As the United States remembers the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Ghana also has a painful connection to one of the darkest days in modern American history.

Four people identified as Ghanaians Japhet Jesse Aryee, Sophia B. Addo, Victor Kwarkye and Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah were among the thousands of lives lost when terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft and launched coordinated attacks against the United States. Their names remain part of the permanent record of those killed at the World Trade Center.

Sophia B. Addo had moved from Ghana to the United States in search of greater opportunities. She worked at Windows on the World, the famous restaurant located high inside the World Trade Center’s North Tower, while pursuing her educational ambitions.

Victor Kwarkye, 35, also worked at Windows on the World. His life ended when the North Tower was attacked and eventually collapsed.

Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, who was born in Ghana, was another employee of Windows on the World. He was 37 years old when he died.

Japhet Jesse Aryee, 49, worked for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and was in the South Tower on the morning of the attack. He left behind a wife and four children.

Early reports from the Ghanaian community following the tragedy contained different spellings and initially listed Nana Mintah among four Ghanaians reported missing or presumed dead. Later memorial records established the names now associated with Ghana’s confirmed victims of the attacks.

On September 11, hijacked planes struck both towers of New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while another crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A total of 2,977 victims were killed.

More than two decades later, the four Ghanaian lives remain part of the heartbreaking story of 9/11 immigrants pursuing work, education and opportunity whose dreams were suddenly cut short.

Their names deserve to be remembered in Ghana as part of the global human cost of September 11.