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Posted on 07/12/2003 8:50:30 AM PDT by knighthawk
VIENNA, Austria - It's a balmy summer night, and an unlikely scene is playing out at the ornate Schoenbrunn Palace — children whose fathers were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks are jumping rope and dancing with their mothers to pop tunes like "Mambo No. 5."
The event, and the visit to Austria, are courtesy of an Austrian businessman who wanted to help some victims' families get a break from their grief — and teamed up with a New York City police lieutenant to make it happen.
"Since coming here, I've smiled, I've laughed, I've danced," said Anna Rasmussen, a 40-year-old mother of three from suburban Chicago who lost her husband in the attack on the World Trade Center.
Rasmussen and her 9-year-old daughter, Taylor, were among eight women and 16 children visiting Vienna this week. Partying and sightseeing with the others, she said, made them realize they're not alone in their pain.
The gathering was put together by Karl Altenhuber, whose Vienna company organizes conferences for corporations and says he long wanted to do something to help victims' families.
"I was in New York two weeks after Sept. 11 when my wife called me to tell me how well my 1-year-old son was doing. At that moment, I happened to be looking up at a poster showing babies of the victims," he recalled.
"In that moment, I decided to organize a charity."
His company, Eventive, began finding sponsors and raising money to fund the trip, which he hopes will become a yearly tradition.
Instrumental in locating the families was Lt. Jay R. Fagan, 43, an NYPD commanding officer who participated in the rescue effort at Ground Zero.
"There's so many charities (for Sept. 11 victims) that you would think people are being flooded, but the fact of the matter is that some people just aren't being reached," he said.
Fagan, who helps victims in his spare time and used his vacation time to accompany the group to Austria, said he decided to leave his own family at home because he didn't want to remind the victims' children, who range in age from 7 to 14, of their loss.
"I want to help, but don't want to intrude or bring up bad feelings," he said. "And I also don't want to make it seem like I'm trying to replace their father. Their fathers can never be replaced."
Rasmussen and several other mothers praised the trip, saying it provided a chance for their children, and themselves, to bond with others who have suffered.
"At first my daughter didn't want to come, but since being here she told me, 'You know what, Mom? There are other kids like me, who have this same grief,'" said Rasmussen, who lives in Hinsdale, Ill.
Describing herself as one of only two Sept. 11 widows in the Chicago area, Rasmussen said her daughter has had little contact with children of others who died in the attacks.
"I hope she stays in contact with them by e-mail after we get home," she said. "This really validates some of what she's feeling."
Another mother, Carol Francolini of Ossining, N.Y., agreed.
"It's great to see the kids so happy being with other kids like them. That's the best part of this," she said Friday as the group waited to tour city hall.
Altenhuber said he and the other group leaders consciously decided not to mention the tragedy.
"It will take a lifetime for them to come to terms with this, and so in these five days we just try to create a good atmosphere for them," he said. "You can't do more than that in this short time."
Several of the children said the highlight of their stay was riding the Ferris wheel in Vienna. Others said they enjoyed the city's beauty.
"I really liked the parks and the old buildings," said 11-year-old Ravi Thackurdeen, of New York City's borough of Queens.
"It's peaceful here. And slow-going — not like New York."
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