PR CHICAGO: Sept. 11th Backlash killings explored in Cable TV interview 9-01-04

SEPT. 11th BACKLASH KILLINGS TOPIC OF CABLE TV INTERVIEW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ray Hanania/708-403-1203

Chicago -- Some 14 Americans who looked Middle Eastern, or who were Muslim or Arab were killed in the six months after Sept. 11th by individuals driven to rage by the terrorism and destruction of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers.

Anya Cordell, coordinator of the Campaign for Collateral Compassion and who has spearheaded a drive to get relatives and families of these 14 forgotten Sept. 11th victims support and funding, is the guest with host Ray Hanania on "30 Minutes."

"30 Minutes" is a monthly cable TV interview program broadcast on Comcast Cable TV in the South Suburbs, on CAN TV in Chicago and also on Bridges Muslim TV broadcast around the country. The Comcast broadcast is every Friday at 8:30 PM on Channel 19. CAN-TV broadcast will be later in September with the broadcast times to be announced.

Cordell, an Evanston native who is Jewish, said she was moved to help the families after reading about one such killing of a man who happened to be "Sikh," an Indian and non-Muslim religion.
"So many people were killed just because of the way they looked. In one case, the killer bragged about the killing sitting in a bar for more than four hours. He was proud of what he did," Cordell said.

Cordell said that in most cases, the motivation for the killings included Sept. 11th rage, but also other issues were involved. In the case of a man in Detroit who was murdered, he was killed by his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend who said he wanted to kill "that Arab" in order to also avenge Sept. 11th.

Not all of the cases have been designated as hate crimes or Sept. 11th backlash killings. And although billions of dollars in funds were raised to help relatives of the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on Sept. 11th, and also the owners of homes and businesses impacted by the event, including those requiring clean-up and re-start up funds, no monies have ever been designated to support the relatives and families of individuals murdered as a result of Sept. 11th.

For more information, visit www.hanania.com. Also http://www.CollateralCompassion.org.



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