#1560 | Saturday, August 17th 2002
RE:11 September
I was at home, I had picked my son up from school. He was watching a cartoon channel, when my mum phoned and said "what do you think the yanks are going to do about this". I asked "what", and she replied "you haven't seen it, put on a news channel". So I did and I saw a replay of both towers being hit by planes. All I said was "oh christ Oh christ" and as I watched, the reporters were saying that people were jumping from the buildings and that this was believed to be A Terrorist attack. My mother who was still holding on the phone asked "who could do this", my reply was "I don't know, an arab connection perhaps". My mum said that she loved and she was going to phone my sister's and that she loved me. For the rest of that day (and the following days) we watched the news channels in disbelief and horror. My son, who was 4, asked me why the planes crashed into the buildings. I told him that it was on tv and wasn't real, with hindsight it wasn't the right answer to give him. But he's just a child I wanted to protect him and his right to a happy, worry-free childhood. He was fortunate his parents were in a position to protect,
To finish this, I want to say that we must protect our freedoms and democracy from all extrmists from any religion or political belief. And as a british citizen, that the republican and loyalist forces in N.Ireland have taken note of the 'zero tolerance'that has prevailed against all terrorist groups, since september 11. And that they take notice of worldwide global feeling that wants peaceful, negotiated settlements to the political issues that beset, democratic nations.

Deborah Hills
Devon
United Kingdom

Deborah | 26 | United Kingdom

#1555 | Friday, August 16th 2002
I´ve been at work when one of my colleagues told me a plane had crashed into the WTC. We all thought it had been an accident until we heard in the news another plane had crashed in the WTC and in the pentagon. At this time, it was clear it was a terrorist act against the U.S. Since we don´t have a TV at work, we tried to reach the CNN home page, but we couldn´t get through. I´ve been very concerned about my sister this time who lives near Washington, D.C. I tried to call her all day, but the phone lines didn´t work until later this evening when she finally could get through to me to tell me she and her husband were all right.
Nick | 26 | Germany

#1554 | Friday, August 16th 2002
I was getting ready for bed when I got a text message on my mobile (cell) phone. It said that a plane had crashed into a tower of the WTC which I only vaguely recognised at that time. I thought "wow, what a terrible accident" and went to watch reports on TV. Very soon after, a plane hit the second tower and I realised with an awful sense of doom that this was no accident. I called my fiance who had sent the original message, and we sat on the open line watching, but not able to say anything. We were so shocked. I stayed up well into the night watching and crying for all of those people and their loved ones, until I forced myself to get some sleep. I woke up in the morning to the news reports and remembered that what I had seen was very real. The whole of the next day was just a cloud of numbness. I called my mum just to hear her voice. People all around were very quiet and subdued. It seemed like there was a strange hush over the world.

Through the following weeks I cried a lot, and prayed for the beautiful people of NYC. I read and listened to every piece of news I could get my hands on. I felt so far away physically but had such a sense of the small world we lived in right at that time.

Rebecca | 26 | Australia

#1547 | Thursday, August 15th 2002
Later that day on September 11th I found out the buildings were being attacked while I watched the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. I was on vacation with my boyfriend. The sun slowly rose as tourists from all over the world stood around us watching in silent awe. During this beautiful display I thought as a lifelong Bostonian how the West had it's own kind of 'American history': the land. The gorgeous ancient rocks, mountains, and water and looming skies which I marvelled at each morning and night. There was a deep sense of my mortality under the black skies of night in Arizona where one could see billions of stars and barely any rocks a few feet ahead of you, the land is so dark at night. There were no clustered New England trees to hide under. Just the giant timeless sky. I felt so small. And so on what was a peaceful moment for us in the West watching that sunrise back home hell had broken loose for the country, and in many ways the world at large.

I found out about the actual WTC & Pentagon attacks and casulties upon hiking back up the Grand canyon to the hotel. (You climb down into the Canyon to begin the hike and you hike backup to end it). I had a feeling of connection to nature and a slight euphoric feeling from the hiking. That soon came to an end as the woman in the little bookshop by the edge of the Canyon informed me of what had happened. She began to cry and said "I have to tell you something but I don't know how to begin. This feels like a movie. You may not believe it at first but it is the truth. It's on the news. MY family back in NYC have confirmed this. We are under attack."

"What?"

"America is under attack. The WTC buildings are gone. Blown up. Destroyed. The Penagon is hit pretty badly. People are missing and dead."

I was in shock. One sentence kept repeating itself in my head. This is unreal. This is unreal. I had to get to the hotel room and look at the news!

I left and walked halfway to my room. I could hear the mumblings of shock, dismay and the numb discussion of the events from everyone around me. You could tell the Americans apart from the Europeans and others because we looked the most wounded - or the most angry. Eventually most people, regardless of country of origin milled around in the coming days with mutual horror and indignation.

I never cry in public. But I could not get to the room in time. I broke down in a flash of anger, then despair and my body was wracked with sobs. I felt complete sorrow and had the thought 'how can my generation (twenty somethings) deal with something like this? Vietnam is so far removed, the Gulf War and Kosovo something that seemed almost like a world a part from us. Not some huge war like I or II or Korea. Who did this? And when will the next attack come? And back home in Boston and NYC - are my loved ones okay? What is happening???'

I had the funny feeling of being prepared to 'join up' in a war effort if I had to (like something out of the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked) and I am an artist and pretty liberal type person. I was shellshocked for many days. And it was hell being so far from Back East. Ofcourse the rest of my vacation was half spent watching the repeat news reels of Sept 11th. Hungry for any bit of information. Dismayed at the wreckage, the victims, the fact that some of the planes left out of Boston Logan airport, the place I had flown to Arizona from (on a California flight, like the Sept 11th planes) and how chilling it was that I could have been on that plane had I not had to change the dates of my tickets).

The sight of those huge structures going down and the people jumping and falling to their deaths was so frightening. I knew there was death and hate and war since the dawn of civilization but to be attacked on our own ground in the 21st century I think was a brutal shock to a great deal of us. Especially the younger generation, brought up with mind numbing commercialism, consumerism and an overwhelming relience upon technology and with a false sense of comfort.

In any event we still feel the loss and the cut in this country and abroad (I was very touched by so many tributes from so many countries) but it fades with time. We won't forget, no. But we have no choice but to live now.




Rebecca-Starr | 26 | Massachusetts

#1541 | Wednesday, August 14th 2002
I'll never forget where I was. I was at home, and was asleep. My phone rang, and (as always) I let the answering machine get it. I knew immediately something was not good, as my mom began leaving her message. I heard fear in her voice as she said "someone has flown a plane ON PURPOSE in to each tower of the WTC, and the pentagon...Turn on your TV when you get this...it is a sad day for our country" I picked up the phone immediately, and began to cry with her. Through our conversation, the towers collapsed, and I felt sick.
It was my day off from work (I work at an airport hotel) and after my mom and I finished speaking, I phoned the hotel to see what I could do to help. I knew it would be crazy, being that all flights had been grounded, and rooms were being taken at an outstanding rate.
When I arrived at the hotel, there was a huge line at the front desk waiting to extend stays, and reserve rooms. An even larger crowd was in the lobby in front of the TV's we set up for viewing. Somehow people did not want to be up in their rooms alone watching this... There was comfort in a group. There were tears....open jaws, people were hugging strangers, and complete silence. I've never seen such a large crowd so quiet. It was eerie. We had a church group in the hotel at the time, and an impromptu service evolved in the lobby. New friends were made. The long wait to check in, get clean rooms, etc...was calm and no one was upset (this lasted days, and people have been nicer ever since...) I'll never forget how patient and understanding people were- Good came of evil, and I saw it first hand.

Kristin | 26 | Texas

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