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#1745 | Sunday, September 8th 2002
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On September 11, 2001 at the time of the attack, I was on my way to school, I was riding with my mom, and we had just dropped off my brother and sister at school. I first heard it on the radio, I thought it was a joke so we turned the radio station and every one of them said that a plane had hit the WTC in NYC. Then they said that 2 planes had crashed into it-thats when I knew that this was a terrorist act. When I got to school, i went into my class room and all the teachers had their TVs turned on and they were showing what happened, then "this just in"--a plane has crashed into the pentagon. I just put my head on my desk and prayed. Later they said that all the airplanes had been grounded and that another had crashed in Pennsylvania. Walking down the hall, very few people were talking, and if they were they were crying or in shock.
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Erin | 17 | Mississippi
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#1739 | Sunday, September 8th 2002
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Didn't I laugh when I read in an allstu about how the terrorists would never have done this if they had for a moment, put themselves in the shoes of their victims. What a hypocratic thing to say. And how many times have you put yourselves in the shoes of terror victims in the last few years? Now that the US has been hit again, everyone seems to be sitting up and talking about eradicating terrorism from the face of the earth. Listening to the bold and fanciful statements being made by the mayor of NY and various other VIP's including European politicians of the likes of Tony Blair about all free nations getting together to eradicate the menace of terrorism ( and all of you agreeing so heartily)made me wonder whether all of you have been living in another planet all this time. Where were these concerned leaders when Sri Lankans were getting hammered by the Tamil Tiger terrorists? Where were they when the Central Bank, our own World Trade Center, the Sacred Buddhist Temple of the Tooth etc. etc. were being attacked by the terrorists? When numerous bombs were used to kill many innocent people, when a bomb to assasinate our president left her with only one eye, when our presidents, ministers and other leaders were bieng bombed be these terrorists, when the Bandaranaike International Airport, our only international airport was being attacked and half the planes in our national carrier destroyed? Did you know that of the estimated 280 suicide terrorist attacks, more than two thirds have been in Sri Lanka? These so called leaders of the free world did not then talk about getting together to eradicate terrorism from this world. They issued travel advisories to their citizens about travelling to Sri Lanka and their " the people of the USA join me in expressing our heartfelt dismay and condolences at the tragic loss of life.....terrorism in any form should not be tolerated by any free nation..." and continued to assist the terrorists.
The Head Office of the Tiger terrorists was allowed to remain in London until June of this year. These brutal terrorists who introduced suicide bombers to the world were allowed to freely operate in many western countries. Canada could deem it necessary to pass legislature to ban terrorist fund raising only when NY and DC were attacked. Why? Is it because it is only terrorism against the white nations that is unacceptable or is it that in some way the whites of the world are more human than the blacks, browns and yellows?
Those who are so concerned about terrorism now are the same people who have refused to even allow us to purchase weapons legitimately to defend ourselved against these "freedom fighters" as you so lovingly dubbed them and forced our government to negotiate with shady arms dealers.
Why will these champions of the free world not help us destroy the murderous LTTE? Why can they not provide us with the weapons to destroy the tigers? Why cannot they train our soldiers? Why can't they, if they are genuingly concerned about eradicating terrorism help us in every way they can? Is it because eradicating terrorism to you means ensuring it just doesn't happen in your prosperous, developed nations?
The tigers are said to collect $30 million dollars annually in Canada alone. Are they not aware of this? Then why is it allowed to happen? Where are those Canadian politicians who attended the terrorist fundraisers just within the last year saying now?
Why is Anton Balasingham ( a head of the LTTE) banned only in about six nations and tolerated elsewhere? Are England and other white nations issuing travel advisories against visiting the US? Will they declare America a War Risk Zone as they did with Sri Lanka after the airport was attacked? What about war risk insurance premiums? Will they increase the insurance premium for flights and vessels going to America as they did with SL ( and crippling our tourism industry)? How about security audits at the airports?
Let us be honest. Let us accept that the developed world is only interested in anything if it has an adverse effect on them. Why do people have to come on TV and say "this isn't just an attack against America, it's an attack against the world"? Why does a terrorist attack become an attack against the world only when America is attacked? Aren't Sri Lankans part of this world? Of course those brown people living on some obscure island in the Indian Ocean (oh, so that's where it is) don't really count. I mean, surely, they're not real people with real lives. It's not like murdering AMERICANS.
Why did our people have to fight so hard to get America to ban the LTTE? Why are tigers still freely roaming about Canada, countries of the EU, Australia, Russia and Japan? Why are they banned , as far as I know only in SL, India, Malaysia, the US, and England. France has the audacity to ban just six of them, meaning that they are accepted as terrorists who go around killing innocent SL civilians but they're welcome in France as long as they're not six of the leaders. Why is it that Canada tries to stop terrorist fund raising only when the US is attacked? Wasn't it enough for them that countless bombs were killing Sri Lankans again and again? Do you know what we learned in school? To keep a pencil on our desks so that bomb tremors wouldn't take our tounges. Do you know what we'd do at boring assemblies to while away the time? We'd sit back and count the number of ceiling tiles still intact after the bomb blast. Do you know what we'd do when we heard the noise in the distance and saw the smoke rising and the birds flying away? We'd say, " oh, there's another bomb" and return to our conversation or work. Do you know what I did last year on september 11 th when I woke upto my room mate saying "yeah, I heard.....and the Pentagon?!" ? I thought , "another bomb" and turned around to go back to sleep until I remembered I wasn't in Sri Lanka anymore. Living in Sri Lanka we've learned to be woken up to be told our fathers, mothers had been caught in bomb blasts. We've learned to wave at soldiers in the rehabilitation center near our house, who would sit in their wheelchairs and stare at the road all day. We've learned to see crowds around the "Eye Hospital" in Colombo the days following a bomb blast. We've learned to laugh at Australia when they refused to send their cricket team to our country in case the terrorists bombed them. Even terrorists aren't stupid enough to bite off the hand that feeds them. Isn't it significant enough how the suicide bombers made sure that all the foriegn tourists got out of the airport before they attacked it?
So before you send off your hypocrite e mails and talk about terrorists putting themselves in other peoples shoes, take a minute to realise that all this could've been avoided long ago if all of you had ever deigned to accept people from other nations, 'the natives' or 'the locals' of the countries you so love to spend your vacations in ( if there hasn't been a bomb blasted just recently), as your equals.
i dont support blodshed , and i'm sorry for all the victims .
it's that september 11 th was not the 1st day people got bombed & shattered
& they lost loved ones !!!!!!!!
_________________________________________________________________
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Danushka | 17 | Sri Lanka
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#1737 | Saturday, September 7th 2002
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I woke up thinking it was any other morning. Every morning I turn on this local morning show. But this time, this Tuesday morning, the show wasn't on. The first picture I saw was the Twin Towers burning. I thought it was some freak accident. Then I heard them say it was two seperate planes. There then was a new flash.. The Pentagon was attacked. I was terrified. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Things like this don't happen in America. I didn't know if it was a bomb or a plane. I thought, "Oh my god, what is going to explode next." Living in Sacramento, I felt like a viable target. What about the Capitol Building? I went out to our living room and sat down with my family. That's when the first building collapsed. My sister began to cry and I began to cry, as I am now thinking about it. I went to school, but I really didn't want to. When I got there one teacher had a TV on and that's where I watched the second tower tumble to the ground. The bell rang at school and I walked throught the campus dazed. I couldn't believe it. I had been to NY a few years before and the only things I remember are the beautiful skyline which is now completely changed and how massive those buildings are when you stand at the base of them. They are, were, huge. I couldn't help but think, and I'm sure I was right, that New York city would never be quite the same. I called my mom after first period and cried some more. I felt silly about it then, crying at school but now, I almost think I didn't cry enough. What angered me was the kids at my school seemed oblivious to it all, except for a small few. I was so angry. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IS HAPPENING?" I went to golf practice after school but it was quickly abandoned as the team went into the pro shop to watch the TV. I watched way too much TV that day. As if watching it once wasn't bad enough. I must have seen the second plane hit the tower 50 times by the end of the day, and watched them fall one hundred times. Now, one year later I still am in shock. With the anniversary four days away, I am a wreck. I've had two nightmares about it in the past four days, and I wasn't even there. I don't know how I'm going to get through next Wednesday, but I will be wearing my ribbon, and I plan on going in and donating blood. I wish every one well and extend my deepest sympathies to those who lost loved ones in the attack on our nation. But I must say, I have never been more proud to be an American!!!
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Brandy | 17 | California
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#1734 | Saturday, September 7th 2002
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I was in IRC (Internet Relay Chat) at the time of the WTC event. It was 11pm in Australia, and I was just getting comfy that tuesday night, as a friend from the chat told us the World Trade Centre had been attacked. I automatically thought "no way, not true". As it sank in, I began to believe and told my brother to turn on the TV. He had the same reaction as I did, and so did my mother and father. We finally turned on the TV and saw it. Here is the transcript of the chat which I logged and backed up on a CD (I won't censor out the swearing because it gives a better impression of what we felt, you may edit it though if it offends people):
[23:00] [@Nebz> shit
[23:00] * PanicC crashes off the pootah chair
[23:00] [@Nebz> a plane crashed into the world trade centre!
[23:00] [@Reapz> again?
[23:00] [@PanicC> lol
[23:00] [@Reapz> or are you serious?
[23:00] [@PanicC> geex
[23:01] [@PanicC> ITS ON MY TV!!!!!!!!!!!!1
[23:01] [@Reapz> no, you guys serious?
[23:01] [@PanicC> yes
[23:01] [@Reapz> No, i want actual truth
[23:01] [@PanicC> i swaer to god
[23:01] [@Reapz> you serious
[23:01] [@PanicC> cross my heart
[23:02] [@PanicC> FUCKING HELL REAPZY
[23:02] [@PanicC> YESSSS
[23:02] [@PanicC> no shit
[23:02] [@PanicC> on cnn
[23:02] [@Nebz> its true
[23:02] [@Reapz> where are ypou seeing this?
[23:02] [@Nebz> one tower is on fire
[23:02] [@PanicC> breaking news
[23:02] [@PanicC> yep
[23:02] [@PanicC> cahnnel 7 then..
[23:02] [@PanicC> but is over
[23:02] [@PanicC> check others
[23:02] [@Nebz> chan 10 for me like 10 seconds ago
[23:03] [@PanicC> sorry 10
[23:03] [@Reapz> ok
[23:03] [@PanicC> mmm 10
[23:03] [@Reapz> my brother says he reckons its bullshit
[23:03] [@PanicC> good ole sandra sully
[23:03] [@Reapz> haha
[23:03] [@Reapz> you guys were b/sin me
[23:03] [@PanicC> drat? tell him to check papers tommorrow
[23:03] [@Reapz> arseholes
[23:04] [@Reapz> nice try anyways
[23:04] [@PanicC> no
[23:04] [@Nebz> fucking dickhed
[23:04] [@Reapz> can i make topic bot it?
[23:04] [@Nebz> it's true
[23:04] [@Nebz> film too
[23:04] [@PanicC> er, were not
[23:04] [@PanicC> its true
[23:04] [@Reapz> ok... FALL WE ARE GONNA DIE
[23:04] [@Fall> why?
[23:04] [@Reapz> DIE
[23:04] [@Reapz> TRADE CENTER
[23:04] [@PanicC> do ya want me too or u?
[23:04] [@Reapz> i will
[23:05] [@Fall> huh?
[23:05] [@PanicC> THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE
[23:05] [@PanicC> IS BURNING
[23:05] [@PanicC> AFTER A PLANE
[23:05] [@Fall> what about em?
[23:05] [@PanicC> CRASHED
[23:05] [@PanicC> INTO IT
[23:05] [@Nebz> FUCK
[23:05] [@Nebz> REAPZ
[23:05] [@Nebz> CHAN 10!
[23:05] [@Nebz> NOW
[23:05] [@Fall> where'd you hear this?
[23:05] [@PanicC> NOWWWW
[23:05] [@Nebz> A SECOND PLANE HIT TOWER
[23:05] [@Reapz> hahah
[23:06] [@PanicC> DO IT
[23:06] [@Reapz> you guys suck shite
[23:06] [@Fall> i'm on?
[23:06] [@PanicC> FALL- U TOO
[23:06] [@PanicC> y
[23:06] [@Reapz> shit
[23:06] [@Nebz> lol
[23:06] [@Nebz> HOLY CRAP
[23:06] [@Nebz> DID U SEE THAT!?
[23:06] [@PanicC> clip news
[23:06] [@Reapz> FUCK ME
[23:07] [@PanicC> like cats game
[23:07] [@Fall> i'm going to watch cnn!!
[23:07] [@PanicC> exept crash
[23:08] [@PanicC> fuuuuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkkkkk
[23:08] [@PanicC> woah
[23:08] [@PanicC> serious shit dudes
[23:08] [@PanicC> jeez
[23:08] [@Reapz> this is fucked
[23:08] [@PanicC> mmm
[23:08] [@PanicC> god
[23:09] [@PanicC> oh sweet heck
[23:09] * PanicC is panicked
[23:09] [@PanicC> lol
[23:09] [@PanicC> cool but horrific
[23:09] [@PanicC> ahhhh
[23:10] [@PanicC> :O
[23:10] [@PanicC> they say it is deliberate
[23:10] [@Reapz> fuck
[23:10] [@Reapz> i hope so
[23:11] [@Reapz> cos i wanna be in New York right now
[23:11] [@PanicC> so who will post?
[23:11] [@Reapz> i already did
[23:11] [@PanicC> oh
[23:11] [@PanicC> u did
[23:11] [@PanicC> cool
[23:11] [@Reapz> yah
[23:11] [@Reapz> world trade centres
[23:14] [@Reapz> dude
[23:14] [@Reapz> you gotta think of it from my view
[23:14] [@Reapz> you just told me that
[23:14] [@Reapz> seems a bit weird
[23:14] [@Nebz> ok
[23:15] [@Nebz> but
[23:15] [@Nebz> LMAO
[23:15] [@Reapz> But seriously
[23:15] [@Nebz> lmao
[23:15] [@Reapz> I dont care
[23:15] [@PanicC> *********
[23:15] [@Reapz> so i went with it
[23:15] [@PanicC> speechless
[23:15] [@Reapz> i shit you not, i thought you's were b/sin
[23:15] [@PanicC> honestly speechless
[23:16] [@Reapz> fuck me
[23:16] *** Reapz changes topic to: 'I SHIT YOU NOT, THE WORLD TRADE CENTER... WENT BOOM'
[23:16] [@Fall> un be flamin leavable
[23:17] [@PanicC> urrr *shakes* urrrr
[23:17] [@PanicC> h-h-help
[23:17] [@Fall> it's on every cable news channel there is
[23:17] [@Reapz> i know Fall
[23:17] [@Reapz> its everywhere
[23:17] [@PanicC> how is this happening
[23:17] [@Reapz> it had to be terrorists.. this could NOT have been an accident
[23:17] [@Fall> bushy's been told
[23:17] [@Reapz> ermmmm
[23:17] [@Reapz> terrorists
[23:17] [@Fall> it's freakin terrorism
[23:17] [@Reapz> yep
[23:17] [@Reapz> im makin a poll
[23:17] [@Nebz> they think terrorists
[23:17] [@PanicC> ITS LIKE A MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!
[23:18] [@PanicC> DREAM
[23:18] [@Reapz> cool
[23:18] [@PanicC> DREAM
[23:18] [@Reapz> HEADSPIN
[23:18] [@PanicC> DREAM
[23:18] [@PanicC> TOTAL HEADSPIN
[23:18] [@PanicC> I am honestly wondering if tommorrow i will wake from this abyss of fantasy
[23:18] [@PanicC> ^^^^ no crap
[23:19] [Gummy> holy crap
[23:19] [Gummy> 'possible' foul play?!
[23:19] [@Reapz> YOU HEARD???
[23:19] [Gummy> they said the first plane turned
[23:19] [Gummy> it's like a movie!!
[23:20] [Fall> finally
[23:21] [Fall> i wonder if those planes had occupants...more than the pilot (sarcasm)
[23:21] [@crazycrap> cos my nick is what this news is
[23:21] [@crazycrap> wow
[23:22] [Fall> www.cnn.com
[23:22] [@crazycrap> THE MOTHERFUCKING BULIDING IS E-X-P-L-O-D-I-N-G
[23:22] [@Reapz> ok im going guys
[23:22] [@crazycrap> thx
[23:22] [@Reapz> im going to film this in america
[23:22] [@Reapz> Ciao
[23:22] *** Disconnected
Session Close: Tue Sep 11 23:23:18 2001
It shows how I couldn't believe what was happening, and I remember the night so vividly. The next day I wasn't at school, but I did stay up late just to watch it.
- Reapz
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Heath | 17 | Australia
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#1711 | Saturday, September 7th 2002
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my 9/11 had started really early. i had to wake up at 4am and drive with my stepdad to his workplace that was maybe 50 miles away. i came home and got ready to go to school and because i had a car i left the house at about 7:15 ct. i had to buy a parking sticker for my car or it would be towed away but i for some reason found it hard to put the sticker on the car so i was worried about my car. well around 8 i was talking to my friends when another friend of mine said "hey did you guys know that two planes just flew into the world trade center in new york?" i didnt even know what the wtc was. about 4 of us went and found a tv in the teacher's room and saw what happened. it was a sight. for some reason i thought that that was it. we were going to go about our day. when we went to our first class(U.S. history!) my teacher left the tv on for a bit and then he shut it off so we could get with the planned day. about a half and hour later he turned the tv on again so we could watch a movie and the news said that one of the towers had collapsed. that was unbelievable. just then the second one fell. i had this incredible urge to throw up and cry. it was all just amazing to us. then we went to our next class and i heard that the pentagon had been hit and we were at war and another plane was headed to the whitehouse. in choir we were planning on taking a trip to new york in the spring and we had been raising money for it. it all went down the drain. by next class the teachers were not allowed to keep the televisions on because the school corporation thought that we would be traumatized or something. this outraged a lot of us. during lunch we watched tv. when the bell rang at the end of the day i raced home and turned on the tv. total chaos. it looked like a war zone. mom came home and said that we had to go and pick up my stepdad. all the way there we listened to the radio. towards the end of school there were rumors that gas prices were going to go up and people were fighting over the gas. on the drive with my mom i just stared at the sunset. the most incredible sunset. i was so afraid of what was going to happen. i went out later that night to get newspapers and there were hardly any but while i was out the president came over the radio. i pulled over in a parking lot and listened. i didnt actually cry until late that evening. it all just hit me. the next day at school you can tell that people were just so tired. everything was more silent and people began to realize the importance of things. september 11 was the longest day in our lives.
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natasha | 17 | Indiana
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