International   

A day that changed America

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

New York Sept. 11. On a clear morning this day a year ago, terrorist hijackers crashed commercial jets into the World Trade Centre, a horrific and gruesome act that changed the face of not only America but the world as well.

The events of that day are still clear in the mind. For someone who had come to New York two days earlier on a routine assignment to the United Nations, the day literally started with a jolt — my wife called to ask if I had heard that a "small" plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I turned on the TV only then to watch the horror unfold. And several minutes later, the walk towards the WTC was thwarted — law enforcement authorities were turning back people and my first impression was that the city was not going to be same. Telephones were not working. The lobby of the Manhattan hotel where I was staying was packed with people who had nowhere else to go and nothing else to see but the giant television screen showing the horrifying images in not only New York but the crash at the Pentagon and the coming down of another commercial jet at Shanksville, Pennsylvania. With smoke billowing from the twin towers, a city that hardly goes to sleep showed signs of quiet from early evening on.

Coming to New York this September 10 from Washington was not much of an experience except that everyone was aware that 9/11 was around the corner. And with it the apprehension of another round of attacks, this time by terrorists who may not only want to "celebrate" but settle scores for a number of reasons. "Why is the media calling it an anniversary,'' asked a cab driver on his way from La Guardia. "It is not as if something good happened. It was a tragedy," making the point that this September 11 should be an "observance" of a terrible thing that happened. In many ways, the cab driver did make a lot of sense. One thing is for sure — America will never ever be the same again. Save for a few rednecks, the vast majority of Americans did not go around the country "bashing" up people of foreign descent. Americans, for the most part, continue to believe that those 19 terrorist hijackers do not represent the foreign community by any stretch of imagination.

Still, there is an element of apprehension, which is visible, especially while travelling. And it is quite understandable, even if it is irritating at times. One year later in New York, the city appears to be back in business but the pain will never go away.

Officials are still counting exactly how many died in the attack on the twin towers. Close to a 3,000 died on September 11 in New York, Washington and Shanksville and they are said to have come from 36 different nations, including between 200 and 220 persons of Indian origin.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Terrorist attacks likely, says U.S.
• The war will continue: Bush
• A day that changed America
• Britain remembers victims
• Primakov favours talks with Chechnya rebels
• A Musharraf surprise
• Pak. condemns attack
• Arafat schedules polls for Jan. 20
• U.S. closes embassy in Jakarta
• 'Do not link terror attacks, Iraq'
• U.S. drops move to invite Pak.
• The focus is on Iraq at U.N. session
• U.K. slams assassination

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu