 Armin 4 Farzad 9 Faisal 10 Zamir 20 Nasir 30 Zemari 40 It is important to note that the spelling of the names varied depending upon the various news sources (these names were identified by considering dozens of articles, nowhere I found was there a complete list of the names of the family), including an alternate spelling for the surname Ahmadi as "Akhmadi".

[atoneproject]

Sumaya, age 2

[atoneproject]

September 19th, creating the rubbings of the names of the 10 members of the Ahmadi family killed in the "over the horizon" attack by US drones. Each name was carefully spelled using the lettering from the victims of the 9/11 attacks. All photos by Sarah DeLappe, 2021

[atoneproject]

The Atone Project: Remembering the Ahmadis

On Friday, the 17th of September, 2021, I engaged in an act of critical atonement and remembrance. I went to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza at the site World Trade Center in New York City with a list of 9 of names of the Ahmadi family who were killed in the drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on the 29th of August. I created rubbings from the lettering of the names of the 9/11 victims to create the first names of the members of Ahmadi family. It was later on this same day that the Pentagon announced that the "over the horizon attack" was a mistake. I conducted this action as an American citizen, to remember this family and as some small gesture of remembrance and sorrow, and to close a loop, in a way, from the attacks of 9/11 to the drone strike in Kabul and the many hundreds of thousands of innocents who we have killed over the last 20 years in the "war on terror". Who is remembered? Who is mourned? Thoughts in this regard are central to my actions. The news stories noted that there were 10 people killed by the drone strike on 29th August 2021, including seven children. It was very difficult to find the victims’ names in the media coverage. I had only managed to find 9 of the 10 names when I first engaged in this action. It was several days later when I finally found the last name, that of 2-year-old Ayat Ahmadi and I returned to the site to make a final brass rubbing memorial, to him, in remembrance and sorrow. A special thank you to my daughter, Sarah DeLappe, for coming with me and taking the photographs on site. Peace. - Joseph DeLappe http://www.delappe.net