A group of American politicians, under the auspices of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), is in the city to ‘show their solidarity in the fight against terrorism’.

ACYPL, a bipartisan, non- profit educational exchange organisation is dedicated to fostering relations between the next generation political leaders in the United States and their counterparts around the world. Its educational programmes include international exchanges, foreign policy and democracy conferences and election study programmes.

The delegation’s visit comes at a time when the city is set to mark the first anniversary of the terror attacks. “We purposely chose to stay at the Taj Mahal Hotel in order to show our solidarity in the fight against terrorism. We went to Leopold Café and saw the bullet marks and were taken aback. It was almost the same feeling as that of visiting Ground Zero,” said Brian Calle, one of the delegates. He added, “It is not even a year since the attack but Taj has become a spot for terror tourism. On our way from the airport to the hotel the driver narrated how he narrowly escaped death.”

During their stay in Goa, the group spoke to a family member of one of the terror victims. “The chef at the hotel in Goa where we stayed lost his son in the 26/11 terror attack. I could relate to him as after the 9/11 attack policemen wielding machine guns were deployed on the streets of Washington DC. As victims of terror we (the two countries) are connected, didn’t want to be, but are related. It is the experience that goes beyond geography,” said Amy Dacey, another delegate.

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