‘Nine Eleven’ the day that shook the world
By William Smith
Ten years have flown by since that terrible day of 11th September 2001. It is a day that will never be forgotten, nor should it be.
It is one of those days that we can remember exactly what we were doing and where we were when the news hit us – ‘a plane has flown into one of the Twin Towers’. I can remember that day clearly, I worked in a business centre with a central cafe for staff and visitors. The guys in the cafe were always playing jokes with everyone, me included. I had had a busier than usual morning and I wandered down to the restaurant late for lunch.
One of the cooks said ‘Have you heard about the plane in New York?’
‘No, what’s happened?’ I replied.
‘It flew straight into one of the Twin Towers’ he said.
‘Oh yeah, so what is the punch line?’ was my immediate response.
They had the television on in the cafe and I turned to watch in total disbelief. A room full of people all gazed in shock as the pictures jumped out of the screen and into our heads and our hearts, hitting our emotions until they felt raw.
I left work early and spent the rest of the day glued to my television set as I tried to make sense of what was unfolding. Some of the images of that day are etched in my mind forever. Each one of us will have our own particular memories of that day but it is safe to say that the whole world was touched the day of nine eleven.
Although ten years have passed the emotions engendered on that day are still with us - feelings of shock, vulnerability, distress, disgust, disbelief and sorrow – to name just a handful. Time does not seem to have fully healed the scars of the biggest act of terrorism in the history of the world.
I speak as someone who was not directly affected by the tragedies of that day and yet I was indirectly deeply affected as were so many others.
As a mark of respect for this anniversary our televisions have been alive with documentaries about nine eleven which I hope has not served to re-open sore wounds. The devastating effect that this event had on the physical and mental health of people across the world is immeasurable.
Today let us pause and remember those directly touched by the horrors of nine eleven. Those who died, those who survived and those left bereaved. Remember also those left injured and sick and those who have developed poor mental health in the wake of the trauma. Today will be painful for them all. Our hearts and thoughts are with them all.
