Rome and FAO plant a tree to remember US victims

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FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf and Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni plant a cypress tree as a symbol of solidarity and remembrance. (FAO/L.Spaventa)
In a sombre ceremony in front of FAO headquarters on Friday, Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, joined Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni in planting a cypress tree in memory of lives lost during the attacks in the United States earlier that week. "We wanted to plant this tree, for us and for our future, to remember the thousands of innocent people who died in New York and Washington," said Mr Veltroni. The ceremony followed three minutes of silence observed at noon today across Europe.

Director-General Diouf expressed his solidarity with the people of the United States and thanked the mayor of Rome "for having chosen a tree, a symbol of agriculture, and for having chosen this spot, so close to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations." The seven-metre high tree was planted in a small square across from FAO. Beside the tree is a stone marker that makes a tribute to the victims of the attacks, and appeals for peace against terrorism.

17 September 2001

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