Although we are 21 years apart, and literally worlds apart, Kesha Weedon and I are spiritually connected. Both slave descendants living in modern day America, we have used our religion and faith to succeed beyond what our parents and grandparents ever imagined. Kesha and I leaned on faith to study abroad, a new experience that is quite unheard of in our communities. The sad part is that Kesha didn't survive to tell her family about her life-changing experience. Even though she is not here on Earth, I feel a strong connection every time I look at her face. I thought of her when her convicted killer was allowed to leave prison early, after serving only eight years. Would she force me to be a good Christian, and learn to forgive? Or was his crime and release beyond forgiveness?
During the fall of 1988, Kesha Weedon traveled to London as part of Syracuse University's study abroad program. She was one of the 35 Syracuse University students who were killed as a result of the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack. On Dec. 21, 1988, the students boarded the plane in London and were about to cross the Atlantic Ocean when a bomb detonated and the plane exploded in mid-air. News reports state the plane came crashing down in pieces within a matter of seconds over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people on the plane were killed, as well as 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie. Pan Am Flight 103 was the largest terrorist attack against the United States before 9/11.
After an intense international investigation, Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent, was accused of putting the bomb on the plane. In 2001, he was convicted of the heinous crime, thirteen years after the initial attack. In October of 2008, the Libyan government paid $1.5 billion to compensate the families of American victims of Libyan-linked terror attacks. In the meantime, al-Megrahi appealed his case once and dropped the second appeal after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. On Aug. 20, 2009, the Scottish government decided to release him on "compassionate grounds." He served eight years of his life sentence, even though he was convicted of killing 270 people.
This is the aftermath of the terrorist attack that took the life of Kesha Weedon. Yet none of the money, or the sanctions, or the short prison sentence will bring her back. That's why I am a Remembrance Scholar ? to revive her beautiful life story. I encourage others to celebrate the lives of the 35 students who passed away because the reality is it could've been any one of us.
If you took the time to learn about these students, you'd realize they were just like you. When I read about Kesha in the Syracuse University archives, chills went through my body as I realized the countless similarities we shared. We both volunteered while abroad with children who spoke different languages, and we both had this burning desire to service our marginalized communities ? she through social work, and I through the medium of journalism. But what surprised me was that Kesha was a part of me that I forgot in college. She didn't leave behind her religious roots or her musical talents when she came here. Instead, she sang in the Black Celestial Choral Ensemble and played in the Syracuse University Orchestra ? both talents I left behind a long time ago. And she was in love. Not only did she have a boyfriend, but she convinced him to visit her in London and they attempted to return to the United States together. I admired all of these things about Kesha, and it's the reason why her memory is alive in me. Her memory forces us to never take life for granted because we are blessed to be alive and we can make the difference that she was not able to finish making. We must realize that smart, young, good-spirited people die too ? for reasons we will never understand. Our time to make a change is now, not tomorrow. I challenge you to attend the Rose Laying Ceremony at 2:03 p.m. on Friday and visit the SU Archives to learn more about the lives of these 35 students, all young intellectuals who wanted to make a difference. I guarantee they will inspire you to keep pushing forward, and inspire you to do better.
Stephanie Claytor
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