Speech by Ranger Raymond Collins at Ellis Island
September 17, 2001

A great deal has been written and said about the terrorist attacks and their impacts on this country, some of it quite eloquent. Among the latter was a speech given by one of our own, Ellis Island NM interpretive ranger Raymond Collins.

Pat Buccello, head of the NPS critical incident stress management team that has been in the New York area these past days, was at the session in which he spoke. She writes: "The speech was given on Ellis Island on September 17th, the first time that all of the employees from Liberty and Ellis Island had been together since the attack. It was a private time for the employees to share their stories with each other. Ray's words were quite moving and he was asked to repeat them at the meeting of all the New York area park employees two days later in which Director Mainella addressed the employees. At this meeting, over 300 NPS employees from all divisions, including the USPP, gathered on the main floor of the Ellis Island museum. At the conclusion of messages of support from the director, park and regional office staff, Ray stepped up to the microphone.

To understand the impact of his message, you need to know his history. He is a relatively recent (Armistice Day 1984) immigrant to the USA from the terrorism torn region of Belfast, Ireland. Since 1994, he has been an interpreter on Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The power of his message must be heard through his strong, lilting Irish brogue."

Since 9:03 a.m. on September 11th until returning to Ellis Island exactly one week later, I lived primarily, though not exclusively, inside my mind; a tortuous journey through acutely painful memories of past traumas now re-born in the horrific deaths amongst the twisted wreckage and cruel carnage of those beautiful twin brothers now laid low. That mental journey resurrected my own personal immigrant experience.

I would never have imagined, as a raggle-taggle crazy little kid in the back streets of Belfast, that I would one day be guarding the Statue of Liberty. Nor did I ever think that as a new emigrant to America that I would be acting the role of a turn-of-the-century - the nineteenth century that is - Irish immigrant right here on Ellis Island, where so many of my fellow countrymen and women flocked to these shores in search of peace, prosperity, and security. . .

As a musician/actor, I have traveled widely and visited and lived in many of the world's major cities. But none is comparable to New York City - the Big Apple - and my adopted home, Brooklyn.

I love and thrive on meeting people from all over the world. Outsiders often accuse Americans in general and New Yorkers in particular of thinking they are better than the rest of the world put together. Sure why not. We are the rest of the world put together.

I love the diversity of America. I love this culture which has been made vibrant and enriched by the contributions of peoples from all over this earth, and I am deeply saddened and shocked to have witnessed the deaths of those people in the World Trade Center atrocity. One of our posts at the Statue of Liberty is 6P, better known as the Pedestal. It is there at the feet of the Statue that I have met, chatted, joked, and taken pictures with visitors from all over the globe: visitors of all races, nationalities, and religions. Of course, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were always a favorite attraction from that magnificent panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline from the top of the pedestal of Lady Liberty.

Then, on the BBC television world service, I watched the coverage of the three minutes' silence held all across the world in honor of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks. I wondered how many amongst those multitudes standing and kneeling in dignified silence and prayer had met and chatted with my fellow workers and me. It was one of my most personal and moving moments of that awful week. Now we have to decide how and when we will ever meet those people again.

As I said earlier I love the diversity of this nation, especially in New York City. Now that diversity must become unity if we are to survive. I have first-hand experience of the consequences of the traumas and long-term consequences of bombings and assassinations. We all now face the same enemy - terrorism. We also need to deal with a very potent and destructive enemy - ourselves. Our inner fears, our doubts, our anxieties.

We need each other more than ever now, and we need to be strong and supportive of each other. We can certainly take example and strength from our firefighters, police, medical staff, and rescue workers, whose incredible selfless bravery, courage, and compassion we have all witnessed with awe and admiration.

As I look around me I see the faces of people I love; the faces of my friends and colleagues. I have faith in my fellow sisters and brothers - in law enforcement, in management, in protection, in administration, in interpretation, in maintenance, all of my fellow workers. We are all family. I want to see that family safe and well. One of our greatest allies and best friends is the public we serve. We need to educate them to be our eyes and our ears. A general public that is acutely aware and keenly sensitive to suspicious behavior and unattended items is an invaluable asset in helping to prevent acts of terrorism. We certainly do not need nor want vigilantes. But we certainly need vigilance - and then more vigilance.

I wish to conclude with some words from the pen of Ireland's greatest poet, William Butler Yeats. They are quotes from two poems - 'The Second Coming' and 'Easter 1916.' 1916 is of course an important date in Anglo-Irish history. And it is also the year in which the National Park Service was founded.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. . .

(All) are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

We are now part of that birth. We have had a baptism of fire. Let us join in a communion of love and solidarity and a confirmation of unity and security. Thank you. God bless."

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