Remembering 9/11

The Mail & Guardian asked readers to tell us what they were doing when the planes struck the Twin Towers. These are their stories.

I was visiting the twin towers a day before it had crashed to the ground. Unbelievable! It was the word that stuck on my mind as soon as I could see the images on TV. — Mauricio Vaz — School teacher

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I had just written a story I had been very keen on doing for a long time. It was after an interview with someone who had in-depth knowledge of the situation in Zimbabwe and it was so insightful.

However, after a colleague walked in and announced that a plane had hit the World Trade Centre, my Zim story almost paled into insignificance. Upon hearing the news, I immediately thought of the place where the Codesa talks were held at the now-OR Tambo International Airport!

I spent the rest of the afternoon gobsmacked every time I saw the fresh pictures of the plane flying into the building in New York, while at the same time — I vaguely remember — trying to get local comment from equally gobsmacked people. Eish! — Duncan Guy — Journalist

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It was a normal hot spring day in Nelspruit, South Africa, when I went to a local pub to meet a friend for business and a beer or two. It was first business, so I concentrated hard on what was said, while I watched from the corner of my eye the TV.

I noticed a plane flying into a massive building, and realised that it must be the Twin Toweres in New York. However, around me, and including my friend, no one was making any comment, so I thought it must be a new movie that was being advertised. I therefore continued with the discussion, but noticed that this planne flying into the Twin Towers were being repeated, which seemed odd for an advertisement.

I then noticed another plane flying into the Twin Towers from another angle, and it was then only that I couId not contain my curiosity any longer. When I asked my friend if he had noticed what was on TV, his response was only that some plane flew into the Twin Towers, and that it was some terrorists.

I was greatly shocked by the nonchalance of the answer, and the percieved lack of emphathy, not only from him, but most of the people at the pub.

My lasting impression was that since it did not happen to us, it was just another story on the TV, since we are all so bombarded with violence in our own society on a daily basis. — Dawie — I am a middle class John Doe trying to make a living

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When I turned on the television that morning, the first tower had been hit, but not the second. CNN said it was a “light plane”. My relatives in South Africa were worried that I might, somehow, have been in New York City that day. The phone lines were clogged. I was talking to my father in Cape Town when the second tower was hit.

Later that day, my mathematics lecture developed into a discussion about the attacks. One of my students had that morning received a frantic phone call from the mother of a former room-mate who had graduated a few months previously and gone to work for a company with offices in the Twin Towers. No-one, including my student, knew where he was. I never discovered whether his mother found him. — David Erwin — On September 11, 2001, I was a visiting academic at Trinity College, a university about an hour and half’s drive north of NYC

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I was a police official back then and we were having a meeting when our satation commnader broke the news to us. As he was not part of the meeting, he heard the breaking news from radio and he couldn’t help it but gate crashed the meeting to make announcement.

I remember he broke the news when the first plane crashed into the first tower. The meeting adjourned immediately as were curious to know what was happening so we all went to his office to listen live report on radio. It was only after we heard that the second plane crashed into the second tower we realised that the first incident was not an accident. I rememeber we had argument but utltimately agreed that it was a terror attack.

We were somehow delighted that Americans were exposed at last and their intelligence was not as efficient as it was portrayed to be. We felt that justice was done as most Iraqis and muslims lost their lives at the hands of arrogant and bully Americans. I couldn’t wait to get home to watch the news live on CNN and I endeed up knocking off early. I was driving home when the breaking news of a third plane that crashed into Pentagon was announced.

I got more excited and anxious to witness the falling of the super power America live on television. It was only when I watched the live broadcast on CNN realised the seriousness of what was happening in the US. Suddenly my excitement was short lived. I realised that many innocent people were going to lose their lives. I could believe it when I saw people literally jumping to their death trying to safe their lives.

I felt helpless and it was as if I was there physically. I was so emotional and I ended up crying when the two towers gave in. I will never forget that fateful day that changed the history of the entire world. My heart goes out to the families and friends of all the people who lost their lives as a result of act of terrorism. I learnt a lesson from that day that no matter, race, colour, religion or ones origins a human being’s life needs to be respected. I also learnt that terrorists are cowards and there is no explanation that can justify the act of terrorism. — Lesang Sekete — A middle aged black male beaurocrat who is sports fanatic

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A colleague and I were finishing off working at a waste treatment works, applying herbicide to invasive plants. We were resting in the shade of a vehicle before packing away our equipment to leave; it was a really hot day. Not realising that three men had approached, they then held us up at gun point.

They demanded the key and money, I moved to give the one the keys and he then shot over my head, demanding that I keep still. I pointed that the keys were in my pocket and then gave them the keys. They robbed me of R80, one very cheap cell phone and a few personal items.

They threw the vehicle key into the river and left. All of this occurred within the same time frame as the 9/11 attack. I survived; I then walked to the plant and reported the incident — 9/11 reminds me that I survived. — Alistair Hunter — Environmentalist

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I can remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was working in in the USA at the time. I was based Pittsburg, Pennsylvania which is about 50 miles from Shanksville, where lLight 93 went down.

It was about 9:10am and I was sitting in my cubicle when Mary, in the cubicle next door, stood up and shouted, “Oh my God! My daughter just called and said that a plane slammed into the World Trade Centre”. While she was talking to her daughter she again blurted out “Another plane crashed into the second tower…”

At that point we new that this was not an accident. Within half an hour all the staff were sent home and we found out later that Flight 93 had actually flown over and circled Pittsburg before turning around and crashing in Shanksville.

It was the eeriest time, the skies that usually had about 10 planes overhead at any point in time were clear for the next few days. People were hurting all around. There were church services and vigils.

Even though I was a South African, we bled for the USA and felt a bizarre sort of patriotism for this 2nd home of ours.
What made it even more surreal is that just 2 months prior to 9/11 my wife and I were actually “tourists” standing on the viewing deck of one of the towers. A few weeks later we made the trip back to “Ground Zero”. My wife could not even look at the site and I felt very emotional just being there. It was hard to believe that this smouldering mass once was an icon of the USA’s prosperity and it was now destined to become an icon for entirely different reasons.

We moved back to SA in Dec 2003 after almost 3 years in the USA. — Nicholas Haupt — 40-something-year-old software developer

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I was living in New York City at the time and working at the United Nations headquarters. On September 11, I had driven from Montreal with a friend to visit my grandmother who was in a nursing home in Eastern Ontario. I visited her early during the morning of the 11th.

She smiled at me and little did I know it would be the last time I saw her. As I got into my hired car in the nursing home parking lot, a nurse ran towards me shouting “Did you hear what happened in New York? A plane has flown into a building.”

I hadn’t heard and imagined a small cessna crashing into a building somewhere in the city. My first reaction was to turn on the radio and hear what the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) had to say — if they were carrying the story then it was real.

The rest of course is history — I remained glued to the radio for the rest of the day, taking a slow drive back to Montreal in the knowledge that air space had been closed, delaying my return to New York. I would only see images of 9/11 late in the evening.

Radio had fueled my imagination during the day. When I did return to New York a few days later, it was to pack my bags and return to Africa — Kinshasa at the time. The decision to leave had nothing to do with 9/11 and everything to do with wanting to leave UN HQ and return to work I found fulfilling.

Since then, the rest of the world seems to have moved on at a much faster pace than the US. I think hindsight shows that the American response to 9/11 has neither worked to its advantage nor made the world a safer place. — David L. Smith — I write Book Safari in the M&G and set up radio stations in zones of conflict.

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Our warehouse manager came into the office and had been listening to the radio as he did on a regular basis and said that an airplane has crashed into one of the twin towers in New York. We immediately turned on the TV in the office and was astounded with what was going on. After the second tower dropped, we told the staff to go home as we thought it was a terrorist attack and deal with it as if it was a hurricane hitting Florida, where we are located. We ordered everyone to get water, gas in the car, food, cash and secure their families as we didn’t know what was happening and I would talk to them the next day to see if we should come in or not.

My husband called his father in Sweden and said, “Dad, we are under attack”, and his dad didn’t understand what he was talking about, but shortly turned into world news and found out. It was such an eerie feeling for days and weeks with no airplanes flying over and landing at the FLL airport, but we did see and hear the military planes fly over the coast line.

We will never forget and we will fly our American flag on our office suite for the 10th anniversary outdoor area as long as we can, regardless of what the landlord thinks.

After 911, they made us take it down after a few weeks and we were really upset because our office faces I-95 and we wanted to show our support. God Bless America and may it never happen again on our soil. — Deborah Roos — Small business owner

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I was still in primary school when it happened. My teachers were huddled around their portable radio, almost completely ignoring the students. I was picked up by my dad in the late afternoon and on the way through the CBD, the radio reported the event.

Now, being a kid at the time, I didn’t care (or even understand), so I wanted to tell my dad about what my friend called my other friend (a “moffie”… remember those days?); he shushed me and I remember feeling very hurt at that. I just looked sulkingly out of the window at the orange light that spilled all over the glass buildings. I distinctly remember the pain of his “rejection” (something I wasn’t used to). I almost intentionally blocked out the radio, screwing my face into the most painfully obvious frown.

When we got home, the TV was flipped on and the images appeared: The smoke from the towers. People crying. I made the connection to the radio broadcast. I was young, but I remember thinking “this is big”. This was all far too big for my little life. And when you think about it, 3 000 dead people is big. I just watched in silence, too afraid to ask questions lest I be shushed again. The gravity of the situation really didn’t hit home until long after the attacks. But there I was, sitting on the couch, thinking, “I really wish someone would tell me if this is real.” The adults around me just stared at the TV, some shaking their heads. My mom was on the phone with my grandmother, speaking in broken sentences laden with disbelief.

Now, 10 years later, I can’t believe some people still think this was all just a huge act by the US governement to exploit Arab oil. I guess when something this big, this life-changing happens, there will be deniers. After all, people still deny that we ever landed on the moon, and the Hollocaust never killed more than a dozen people. These things are too big for any one person. I don’t think we will ever come to terms with it. — Ivan Sabljak — A devil’s advocate … who hasn’t gotten his pay in years

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I landed at Hartsfield airport, Atlanta, Georgia, on the morning of 9/11. I had a three-month research fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta — my first time in the US.

I was being driven by an Emory staffer to my digs when her cellphone rang, and she was told that there’s an attack taking place. We got in and turned on the TV and saw the second plane fly into the World Trade Building. By then all airports were shut down and I’d narrowly made it out of Hartsfield. It was an appalling moment and a bizarre intro to the States. I rang home to tell family I was safe. There was no traffic — the world seemed suspended. Overnight thousands of stars and stripes appeared on houses, offices, streetlights.

I bought an old Honda CB550 to go touring and to visit archives in NY, Princeton, and Austen, Texas. So I found myself in Manhattan staring at Ground Zero, dust in the air, two weeks later; and saw the Pentagon from a highway flyover, with a hole in one side like it had been torched by a torch welder. Over three months I rode 15 000km through 18 states, and read, saw, and heard many views, much perplexity, compassion, and anger. — Peter Merrington — Literary historian and novelist from Cape Town