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Letters of a Son: Reflecting on Loss and Growth after a Terrorist Attack

On the surface: the letters of the son of one of the Rosario residents murdered six years ago in New York

They were written by Martín, the son of Hernán Mendoza. One was written in May and the last a few hours ago, less than a week before another anniversary of the attack.

A few days after six years of the terrorist attack in which five people from Rosario died in New York, Martín, the son of Hernán Mendoza, one of the fatal victims, made public two emotional letters in which he remembered him with affection. The first was written on the occasion of the life sentence sentenced to life imprisonment against the Uzbek terrorist Sayfullo Saipov, who ran over a group of Polytechnic alumni with a truck on a bike path in Manhattan.: “Can you imagine the sadness of growing up without a father, without being able to hug him again?” The text was part of those read in the New York Court last May. Meanwhile, now, on the eve of the anniversary of the event, the teenager, close to finishing high school, added a second text: “Uncertainty and pain can become powerful engines of personal development and enrichment of life despite everything.” .

On October 31, 2017, Saipov collided with the group that had traveled to celebrate the 30 years of graduating from the traditional Rosario school.

Next Tuesday, in commemoration of a new anniversary, relatives and friends of the victims who had traveled to the United States to celebrate 30 years of graduating from the Polytechnic will hold a simple event that will consist of a meeting in front of the cypresses of Puerto Nortethe public space where they are remembered on the Rosario coast.

The terrorist attack claimed the lives of Hernan Mendoza, Diego Angelini, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi. The rest of the group was made up of Ariel Benvenuto, Juan Pablo Trevisán, Iván Brajkovic, Guillermo Banchini and Martín Marro, who were injured in the insane attack.

The past year has been very difficult for the family and, of course, for Martín, who has his father’s signature tattooed on his arm. They had to go through the trial of the terrorist in the New York courts, listen to statements and exonerate him. A court made up of citizens found that Saipov should be imprisoned for the rest of his days, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

The following is the letter that Martín wrote, last May, and which he titled “My reality”:

“An afternoon that was full of joy and emotions, returning from having enjoyed a school trip, became the least expected moment. At school my mother and my uncle welcomed me to give me the words that no one would ever want to hear, becoming the most terrible news I had ever received. A thousand emotions ran through my skin, clouding my head, I could not understand what I had just heard, invaded by the fear and helplessness of the loss, I tried to assimilate that nothing would ever be the same again; and In the worst way, my father’s death changed my life forever.

“That news hit a child, the one who never stopped being, a child who lost his naivety and innocence in a single instant. A child immersed in the comfort and certainty of my daily life, from which he was often not suitable. to understand the world outside of my childhood. Perhaps also because of that childhood innocence, which many children use as a shield to protect themselves from situations or adversities in life. Can you imagine the sadness of growing up without a father, without being able to hug him again? , or can you imagine the fear of losing those happy childhood memories due to the trauma caused?

Read more: The Uzbek who killed five people from Rosario in New York is sentenced to ten life sentences

Since that day I have sought to understand the cruelty and hatred that drives terrorists. Questions arise without answers, frustration and pain invade me. I feel bewildered and incomplete, like a part of me and my story has been taken away from me. My father was a very important person for me, he raised me with love since I was born.”

“Every day I try to understand why or how someone could take his life. This tragic event took away thousands of experiences and the possibility of living a future with my father. Every day the desire to share a life with him grows. food, a soccer game, my graduation or any of my goals in life. Dreaming of what was not and will not be. Saving everything I experienced with him in the only place where it is still alive for me, my memory. To conclude, I want “Thank them for their time and attention in listening, showing them how this affects the daily lives of the victims. And may love overcome hate, today and always.”

A few hours ago a second letter was added a few days before the anniversary of the fateful day:

“To understand my reality, in all its complexity, it is essential to return to my childhood, that period of my life in which I spent my days immersed in wonder, in the search for knowledge, experimentation and constant discovery. My concerns are were limited to the joys and challenges of childhood; childhood innocence and its ability to protect us from the adversities and mysteries of life, was my refuge, where I lived happily.

“However, when I approached adolescence I experienced a significant personal change. Fate pushed me out of my comfort zone and I was forced to face a very complex reality, this extreme situation forced me to leave my world as a child before “What I thought. Abruptly it generated sudden and unexpected changes and filled me with doubts and questioning. I left comfort and my innocence behind and found myself immersed in uncertainty.”

“Doubt became my constant companion and although it initially plunged me into confusion, it also became a valuable tool for reflection and self-knowledge. This uncertainty helped me understand, accept and become stronger. I learned to see the changes as opportunities to grow and evolve, rather than insurmountable obstacles.

“Today I can realize, despite my pain, my voids, my absences and my insecurities, that the complexity of everything I experienced became the pillars of my understanding of life. These experiences shaped me as a person. who I am today and have allowed me to embrace the complexity of the world.

“I transformed my mentality, made it more apt to understand what happened to us; cultivate an open attitude towards the world and its changing facets. Every day I seek to become a less incomplete individual. Every challenge and every unanswered question I have turned opportunities to deepen my knowledge and forge a more meaningful connection with my own existence, for a continued understanding of reality.

“Ultimately, perhaps my story is a testament to how doubt, uncertainty and pain can be transformed into powerful engines of personal development and life enrichment despite everything.”

2023-10-25 21:38:00
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