By Maddie Miniats
NEW YORK, Sept. 11 -- Every New Yorker has a story to tell about the September 11th attacks. Some children starting their first day of school. Some were those students’ teachers. Some bravely drove the fire trucks and police trucks. Some watched from rooftops in awe. Some fell to the ground.
Meet Omar. A longtime resident of New York. He is sitting under the trees holding his white bunny. He explains that he cannot understand how people can walk past the memorial smoking cigarettes, taking pictures and selfies, and do not stop to think or to pray. “They have no heart,” he says. He does not think that the memorial does 9/11 justice. “Nothing does,” he says.
Meet Victor. A New Yorker originally from Israel. He is a janitor. On that day he watched the towers go down on his TV in Israel. He seems to be very passionate about that day and says that it is biblical - comparing it to Sodom and Gomorrah.
A volunteer approaches and asks Victor to leave. As Victor turns away and starts laughing, the volunteer worker by the name of Joshua says: “He might say something wrong, don’t listen to him, it’s against company policy.” Strange.
Meet Joshua. A volunteer worker and New Yorker from Bronx. He explains how the volunteer workers are like “little elves” keeping the memorial clean every night. At the time of attacks he worked for a roofing company and was receiving pictures through text messages from his friends. He seems to love this place but says not even the memorial does it justice. He is proud of his work.
Meet Bob. Worked as a firefighter. Now lives on Long Island. His entire company got killed in the attacks. He remembers driving over bodies to save people who still had a chance of living. As for many other children it was his kids’ first day of school. He comes down every year with his buddies to go to mass. He thinks everyone should come down here at least once in their life to see the memorial. He wants there to be more education about the attacks and improved healthcare. “You know we are forgotten. They originally didn’t want to put police officers and firemen on the memorial” he says.
Meet Justin. Young man from New York City. He is holding a camera and sitting alone. He was 5 years-old on September 11th. He happened to find himself in the school office and saw it on the TV. He didn’t think much of it until a lot of kids were being taken out of school. He says that it is amazing how people still come out on a Monday night to show their respect. He doesn’t want people to forget.
Meet Jackie. Former teacher from Brooklyn Heights. She was an administrator at a school at the time. Her eldest students and herself saw the alerts pop up on their screens in real time. She mentions that her husband was working on the 77th floor in the North Tower. He lived.
The night is soft. People bustle around. Some are crying alone, some are crying together, some are just standing gazing at the beams of light, some are taking pictures, some are laughing and crying. Some are from here and some are just New Yorkers walking through from work or the gym. Either way they came to see, they came to remember and take a moment out of their day to be in the moment of remembrance; to never forget.∙
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