Well it wasn’t really morning time in Malaysia. The time difference between Kuala Lumpur and New York is about 12 hours. On that dark day, my family was having a small birthday party for my elder brother. Yes, you read that right. My elder brother’s birthday is on September the 11th. At the time my aunt and eldest brother were down from the US spending their holidays with us in Malaysia. We blew the candles and settled down to have a laughter filled conversation. After we got done eating the cake, I decided to turn on the TV. At that moment the first tower was already on flames. My first reaction was “oh my God this is so cool.” I yelled to my brother “yo big bro, come and check out this cool movie!” He came running and was like “hey isn’t this Schwarzenegger’s new movie?” At that moment it dawned on both of us. The channel my brother and I were watching wasn’t HBO. It was CNN!! We simply watched in disbelief. Slowly the living room crowded up again and everyone stood brainstruck. Then my mom screamed “oh no another one” and at that moment the second plane hit. Dead silence! The question that was on everyone’s mind was “who is doing this?” We somehow knew the answer. My mom in a sad and heavy tone said one word. “Them” My little sister asked “who’s them?” and my eldest brother replied “the bloody freaking extremists!” The worst part then happened. The two towers started collapsing and the whole living room cried out loud. In a moment the towers disappeared. Dead silence again. My father’s face immediately turned gloomy. He said four words that I will remember to this day. “This is very bad.” He then got up and left. He had enough. The phone suddenly rang. It was my grandfather calling from Sudan wanting to make sure that my aunt who was supposed to leave back to the US in two days via transit in New York stayed in Malaysia. He was worried about her and my eldest brother and didn’t want them to go back. They both talked to my grandfather and calmed him down. My aunt hung up and we all sat quitely wondering in disbelief. My little sister then dropped the innocent question. “Mommy, is WW3 going to start?” Next day in school, the same question was being repeated on many lips. Five years later, wars are waging. How many more years are there left and is the worst still yet to come?
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
It isn’t WW3, it is more like Cold War II. it is going to be a long, protracted, messy conflict.
Heh. I was in rehab at the time after having suffered a nervous breakdown in the army. I was sitting on my porch in the Kibbutz, petting the cat that lived with me and enjoying a quiet smoke when a fried told me that some bad shit went down in the USA.
My first thought was “OK, how long until the nukes fly?”
My second thought was “Damn, my cousin works there!”
It was also a refreshing perspective, to see someone else’s country suffering from a suicide bombing.
Oh… and it’s going to be WW3 as soon as Ahmed the Mad gets his nukes (hey, he says he will and he says it will be. I don’t think he’s lying).
I remember that day, I was in Malaysia too. But it didn’t seem real to me until i came here (NY). I remember a certain friend of ours decided to dress up as Osama Bin Laden post 9-11 and everyone seemed to be rejoicing in his humor. Granted, I know he didn’t mean anything by it..he was just being silly. But the magnitude of the attack just seems more real once you’ve crossed the western hemisphere.
.pinktoes,
At work. Not being able to work anymore after I heard about it over the radio. So I went home and felt like I was watching a science fiction movie. It didn’t really get through to me, although I watched those airplanes flying into those buildings time after time after….
Raccoon, that was a very not nice thing to say
I don’t see anything “refreshing” in other countries suffering from terror attacks. The price they pay for “knowing” is waaaayyyy too high.
Tse.
At school, it was still early in the morn for those of us in the US, but not on the Eastern seaboard.
I was about to head to work when the second plane struck. Needless to say, no work was done that day.
One of the guys I lived and worked with lost his father that morning.
Sept 11 is my parents’ wedding anniversary… I think we’ were the only ones out celebrating on that day… and every year after…
and I never thought the Osama dressup was funny.. I know it was meant to be a joke, but I never found the humour in it…
I remember my church had a massive service cos at that time there were loads of Americans in my church, and hundreds of people attended that Sunday.
At the time it all felt so surreal coz we hadn’t seen the impact of the attack ourselves, apart from on the tv. The only people who were really distraught/affected were those who had friends or family who had been killed.
and I still remember how some people didn’t care and you could find Osama t-shirts an all that kind of stuff around. Disgusting.
Incase you were wondering people, Aimster, Pinktoes and I used to study at the same school. Anyways, get ready Pinktoes. It’s only a matter of days and I’ll be chilling and walking the streets of New York City with you. God I love blogging. A Sudanese, a Chinese Irish, a Malay, 2 Israelis, a Jamaican and an American all dropping comments on one post. I swear I would probably die without the internet. Add music to that too. September 11th anniversaries are kinda weird for my family. My brother always complains “why the hell did that shithead have to do it on my birthday?” God bless Bush for shit-smacking the Taliban but I feel like spanking him for the mess in Iraq which by the way seems to be improving a little. And ya sorry about the comments verification thingy. People started spamming.
By the way, the guy who dressed up like Osama in our school make up competition was Iranian. LOL
And Aimster “I think we’ were the only ones out celebrating on that day”… We were celebrating my brother’s birthday too. I guess 9/11 will always be weird for your parents and my brother now.
drima,
I was on vacation in Vegas at the time. I wasn’t surprised at all that it happened. Bin Laden declared in 1998 his desire to create the worldwide caliphate. Few people took him seriously. I was one of the few.
Regarding the blogging thing, I was only just today contemplating that. You are right–it is quite amazing to be able to communicate so effectively with strangers all around the world. Gaining insights into different cultures and beliefs maybe the only thing that ultimately will redem mankind. One can hope anyway.
I was at home, in Argentina. I don’t know why I didn’t go to work, maybe I had a fever, I don’t remember. My father, my mother and my brother were home too. Suddenly my brother enters my room and wakes me up telling me that something happened in the US. We put CNN and we watched the second plane fly through the tower live. I remember that I covered myself with the sheet in my parents bed. I was completely sick to my stomach in a way that I never was before.
I simply didn’t know who was responsible. I thought first that the Russians or a far-right group (like in Kaos and Control of Maxwell Smart). And I thought that that was just the beginning, and more planes would fall later.
I was completely shocked. I had the experience of watching too many Palestinians suicide attacks in Israel to recognize evil when I saw it. Then I went to the university and an ex-friend (non muslim, nor Arab) told me that she rejoiced and clapped hands when she knew about the attacks. And I remember that that was my second shock. Latin american anti-americanism 100% pure.
Then I knew that some people simply think too different from me to ever overcome the differences.
I will add some comments later.
Greetings from Ireland!
Tsedek -
You are, of course, quite right in saying that the price countries pay for experiencing terrorist attacks is by far too high.
And yet, apart from the horror of it, the political and social implications of 9/11 are fascinating. It was inevitable, of course - there were too many attempts at something like this and not enough understanding. Humans are very interesting creatures, and their reactions to adversity are especially intriguing.
We seem to live in very interesting times.
Sept 11th was a bad day for all of us around the world, esp Muslims who’s faith got labeled based on the acts of a few ignorants.
Fabián,
What I can’t seem to understand is how you can identify the ‘evil’ as Palestinian? What comments do you have on the Israeli attack on the beach in Gaza? Pure self defence and not evil at all? Maybe when you open your eyes you will be able to see how this ‘evil’ is born and why it’s carried out. Evil comes in many colors and shades… but justice only comes in one or so we are meant to believe…
a vistor from shamarat
Euhhhh *blush-blush-blush-emoticon here* Where is shamarat?
Visitor of shamarat, do you know WHY tbe Palestinian beach is shelled? Don’t you think that if you know WHY, the cause of such actions could be taken away and such actions won’t be necessary anymore?
Ever heard of Sderot? Today a the sixhundred-something-th qassam fell into a school….
Guess what came first, the qassam firings into Israel of the shelling of beaches from where those qassam are fired from?
Tse.
So what you are trying to tell me is those innocent people that got slaughtered on the beach where firing rockets into Israel? Come on, please don’t insult my intelligence. And what is worse not only are you denying this but your Army denied that it was their shells but maybe some mines planted by militants… come on spare us the B.S…
It’s alright for Israel to practice state sponsored Terrorism, but when Palestinians respond they are terrorist and militants… kinda brings on a flashback of the ‘civilized world’ (Apartheid) against the militants and terrorist (i.e Nelson Mandela) of South Africa… as quoted by the 1st president Bush.
Not all the acts of Palestinians freedom fighters are merited, but what do you expect of a nation deprived of it’s land, it’s youth imprisoned, it’s fathers slaughtered, it’s pride raped and strapped of the legitimate means to fight back? Stones can not dismantle tanks or oppersive walls built to grab more land…
P.S
shamarat is a Sudanese youth website…
Tse, please also comment on the following article…
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/67957064-61E4-4170-BE21-C95DD33896F9.htm
Shamarat person -
Uhm. It was proven beyond any doubt that it was NOT an IDF shell. See the response thread below (”The Gaza Beach Incident”).
For further detailed discussion of reasons for the IL/PA conflict, see http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/06/14/some-things-will-never-change/#comments
To conclude - please research before you take a stance. How would you like it if people started hating you for being Sudanese, claiming that you are an evil genocidal maniac, and would not only fail to listen to anything you say but would also invent elaborate conspiracy theories to support their unreasonable position?
Hello Shamarat person,
If you don’t trust Raccoon’s link and you think it’s biased then at least check this one
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=1129
The website’s stance is neutral. It neither supports Israel nor Palestine. It explains all the different possibilities.
It’s easy to point the finger towards Israel immediately. While atrocities have been committed against the Palestinians, you must realize Israel wouldn’t kill civilians purposely. Just think about it for a while. Why on earth would Israel want to purposely kill an innocent Palestinian family on the beach? It’s simply bad PR for Israel and Israelis especially when they’re so vilified in the Arab Muslim media. If Israel was interested in killing innocent Palestinian civilians they would have wiped them all out. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here trying to “purify” Israel. All I’m saying is that it’s easy to sit back watch the news media and get brainwashed by all their crap. This happens on both sides. You must realize that Hamas and Fatah have actually accidently killed Palestinians before and then blamed Israel for it. This conflict is complex. The main problem in my opinion is trying to actually find the truth and unbiased information. The best way to do that is to see things from a neutral perspective without being blinded by emotions. This is why I engage in peacefull conversations with Israelis and Jews. Believe me man, when the political opinions are pushed aside, you’ll get surprised at how common we are and the similarities we share bro. I’m for peace with Israel without actually having to wipe it off. It exists already. The past is the past. However it’s so easy to say but hard for both sides to do.
I was communitng back home by bus that day.
At the last bus stop before home there were a few people listening to a small radio. “Terrorists hit the towers with an airliner!” said one of them at my general direction. I guessed thoses were probably some towers in Tel Aviv and whatnot. Soon enough the crackling radio mentioned the first WTC tower.
Ten minutes later I was home, turned on the TV and saw with horror the second tower getting hit. I was wondering who’s done it, thinking it was probably some deranged far-right gun-totin’ militia (those were sometimes in the news in the 90s, and after allthere was one Timothy McVeigh) or a crazed brigade of anti-globalisation basket weavers.
Then the first tower collapsed, soon followed by the second, all channels on TV were fixed on NYC, sometimes mentioning the Pentagon too. That was the day all the news networks started rolling those news tickers at the bottom of the screen, they still do.
Lonesome Lenny
Greetings Folks,
Raccoon and Dirma et all…
I did research the matter before taking a stance, and before we have further misunderstandings I’m trying to say that all Israelis are maniacs because I have many friends from college that were from Israel even though we would have the most heated discussions at times we never hated or vilified one another.
But lets look at an example of Crimes committed by the “STATE” of Israel against Palestinians in a span of a single month (for lack of time to list major crimes here is a quick link):
The Israeli Genocide in Palestine, March 29 - April 18, 2002
http://www.revisionisthistory.org/palestine52.html
Israel started as a nation by grabbing land that is a fact, it built a nation on other peoples land and what are today’s vast majority of Citizens were brought from other nations to settle in what has become Israel. Israel as a State does target Palestinians, it will not allow the refugees to return home and is on a systematic process of grabbing more land and killing more youth under the clause of ‘Fighting Terrorism’, what about Israeli State Sponsored Terrorism?
The shamarat “Person”
But lets look at an example of Crimes committed by the “STATE” of Israel against Palestinians in a span of a single month (for lack of time to list major crimes here is a quick link):
The Israeli Genocide in Palestine, March 29 - April 18, 2002
http://www.revisionisthistory.org/palestine52.html
Israel started as a nation by grabbing land that is a fact, it built a nation on other peoples land and what are today’s vast majority of Citizens were brought from other nations to settle in what has become Israel. Israel as a State does target Palestinians, it will not allow the refugees to return home and is on a systematic process of grabbing more land and killing more youth under the clause of ‘Fighting Terrorism’, what about Israeli State Sponsered Terrorism?
The shamarat “Person”
Shamrat person -
Oh, not the Jenin “massacre” again… this has been refuted time and time again. It’s a lie - a fable, created for the purpose of propaganda.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/218vnicq.asp
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-cohen041602.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenin_Massacre
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=14&x_article=217
I honestly have no desire to refute the same lies again and again and again.
See http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/06/14/some-things-will-never-change/#comments
for what I have to say about the whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
The Jenin “massacre” lie is especially affronting since it was my friends who fought and died there.
As I said - research before you accuse. And please note that sites of organizations that have “Your source for suppressed information on Judaism’s strange gods, secret societies and psychological warfare and radical history” as a headline are unlikely to be reliable.
*sigh*
Thinker, I need your feedback on my latest post, “Cauterization”
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