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#783 | Thursday, February 21st 2002
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I was sitting in last period History class when the first plane hit.
I had sat totally oblivious to the disaster in history and on the bus
home. When I got home I got a frantic phonecall from my friend Glenn,
who just told me to SWITCH THE TV ON NOW. I rushed to the TV and on Sky
news the words BREAKING NEWS: AMERICA UNDER ATTACK were plastered on the screen.
I frantically thought who. I quickly suspected Iraqis or Russia, but frankly doubted
the latter. Then... TERRORISTS! God! I must have sat there for ages like a lobotomised
man watching the reports from frantic people describing what happened. I wasn't there to
see one of the towers collapse, I hadn't got home on time.
The next few days were amazing. You could walk up to a friend and just say, "Its absolutely
horrible" and they'd know what you were on about. I remember the crowds in the Computer rooms
and library digging up piles of information on what had happened. It seemed like the world had
been hushed into silence. Everyone was talking about it, tributes left and right, and I welcomed
every one of them. I couldn't believe the trade centers were gone, because I had always taken them
for granted when we went there and took some great photos.
Thank you for giving people like me the oppertunity to say what happened to them on September the
11th. It's a great idea and I will link to your site. Thank you.
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Adam | 14 | United Kingdom
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#766 | Sunday, February 17th 2002
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I was in college when a tutor told us a plane had hit the WTC. At first I thought it was a single engine Cessna, then one of my class mates got a phone call telling him the WTC had been destroyed and they were evacuating the Pentagon. I left college that day and found a crowd of people in an electrical goods store, standing round a T.V. I remember turning away the first time I saw the second plane hit. I went home and watched Sky News for two days, praying they would find some survivors.
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Stephen | 21 | United Kingdom
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#742 | Friday, February 8th 2002
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I was sat in a history lesson. Well, actually, someone I know said before the lesson "A plane has been flown into the Twin Towers". I didnt believe him. When I got to the lesson, I found out it was true. We spent that lesson gathered round the computer, with the BBC online website up..all of us in shock, all of us scared beyond belief. The media coverage was so distressing, so horrendous, but it hit home in all of our hearts. The sight that will live with me forever is a picture, of the 1st tower, with people jumping out of it. Inevitable death, but they were so utterly terrified, that they were prepared to do anything to get away.
Forever in our hearts.
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Hannah | 17 | United Kingdom
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#741 | Friday, February 8th 2002
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I was at work when it happened. In a small shop, in a small town, listening to the radio. It was the afternoon here, and the news came on proclaiming "the world trade centre is ablaze". The seriousness hit me when I logged on to cnn.com and saw a picture of one of the towers on fire. The usual radio broadcast ceased. DJ's were silenced and just played music. I decided to close my shop and walk down the road to where there was a tv. By this time, one of the towers had collapsed. They kept on showing the replays. Myself and the few people around me, watched in shock as the events unfolded. We disbanded and I called my girlfriend to tell her what was happening. She didn't really seem to take it all in. I changed my radio station to hear live coverage. A few minutes later, the second tower collapsed. The radio boradcasters were almost in tears at the events. America, the "world leader" was being cut down by this unseen enemy. The pentagon was hit, a plane was on its way to washington. It was a war, but there were no guns. The weapon being used was terror. I went home that day with nothing else on my mind but the collapses, and I turned the tv on right away. I watched with my girlfriend as they replayed the day's events. I felt physically sick. I was on the verge of tears. Seeing the images brought the humanity of it all to me. People hanging, falling from windows. The unimaginable fear that must have gone through their mind when the first tower went. The terror of the passengers on the planes. And in all my sadness, anger. These people, just like me, were at work. Just an ordinary day. These were not soldiers, they were you and me. I later heard of stories from ground zero about the haunting ring of mobile phones in the rubble, and I was despaired at the desperation people must have been feeling. Rarely a day has passed since the event when I haven't thought about it somehow. The sad fact is, in my eyes, the terrorists have already won. The reason, I am scared. Scared of the future, scared what it will bring. As America goes boldly on its march of retribution, what will happen along the way? World War? It despairs me to think the world has not learned its lessons from decades passed. The millenium brought hope to many people. Gone was the century of war. Now comes fear and uncertainty. And all us ordinary people can do is hope, hope and pray that our leaders know what they are doing and the consequences of their actions. I listen to John Lennon's "imagine", and it has so much meaning for me. I wish to convey this message to all those victims, survivors, familys members, and friends of anyone who has been involved in these terrible events. You are now no longer ordinary people. You are all hero's. Your grief gives us compassion, your determination gives us hope. Your suffering has/is not in vain. May god be with you, our thoughts and prayers are.
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Richard | 20 | United Kingdom
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#716 | Saturday, February 2nd 2002
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I was watching Sky News here in the UK and was going to get myself a shower before leaving for work later in that afternoon.
It was about 2PM UK time, when the presenter Kay Burley started to say "And now from the World of Sport...." before fading out of that sentence and saying "We have initial reports in that a plane has crashed into the World Trade Centre" in NYC. The little Red and Blue box came up on the bottom of the screen, while she rambled on about what was happening. Then we finally got the pictures over here from the CNN footage.
I thought it was little more than an accident at first. That soon changed. It is probably the most horrible thing I have ever experienced while drinking a cup of tea, but actually seeing the second plane hit the other tower made me realise that this was the biggest occurance in my relatively short lifetime.
I realised that there was going to be hell to pay. I remember seeing George Bush's face in agony after he was told of the news. I remember having a cup with the NYC sky line which my parents had brought back from a holiday there.
I rang my friends and work colleagues to see if they knew what was going on. I panicked, because the city in which I live, Hereford, is home to the SAS camp. What if they attacked here like they attacked the Pentagon?
My emotions on that day were really in a bad state. Not being an American, I probably did not suffer as much, but as a citizen of the free world, I was suffering as much as anyone.
God bless America. The British people support you in your time of grief.
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Al | 21 | United Kingdom
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