Don't Ignore All WTC Victims
To The Editor:

As reported in the press and T.V. two weeks ago, it now appears that the recent death of Bayside Police Officer Cesar Borja may not have been a direct result of having inhaled the toxic dust from the World Trade Center attack, which makes his death at the age of 52 no less a tragedy for his family and the local community, and perhaps the exact causes of his death may never be fully known.

What is obvious, however, is that both Hillary Clinton and George Bush tried to exploit this sad situation for their own political benefits- she by bringing Borja's son to the State Of The Union Address, and he by his subsequent meeting with Cesar Borja, Jr.- similar to the shameless way Rudy Giuliani has used the 9/11 disaster to bolster his tarnished image for the past five and one half years.

Broadly speaking, there were three groups of people most affected by 9/11: a. Those killed/injured in the attack itself and the collapse of the Twin Towers, b. Those working on the site in the months that followed, and c. Those who lived and/or worked in the area near the World Trade Center. Certainly, much attention was given to the needs of the families of those who died September 11, 2001, with the government giving "settlements" for those victims, that, of course, can never end the sorrow involved. More recently, attention has been given to illnesses/deaths of "first responders," since 9/11, probably due to exposure to the toxic dust, (composed of crushed cement, plastic, glass, asbestos, and all kinds of oils, chemicals, and metals) while working on the site. (On my own visit to Ground Zero, nine and one half weeks after 9/11, I saw streams of water still being poured in the smoking ruins by the workmen at that surreal sight.) Hopefully, the government will now address- and fully fund- all medical costs of those who labored at the Twin Towers site, particularly since Christine Whitman "assured" everyone the air was safe to breathe, and many did not wear face masks.

But what about the thousands of other people who lived and/or worked in the area surrounding the World Trade Center? Are their health needs being ignored by the mayor and others in authority? We've read of a student from Stuyvesant High School- a few blocks away- whose death last year may be 9/11- related. I know that the lung cancer deaths of those who sprayed asbestos in World War II ships did not occur until decades later. Why is the government not giving periodic health exams to every resident, every employee, every student, every visitor who was near the World Trade Center on 9/11, and free medical care for every possible 9/11 condition, when found, among the "forgotten" W.T.C. victims? This would certainly be much less expensive than what is being spent on a lost war!

There is a notable line in the musical "1776", when George Washington writes to Congress asking, "Is Anybody There? Does Anybody Care?" In this regard, I ask our elected leaders to address the health issues of the "forgotten" W.T.C. victims. George Bush is obviously a hopeless case, but I challenge Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton to each use some of their many millions of dollars, and Michael Bloomberg to use a few of his billions to show they really care about their fellow New Yorkers, and personally fund the initial stages of a comprehensive testing program for all the "forgotten" victims of 9/11. Doing this would earn not only my personal respect, but also that of many other citizens. Frank Skala Bayside