Nine years ago today, I was preparing to embark on one of the biggest adventures of my life. In a week's time, I would be starting university, the first person in my immediate family to do so, and I was simultaneously excited and terrified by the prospect. Enjoying my last week of freedom before I had to knuckle down and become 'a university student', I was also glad to still be at home because my mum was recovering from an operation on her neck and although she was well on the road to recovery, it was good to be able to keep an eye on her. We had spent the morning watching trashy TV, gossiping and discussing my upcoming student-ness. That was when the BBC announcer advised that they were going to the newsroom for a special report. We rolled our eyes, laughed about "what the hell has happened now?" and waited. And then didn't move for the rest of the afternoon.
We sat and watched in horror as the cameras focused on the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, smoke billowing from its heights. A tragic accident, we surmised, as did most people caught up in the news story. And then...well, we all know what happens next.
On the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, the sight of the second plane ploughing into the South Tower of the WTC has lost none of its impact or ability to shock. The iconic images of that day and the associated feelings that they conjure up, even after all this time, can never and should never be underestimated. Many people I know roll their eyes when people say 9/11 changed the world, dubbing it a product of media overraction; of American grandiosity and self-justifaction, but the truth is that the events of that day did change the world: it changed America; it changed the Islamic world and it changed, overtly or not, every other nation. It led America, Britain and other allied nations into the wars in Afghanistan and, subsequently, in Iraq. It changed the way we travel by plane. It made a previously unheard-of Saudi man the most wanted man in the world and it tested politicians, military personnel and civilians to the limits. Nothing like this could have been foreseen; no plan could ever have been laid down for what to do in this situation and yet ordinary people somehow, someway found the strength and resiliance to get through and to help others. Men and women who previously had been office workers, flight attendents, former military personnel; people who were husbands and wives, parents, brothers, sisters...they found the courage to cope with this extraordinary set of circumstances and, in many cases, to perform unthinkable acts of bravery.
9/11 changed the world as we know it but, nine years on, can we really say that we've learnt anything from it. The recent furore over the Florida preacher threating to burn the Qur'an today, the ongoing struggles in Afghanistan and Iraq to this day, the rise of Islamophobia and fundamentalism of all kinds...there were lessons to be learnt and I wonder whether people really have. Hatred and intolerance seem to be on the increase, and it's those attitudes that increase the likelihood of another attack somewhere in the world.
Hatred begets hatred. Intolerance begets intolerance. Discrimination begets discrimination. We need to learn the lessons that 9/11 and 7/7 taught us and rise above these things, to work together to overcome the evils of this world and do what we can to make it a safer place for the generations to come.
We sat and watched in horror as the cameras focused on the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, smoke billowing from its heights. A tragic accident, we surmised, as did most people caught up in the news story. And then...well, we all know what happens next.
On the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, the sight of the second plane ploughing into the South Tower of the WTC has lost none of its impact or ability to shock. The iconic images of that day and the associated feelings that they conjure up, even after all this time, can never and should never be underestimated. Many people I know roll their eyes when people say 9/11 changed the world, dubbing it a product of media overraction; of American grandiosity and self-justifaction, but the truth is that the events of that day did change the world: it changed America; it changed the Islamic world and it changed, overtly or not, every other nation. It led America, Britain and other allied nations into the wars in Afghanistan and, subsequently, in Iraq. It changed the way we travel by plane. It made a previously unheard-of Saudi man the most wanted man in the world and it tested politicians, military personnel and civilians to the limits. Nothing like this could have been foreseen; no plan could ever have been laid down for what to do in this situation and yet ordinary people somehow, someway found the strength and resiliance to get through and to help others. Men and women who previously had been office workers, flight attendents, former military personnel; people who were husbands and wives, parents, brothers, sisters...they found the courage to cope with this extraordinary set of circumstances and, in many cases, to perform unthinkable acts of bravery.
9/11 changed the world as we know it but, nine years on, can we really say that we've learnt anything from it. The recent furore over the Florida preacher threating to burn the Qur'an today, the ongoing struggles in Afghanistan and Iraq to this day, the rise of Islamophobia and fundamentalism of all kinds...there were lessons to be learnt and I wonder whether people really have. Hatred and intolerance seem to be on the increase, and it's those attitudes that increase the likelihood of another attack somewhere in the world.
Hatred begets hatred. Intolerance begets intolerance. Discrimination begets discrimination. We need to learn the lessons that 9/11 and 7/7 taught us and rise above these things, to work together to overcome the evils of this world and do what we can to make it a safer place for the generations to come.
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