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26/11 survivors from US recount their spiritual trip to Mumbai

Alan Scherr and his teenage daughter Naomi who were killed were in India for a meditation programme with 23 other members of a US-based spiritual community.

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Three years ago, when American Alan Scherr and his teenage daughter Naomi were killed in the 26/11 attacks, they left behind not just a grieving wife and mother, but a badly shaken community. The Scherrs were in India for a meditation programme with 23 other members of Synchronicity Foundation, a US-based spiritual community.

Immediately after the attacks, the other survivors in the group voiced an unusual sentiment: forgive the terrorists who had turned their lives upside down. Their resolve to forgive did not just end with a public statement. It is now the subject of a book, Forgiving the Unforgivable.

The group recounts the horrors of that fateful day and how they rebuilt their lives through compassion and forgiveness. It is written by their spiritual leader Charles Cannon, who chronicles the 40-odd hours that the group spent at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai, waiting to be rescued.

Although the book is set against the backdrop of the 26/11 attacks, the main theme is that of forgiveness. “While my heart goes out to all those who have lost someone dear in the attacks, I have found freedom in forgiveness,” says Kia Scherr, who returned to the city after the attacks and sat at the same table where her husband and daughter spent their last minutes before they were shot down.

“Life... was over, my heart was shattered, there was nothing left. At the same time, I felt only compassion for those who were so separated from humanity that they could kill ruthlessly,” she said in the book.

While the survivors insist that they are not condoning terrorism, they have taken a charitable stance towards the perpetrators. “Punishing the terrorists? Well, haven’t we proven pretty conclusively that more fear, hate and war doesn’t change anything? When are we going to try something else?” asked Bonnie Sullivan, another survivor.

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