Remembering 9/11

September 11, 2001. For most, this day brings horrible memories; memories of things people thought would never happen, of death, of a city covered in debris, and a skyline, changed from its former glory.

The 9/11 attack consisted of four planes and nineteen terrorists. Muhammad Ata al Sayyid was a terrorist who was involved. He is believed to have been the pilot of American Airlines 311, the plane that crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was accompanied by Satam Suqami, Waleed, Alshehri, Wail Alshehri, and Abdulaziz Alomari. On American Airlines #77, Khalid Almirhdar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhazmi, Salem Alhazmi, and Hani Hanjour took control of the plane and crashed it into the Pentagon. United Airlines #175 was overtaken by Marwan Al-Shehhi, Fayez Rashid, Ahmed Alghami, Hamza Alghamdi, and Mohand Alsheri. This plane was crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. United Airlines #93, which crashed into Stony Creek Township, was controlled by Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmad Alghami, Hamza Alghamdi, and Mohand Alsheri. They were fighting for what they believed and wanted to be remembered dying for their cause. However, they are not the only ones who remember.

Many people were devastated on September 11th. If the loss of family members was not enough, the thought of more attacks were always in the back of their minds. Kids in school all over the country, ignorant of what had happened, became afraid to see the adults and teachers bowing their heads and crying. Parents watched the news and children cried, knowing that their family members enlisted in the military would soon be leaving to fight in the newly declared war.

Students today still remember the events that happened on that dreadful day. Francesca Harrington, a junior at Kaplan High School, says she remembers the day perfectly. “I was terrified and I remember my teacher telling us not to be scared. I was only in the first grade and I thought that the next place there were going to attack was to be Louisiana.” Francesca said that even though she did not understand exactly what was going to happen, she was still pretty scared. Kayla Gaspard, senior at Kaplan High also remembers the day the Twin Towers came down. She said, “I was at school and the teachers were trying not to freak the kids out.” Kayla also stated that when she got home, her mother cried for all those people who lost their lives in the Twin Towers.

September 11, 2001 did not just affect kids, that day also affected adults in many ways. Many adults remember the terrifying events that took place on that day. Bernadette Suire says she remembers this day perfectly. She also said that she watched the news and saw the towers come down. She also says that she feels horrible for all the people who lost their lives. Mrs. Suire is also grateful for all of our soldiers that are currently fighting for our safety today.

As for the people who were affected by September 11 personally, it is pointless to say that they suffered the worst. The day completely changed everything about them, whether they lost a husband or wife, sister or brother, parent or child, something in them was broken and they had to fix things to keep moving on for their kids. People might assume that they are not doing well but for the most part that is not the case. They are surviving, putting more effort than ever into what they believe in.

One example of this would be Ed Fine. Ed Fine was a business man working at the New York based Intercapital Planning Corp. On September 11, he was waiting for the elevator on the 78th floor of the North Tower. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit the building, he thought a bomb had gone off, so he and some of the other employees went to the emergency stairs and started the long trek down. They were walking away from the buildings when the South Tower fell. Today Mr. Fine is living in suburban Watchung, NJ with his wife. He was last working at Carpe DM, an investment consulting firm and SEPA Capital Group. He also collaborates with United Medical Solutions. He knows he is lucky to be alive today.

Another incredible story of strength is that of Alice Hoagland. She is the mother of Mark Bingham, one of the courageous passengers who led the revolt on United Airlines Flight 93. This resulted in the plane crashing into an empty field, only killing the people on the plane. Mrs. Hoagland, retired United Airlines flight attendant, is very proud of everyone who was on that plane. In honor of her son’s memory, she is a spokesperson for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community and she avidly supports rugby (Mark was a gay rugby player).

Most people agree that they felt a loss of security when the planes were hijacked. It was not just America losing it, people felt that they had invaded something that many viewed untouchable that it shook the entire world to its core. Something people do not know about the effect it had on Arab Americans. The Arab American Association of New York was founded in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, when Arab Americans were facing a lot of discrimination and victimization. This is what the director of the Arab American Association, Linda Sarsour, says they are fighting against. She says, “We just want to live. We are Americans. I shouldn’t have to tell anyone that.”

After the incident of the World Trade Centers, the United States national government decided to improve its security. One change in our national security is the enactment of the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act allows the national government to tap into phone lines without the use of a warrant. In doing so, the government can react quickly to a terrorist threat and immediately intercept communications without waiting for permission. Other issues of concern have been addressed through the increase of security staff at airports, as well as the increased frequency of random searches. This can help in keeping terrorists off of airplanes, and in possibly preventing another Twin Towers event from happening again.

While these improvements to our national security have helped, there are still ways around them. The government could tap into phone lines, but the suspected terrorist and the other person on the other side of the phone line could be speaking in a unique code, or they could already know that their phone lines are tapped. Also, increasing security at airports does prevent many threats, but it is still possible that it will not prevent all threats. With the War on Terrorism still raging, many people are still concerned about another attack, even after the death of Bin Ladden.

While searching through Bin Ladden’s belongings, other war tactics were found. Bin Ladden’s newest idea was to use small, private jet planes instead of huge, commercial airplanes. While crashing a smaller plane would not be as devastation as a commercial plane, these small planes may be armed with poisonous or nuclear containers, so that when they would crash the planes, the after affect would be more devastating than a commercial plane crashing. Also, with these new plans, instead of crashing plane after plane, terrorists can arm their planes with bombs, allowing each plane to be used multiple times. With this new revelation, the United States government has shifted their priority into preventing Bin Ladden’s followers from using these newly discovered tactics.

Whether you lost a family member, a friend, or an important part of the New York skyline, everyone was personally affected by September 11, 2001. Your sense of security was destroyed and every time you are in an airport, the tightened security reminds you of everything that was lost that day. You remember the lives that the terrorists took, and the lives that have been lost in Afghanistan. We fight by never forgetting that people were just trying to do their job or were going to see their family in another state, but were stopped because a group of people chose to take their lives.