The 9/11 Attacks: 102 Minutes of World Wide Shock

September, the 11th.

I don’t have to tell anyone about this day because everyone knows about it already. The single day that had stunned the world in a span of 102 minutes. Who would have though that the World Trade Centre – two beautiful buildings –wouldn’t be standing tall 102 minutes later?

Recently, Channel 4, in the UK did a set of documentaries on the disaster. One of them was phone calls that the trapped individuals inside the buildings made to their relatives outside and that show was packed with emotions of all kinds. Another one was compiled with video footage taken by those round the World Trade Centre and just watching that, I learned a lot about 9/11.

Starting from 8:46 am in the US and the buildings saying their final goodbyes at 10:28 am, I’m sure this will be a day that none of us who have seen it on the TV will ever forget. Although I was incredibly young and didn’t really understand much of it, I still remember my mum asking me to watch the TV instead of playing with my friends outside. There’s a tiny part of me that is thankful for watching such harrowing images on the TV because if I hadn’t seen it at such a young age, I wouldn’t have been able to reflect back. Even though other buildings were affected like the Pentagon, nothing sticks in your mind more than the WTC buildings collapsing. With 2604 dead and 24 still deemed missing, I now wonder the hell those people trapped inside went through.

After watching the documentaries on Channel 4, I realised that all those trapped inside the WTC had no chance of survival. They were doomed from the very moment the first plane hit the North Tower. A lot of people would have been killed straight away if they were in the plane and a large number would have been killed again if they were at the point of impact. The fire, the smoke and the soot would have all been contributing factors to choking them inside to the point where death was the only way. Those who jumped from the top would have been definitely died of shock on their drop down and would have faced certain death anyway. Finally, any debris and the collapse would have definitely ended their lives. After I realised that these people had no chance of a second opportunity to live their lives, I was filled with gratitude to my own life.

How cruel can man be that he thoughtlessly ends up to 3017 lives including their own by hijacking a plane and sending those innocents to their deaths? It fills me with sadness that people choose such painful ways to satiate their own needs to “serve” the country. Those involved in this disaster deserve the same fate their victims faced and nothing else can be said.

8 years on, I really don’t know what to say. I can only say that those who passed away will never be forgotten and their lives will be a tale I will tell my children and their children. I am filled with respect for those individuals who had to face this heart breaking loss and even 8 years on, I can imagine the sort of pain that might be echoing in their hearts and very honestly, I know that nothing will be able to take their pain out. All I can do is wish these people the best of luck and tell them that we will remember those victims for ever and those who created this vortex of sadness should certainly be punished for it.

My message to everyone is, let’s have a moment together to remember these people who suffered immense pain and give them all the strength in their world.