End of the world

I continue to cry for the victims of September 11


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End of the world
by Nazy Kaviani
12-Sep-2007
 

I asked the young Russian woman who was my translator whether they were saying anything about Ahmad Shah Massoud’s health after the explosion. She listened and said: “Some say he is still alive. Americans say he is dead.”

In the afternoon, as we were driving back into the city, I asked her again if there was any news about Ahmad Shah Massoud. She listened and said: “No news about Shah Massoud. But they say an airplane ran into the World Trade Center in New York.” I didn’t believe her. She had made some mistakes with her English earlier that week, and I was sure she didn’t know what she was talking about. She was quiet and I kept quiet, too.

The news broadcast continued on the car radio. Several minutes later she said: “Looks like another airplane hit the other World Trade Center Tower.” By this time I was sure she not only had poor English, that she was also really stupid, as she had no idea how big and tall those towers were and how airplanes worked. I had a hard time keeping a straight face, thinking that I will be cracking jokes about this woman’s translation skills for years to come.

When I got out of the car and walked into the lobby of my hotel, I saw many people huddled around the TV set in the lobby. From their expressions, their collective silence, and their body language, I could tell something ominous had happened. I ran to the elevator and went to my room where I saw it on TV.

Later that evening we went for a walk near Kremlin and Red Square. Though everyone seemed aware that summer was over, the night air didn’t feel terribly cold. We sat there in silence, watching others walk by us also in silence. Many people had ashen faces and several people were crying. We had ashen faces and we were crying, too.

We knew many people had died, but the numbers, or scope of the tragedy were not known to us at the time. I just knew that early in the morning of a weekday, someone who had bought a cappuccino at Starbucks downstairs and was sipping it, quite possibly looking across the pictures of his wife and kids on his desk, or pictures of her daughter’s graduation and her son’s Little League pose, saw the horrible sight of an airplane approaching his or her window.

The world changed on September 11, 2001, forever. Today I continue to cry for the victims of September 11, 2001 through September 11, 2007. As the world continues to burn in blazing fires of mistrust and hate, I remember the morning of September 11, 2001 in Moscow as quite possibly the last day I woke up to my world as I knew it.


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any act of destruction is evil

by Anonymous on

I think when you post such posting in response of a well written piece, you are just a fool trying to justify hatery by more hate and typical middle eastern justification of your short comings (CIA did make you stupid too!). Why not admit that innocent were killed and it should not have happened, period....


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god blesss

by Anonymous on

god bless ahmad shah masood


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Death of innocent people!

by Anonymous on

Well, for those of you who were not affected by the death of innocent people - I say bravo! Now, go back to your list and how it justifies your comments.


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The world changed on

by Anonymous on

The world changed on september 11???!!!
For whom? How?
USA continued to destroy countries and kill innocent people for profit and , like it did before in Philippine, in Vietnam, in Panama, in Nicaragua, in El Salvador, in …..
USA continued to support the Israeli occupation of Palestine…
There might be one change; more people are seeing the Emperor naked!!


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what came first?

by Anonymous on

what came first?
el salvador or 9/11 ?
Nicaragua or 9/11 ?
Palestine or 9/11 ?
Iran or 9/11 ?
malasia or 9/11 ?
southern italia or 9/11 ?
vietnam or 9/11 ?
chile or 9/11 ?
indonesia or 9/11 ?
Iraq or 9/11 ?
Haiti or 9/11 ?
Cuba or 9/11 ?
Libya or 9/11 ?
Laos or 9/11 ?
Afghanistan or 9/11 ?
slavery or 9/11 ?
Liberia or 9/11 ?
genocide of native americans or 9/11 ?


xivaro

This post is both poignant

by xivaro on

This post is both poignant and painful to read. It is also sad to read fatal incapacity of some commenters to understand another person's perspective unless it's an identical copy of their own ideology; reverse bigotry lurcking hypocritically behind so-called a "critical stance", a basic lack of respect for humanity. Hence defeating the whole purpose of their so called "struggle" as hypocrites who are not really interested in peace but revenge; continuosly adding fuel to the fire of hate and creating more hate in the world as if they are the only ones entitled to hate and getting revenge.


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And I also continue to cry

by Anonymous on

And I also continue to cry for the victims of Bhopal, India, disaster caused by an American company (20,000 dead- over 100,000 sick and disabled-).

And I also continue to cry for the victims of September 11, 1973, when CIA coup in Chile caused 1000s of people turtured and killed.

Some Bhopal families received around $2000 in damage. Chilian families never recieved anything. each family of WTC terrorist action recieved over 15 millions and still asking for more.


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