431 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The Only way to put this behind us without forgeting is Building the World Trade Centers again EXACTLY the way they were plus adding the two or three floors as a memorial with no camaras or pictures this place must remain for live viewing.There was nothing wrong with the world Trade Centers and it would be a GREAT mistake not two build them again. BUILD IT DONT BE INTIMIDATED Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7519.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.185.84.68 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember my phone ringing, thinking it was my crew saying our airplane was fixed and we were ready to go. )We had gotten stuck in Dubuque qith a mechanical problem and did not make it to our layover in Portland, Maine.) It was my first officer but not telling me the a/c was fixed, but to turn on the tv and CNN. I watched while on the phone with him as smoke floated into the air around the WTC. We talked thinking someone had been fooling around and ended in tragedy. As, we talked, suddenly a second plane turned into the WTC. We sat in silence for a few moments letting the shock of it sink in. I remember both of us with cracking voices as we hung up the phone never more then a few doors away from each other. Both of us saddened and unsure, alone from families and friends, who were so many states away. We spent many hours together the next few days toughing out one of life's greatest test. Finally, 5 days later, being allowed to get in an airplane and go home. I lost friends and co-workers. Life changed but still I get up and put a smile on my face each time I get on that airplane knowing it is the best way to conquer those who would have some much anger to cause such sadness. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story779.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.204.67 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On Sept. 11th. 2001--My husband and I were at Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Pa. We went into the hospital at 7:00am to the maternity floor. We were so full of emotions because we knew our son would be born today. I turned on channel 6(Good Morning America) to help pass the time and to help concentrate on our labor. Before we knew it, the news broke in on Good Morning America and stated that the Twin Tower was on Fire. We watched the live news. Next we saw a second plane crash into the other tower. My heart felt like it fell into my stomach. I couldn't believe this was happening. We all know what happen next. The Penagon was attacked and then the plane went down in PA. Our Doctor and Nurses were all in our room with us watching the TV. I had our mothers with us as well. We were all crying and full of disbelief. I then started to wonder how I could bring a baby into this world. I watched that TV none stop! My Doctor came into our room again at 12:00 noon and stated that our hospital was placed on lock down and stand by in case they needed any help from NY with survivors. My husband and I were the only clients on the maternity floor this day. Our son was finally born at 6:09pm on Sept. 11th, 2001. When I looked into his blue eyes, he gave me back the Hope, Faith and love I thought the terrorists just took away from me. The terrorists really tried to destroy us that day, but something much higher and stronger made a miracle occur at the same time for me and my family. A life was born. I still have a hard time with the lives that were taken. I still have a hard time with my sons birthday. I still can't beleive so many lives were taken on Sept. 11th, 2001. I'm so sorry and my heart goes out to America. I'm Proud to be an American!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7268.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.43.65.194 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember sitting there like any other tuesday morning, wishing I was anywhere but at school that day. All of a sudden, we heard that something had happened in NYC, we turned on the television, and there was the world trade center on fire, as our class was watching this in horror, thinking "what a terrible accident", the second plane hit the other tower, being 16 at the time, with no cares in the world at all, i was seeing the United States a country that I thought was untouchable, being torn to shreds, as I saw this unfold in front of my eyes, I realized "We are at war", I became very angry, and scared. Here I was in a small town on the shoreline in CT, just a few hundred miles away from where this was all was taking place, not knowing how safe i really was, just 15 miles from a nuclear power plant,I really felt as if I was in danger, it was in the only time in my life I ever remember being truly afraid for my life. I will never forget a minute of that day as long as I live. Now almost 18, and seeing kids my age in the middle east fighting for in my opinion "a war never to be won", i feel as though the world in which i once felt safe is gone forever. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9319.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-05-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The morning of September 11, 2001 started out as a beautiful day. At that time my son was 8 years old and I had just dropped him off at school and headed on to work. I work for the State of Maryland. It was a typical normal day and started my work day as I always had. About an hour of so later after I had gotten there, two people came running to my desk screaming that something horrible had happened in New York to the World Trade Center. I instantly got angry because one of the people was notorious for pulling pranks and I told them not to joke about something like that. But they kept insisting that it did happen. Someone brought a television in, and I was horrified to see the first tower in flames. I was shocked, speechless and terrified. The next thing I knew I saw this airplane hit the second tower and I screamed in horror. Our office was automatically placed on "lockdown" which means that no one could leave or enter the building. All I could think about was those people in those towers and how I prayed that each of them was able to get out. I thought about my son, my mother, and my brother. I was just in a daze about what I had just witnessed. I thought about my family in New York and was scared for them. My mother was able to get through on the phone to call me and to plead for me to come home because she was afraid that something was going to happen to me. I explained to her that I wasn't able to, because at this time I was considered an "essential employee". She started crying hysterically and was begging for all of us to leave because she was terrified for everyone, I finally convinced her to call down and told her that everything would be okay. I was finally able to leave my office building around 12pm. Traffic was a nightmare. Frantic people were trying to get to loved ones, getting their children from school, or just crying hysterically in the streets. We were at risk as a state because we are in close proximity to Washington, DC, so everything was chaotic. It is now September 10, 2006 and my son is now 13 years old. He still has nightmares about that day and is terrified about tomorrow, which is the 5th anniversary of September 11th. Four months after September 11, 2001, I discovered that I was pregnant with my second child. I was thrilled, but worried. Worried about my baby and my son's future. Did I want to bring another child into a world that would do these horrendous things to each other, like those sick madmen had done to us? I wondered if my children would ever be able to live in a world that was full of peace, kindness, and decency for all people. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Aaliyah. She is now 4 years old. But when I look into my children's eyes, I see hope. Hope that their generation would be able to change this world. Hope that they can look past the horrible things that they have seen and can try to make the world a better place. Hope that we can really unite as people and stop taking life for granted. I talk to my children about September 11th. Even though it's painful, I don't want them to ever forget it. Too many people sacrified their lives in order for them to live. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20387.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 71.206.53.134 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 will be a day that i never forget and will forever be linked to. At that time, my husband and I were living in California. We both woke up around 7:30am with a terrible feeling in our guts and neither one of us could fall back to sleep. A few hours later I was getting ready for an appointment when the phone rang. It was my brother calling to tell me that someone was attacking the towers in New York and a lot of people had been killed. I had no idea what he was talking about and told him to stop calling me about stuff like this because it wasn't funny. I then left for my appointment. I started to feel really dizzy and sick as I was driving and turned on the radio to keep my ming off the uneasy feeling. When I turned on the radio, it became too apparent that what my brother had told me was actually true and there had been 4 highjacked planes, 3 of them slamming into buildings the other crashing in Pennsylvania. I listened as people called into the radio stations giving their accounts of what was happening and the chaos that surrounded them. I got to my appointment still unaware of just how bad that day was going to get for me and my family. I got home about an hour later and my husband was watching the news. About and hour later we got the phone call that was to forever change our lives. My mother-in-law was on the other end telling my husband that our sister-in-law (my husbands brothers wife) was missing. She was supposed to have taken the flight a half an hour later than flight 93 but nobody had heard from her. Her cell phone had not been working during her trip to the East Coast. We had them paging her in the airport for her to call home, but nothing. Finally my father-in-law looked up the flight itineraries and found that the later flight was the exact same route as Flight 93 and we knew in our hearts that she must have gotten on Flight 93 on standby. A few hours later my mother-in-law called to confirm just that. Christine had gotten on Flight 93 and as we had seen on tv, not one of the passengers had survived that crash. It was so devastating and heartbreaking. The strange thing is that Christine had actually changed her flight several times on the 11th before finally getting on Flight 93 standby. Christine married my brother-in-law on June 2, 2001, and she had just had her 32nd birthday in August and now she was gone! Christine was such a great person. She had a wonderful heart and soul. We know that she is looking after us and is our Angel. At her memorial service, which took place a few weeks after the attacks, countless people talked about how she touched their lives and what she meant to them. I never realized how many people were blessed to have had the opportunity to meet her and have her in their lives. Christine will forever be missed but never forgotten. She was an inspiration to all of us and lived her life to the fullest and always tried to see the good in every situation. I guess now we just try to live day by day and try to stay positive and remember all of the joy and happiness that Chris brought to our lives. The hard part is actually coping with the fact that she is never coming home. I'm sure in time our hearts will heal, but it will be a long and difficult process. I don't think that any of us will ever feel complete again, but we have to be strong for each other and remember that Chris is with us in spirit. She will forever be loved! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story697.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.103.126.37 Notes Notes about this item. feature Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sleeping at about 10pm and the phone rang then my mum ran around the next thing i knew I was watching the news and crying my eyes out I could not believe it. My life was falling all my hope was gone i couldnt move i was dead speechless and mortified. The next day i went to school everyone didn't care all I heard was "I hate arabs there so stupid,"No one knew the story. Then i saw the images the grafics were way to much. It gets worse. A year six teacher from our school was in new york fortunately he was fine. I was so scared. I hope everyone cares for all those people Because there family did Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story981.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 210.49.186.55 Annotation Annotations to this item. INTERNATIONAL Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was a horrific day, our office scrambled through passenger records to see if we had any traveler's on the ill-fated flights. We did have one executive. We worked in a vacuum, trying to help stranded clients find a way home, some drove rental cars from Texas to Boston...the need to be with family was so strong. Three days later, the company I was employed with tearfully laid-off 54 of its 108 employees. It was a matter of survival, and understandable. It was frightening to be in a state of depression and confusion and jobless. The industy I loved and worked in for so many years was forever changed. In February I returned to school, updated my office skills and returned to the workforce as an administrative assistant in a corporate travel dept. at a biotech company. The road was filled with challanges, but in the true American Spirit I prevailed, as have others. Today, one year later, I cried as a moment of silence was observed, and the pain of that day returned. It will forever be painful, time the only healer. I am so very proud to be an American and Pray to God that we can make this world a safer place for all who believe in Freedom. God Bless You All... Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3001.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.245.32.11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was getting ready for work while my granddaughter, Emma, was watching Sesame Street. I had to be at work at 12:00 pm at Halloween Scene, a seasonal Halloween store in Dover Mall. The Dover Mall decided to close at 1:00 PM that day.(Auralee Productions also had a store in the WTC.) I decided to turn to a different channel to try and catch the weather for the day at 9:00 am. What I saw shocked me. At first, I thought the first tower that had been hit, had some how caught fire. I did not initially know that a plane had hit it. When I heard what had happened, and saw the other plane hit, I sat down and couldn't believe that this was happening. My husband and I are Amateur radio operators, (hams). I immediately got on the radio and reported what was going on. Another operator asked how many souls were aboard, and when I told him what had happened again, he said that was unbelievable. I called my daughter at work and told her to turn the radio onto the local station. When I took my granddaughter next door, she had CNN on, and we watched as both towers fell. When I called my daughter back to tell her, she thought I was kidding. She didn't think anything could bring them down, and I don't think anyone else thought so either. I had set up my vcr's to record on different stations to get different views. I was flabbergasted to find out the Pentagon had also been hit. I couln't believe that there could be so much evil in the world that would do this such destruction. When I heard that a plane went down in Shankville, PA, I couldn't believe that so much turmoil could be going on in America. I think the people on Flight 93 are all heroes, not just a few. Not everyone had an opportunity to fight back, but the ones that did saved, I believe, the Whitehouse. I sat and cried for all the lives lost, and the senselessness of it. I just watched CNN Live yesterday, and cried through several sections of it. I did tape it, because my granddaughter and other granddchildren I may have, will be able to use this footage and news articles in school. I happen to know first hand from my history books in school how some of them can be wrong on historical events. I want them to be able to have first hand accounts of what happened. My sons are former Marines, and one is now in the Army. I know the wives, mothers and grandmothers of military personnel going over to Afghanistan and other Mid-East countries are grieving and praying. My prayers are with them all. Joy Spence, KB3ETA. Military mother and grandmother. Smyrna, DE The Amateur Radio Relay League asked for amateur radio operators to go to the Pentagon and WTC areas to help set up communications, as all communications by phone was impossible. The Amateur Radio community is a big help in national and local disasters. I'm just sorry our help had to be utilized in such a way. Again, my prayers are will everyone who lost someone that tragic day. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6559.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.59.66.226 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was on my way to work when I heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. By the time I got to work the second plane had hit. Everything felt unreal. How could this happen in OUR country. Next I heard that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. My Dad and Brother live in NY and my husband's Uncle works at the Pentagon. There was no communication to those areas. no way to get through to see if family was okay. Waiting was the hardest thing, just waiting not being able to do anything. That night as I watched the news and for the first time seeing what had happened, I was overwhelmeed with sadness and concern for us all. After a couple of days I was able to get through to family. Thank God they were all alright. My husband Uncle was in the Pentagon building when it was hit, thank God he was spared. Although I was greatly releived that my family were okay, my heart went out to those who would not be receiving good news and very possibly no news at all for some time about the people they loved. About 25 of us gathered to pray for those who had lost so much. We heard stories from others in our group who had knows people who were lost in the World Trade Center. We try to comfort each other during this terrible time. But the comfort didn't come. We were a nation that had lost so much and it would take a lot of time to heal. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1010.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.243.15.149 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On that day it was just like many other days. I went to school thinking taday is going to be a bad day and so as the day went on I went to my 1,2,3,and hour but in the middle of 4 hour was when i found out, as I can recall going to the rest of my class not doing any work just sitting at my desk watching the t,v. someone said that it was just a movie and it did look like a movie to me. That day was like a dream to me but that day a truly a bad day! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8377.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.26.10.5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It started 9:30 when our teacher told us that a plane has hit one of the Twin Towers she turn on the t.v and we saw the terrble thing that was going on and I scare that they were going to do this all over the United States and than when I hoped nothing else would another plane hit the other tower it started to worry me very much and on the news they said that another plane hit the Pentgon I was deeply hurt to know that people could be so hateful.(I want to see a poem that I wrote for all the people lost). This poem is called CRYING HEARTS My heart is hurt to see them go and to see them cry the tradgy that happen ended most their lives.Their sound their cry heard by you and me heard around the United States. I hear crying hearts for all people was lost.The terror on most their faces when seen or heard the terrible event that happen on that tuesday day. To see many faces cry to many people morn the death of those heros and mighty people.People harmed and killed why hurt and kill life when make it. Our beautiful tower put down all the people will be missed as we walk down memory lane our beautiful tower and the lost souls of this tragic event.Keep the people in your heart and your prayers. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7309.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.208.224.86 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I will never forget where I was on the morning of the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and, the plane crash in Pennsylvania. I was in a grocery store in Canton, Ohio getting some food items to take to my best friend, because her father had passed away. While I was standing at the counter waiting to be waited on, I heard the clerks talking to someone on the phone, and, I heard one of them say "another plane had crashed"! At that time, I really didn't quite realize just what they were talking about, but, I knew something of that nature would be on the news, and, I would hear about it when I got home, and, turned on my T.V. I decided to get my food items, and, go ahead over to my friend's home, and, find out if she had heard anything about the planes that had crashed. As soon as I arrived at my friend's home, she told me that two jets had crashed into the World Trade Center, because she had been watching it on the news on T.V. As I watched the T.V., I could not believe the terrible thing I was seeing. The first thought that entered my mind was, "this can't be real, this just can't be happening"! I thought, "what about all the people in those buildings"!!! I started to cry in disbelief. Then, as I watched even more of the T.V. coverage, I realized, that not only had the World Trade Center been hit, but, the Pentagon, and, a plane went down in Pennsylvania. My first thought was, who could do such an awful thing to another human being. Who could do such a horrible thing to my country. As long as I live, I will never forget where I was, and, what I was doing on September 11, 2001, This is the day the United States of America, was shaken to it's core, a day that I, as a citizen of this great nation, will never forget! Long live the United States! GOD BLESS AMERICA, my home sweet home!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3310.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.196.3.94 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Come September with its madness. Friday the 7th, I went to my doctor for an appointment. Saturday the 8th: nothing much more than sitting poolside. The weather is glorious: a clear blue sky, beautiful weather. Sunday the 9th, I read the papers, which are full of Fall entertainment previews: movies, music, and theater. Much talk of new movies, TV shows, the Emmys, the new African ?Survivor? and the Redskins. I spent time planning for and thinking about my upcoming trips to Florida and my travel for the medical meetings coming up. I was looking forward to the week spent in training classes at L?Enfant Plaza. Then Monday came and went by fine. I started to enjoy my few days out of the office and even got to wear jeans to class, a real treat. Tuesday, September 11, we begin the class talking about HTML pagination and page length. The teacher is enthusiastic and bright. Some students arrive late talking about a plane going into the World Trade Center: traffic, etc. They get settled and we continue. Perhaps a half an hour later, a gentleman from the school enters the room and walks purposefully to the front of the class, determined and obviously suppressing emotion. ?We?re closed,? he says. ?Go home.? He calmly tells us that a plane has gone into the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the Federal Government is therefore closed. Some students in the class work at the Pentagon and leave hurriedly, greatly disturbed. I go downstairs thinking "well, I guess that is that." Oddly, I?m happy I only live maybe a mile and a half away and can walk home. I spot a distressed colleague. People hustle and busle all around the lobby while we greet each other and try to figure out what to do. Over the next few minutes, seconds really, I tell C. to get her things, to get a plan. Come home with me and vegetate for a while, I say. She?s worried about her husband, Frank, who is nearby at the Capitol. We walk north across the Mall trying to call him on dead cell phones. Thousands of people rush about every which way; they walk, they are in cars, they are on buses, all jammed along the Mall perimeter. Buses are stopped. Horns honking everywhere. We look up and see smoke above the Pentagon; there?s a fire there, C. tells me. F-type jets fly overhead. Everyone?s worried about the White House. I look up searching for planes from all directions thinking momentarily we might be under attack. We're now half-way between the White House and the Capitol. I deposit C. at a Metro stop nearest in the direction she?s headed and tell her to cut out directly to her car, to her home, to her town. We part. It's an odd good-bye. There's a permanency about it. I make my way home trying to decide if I should go on and pick up a book I?d ordered at a K Street Store. I'd planned on getting but it is across town and I wonder if I should skip it. I decide not to and instead head home across the downtown area where traffic is at a standstill -- it's one big parking lot. I stop in my old church where a grim-faced woman is taping a sign to the door, ?Concert cancelled -- Noonday Prayer Service.? I say a quick prayer and see two other people in pews across from me, a man and a woman. Outside is chaos. Total complete chaos. Noise and confusion and stopped buses and ambulances and people walking and cars heading toward each other in every direction and no one appearing to be going anywhere at all while in a big hurry to get someplace. I arrive home and see my manager who tells me he must ?secure the building.? His TV is on in the lobby office. We see the WTC tower come down. Unbelievable. I go upstairs, surprised at how beautiful the day started: warm, clear, and lovely. And now this tremendous tragedy is unfolding. Two phone messages are logged on my machine, from my cousin and from a friend. The friend says he saw the plane hit the Pentagon from his window. With great animation, he says this will change our lives forever. Indeed. My cousin says I can come over and leaves her address. More calls. I call my folks in Florida to tell them I?m OK. Television coverage is at a frenzied level. But I'm happy to be home when so many people are probably still trying to get home. I'm happy to be home with the cat. I spend the afternoon making spaghetti, a strange traumatic holdover from the Air Florida Flight 90 disaster, when I did the same thing. By late afternoon, there?s a special edition Washngton Post and I walk down there a few blocks to buy five copies from two men selling it on the street in front of the Post building. Fear sets in. Over the next few days I can?t not think of what happened and I have airplane nightmares. I?m scared. Everything (TV, magazines) display these garish images. I?m left completely preoccupied by the news. Interrupted sleep. The National Sleep Foundation issues an alert. We are to fly flags and spend money, they tell us. I go shopping and meet friends almost nightly. I cook and make salon appointments. I crave airiness. I want to be outside. I read Jimmy Carter?s memoir. Work is only a best foot forward, we're all play-acting. Thursday night comes the president?s speech. I?m no longer afraid but a colleague tells me she?s afraid she?ll die of radiation poisoning. What will tomorrow bring? I wonder. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9174.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-03-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 156.40.206.117 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When I first heard someone talking about a plane crashing into one of the towers, I thought, "oh, a plane crash." I was sad and sorry to hear the news, but it wasn't until he described it as a deliberate action that I felt this sinking feeling of "oh my gosh." Then it was just like we couldn't get enough information. The internet came to a complete stand still, the phone circuits locked up. Someone who caught a glimpse on tv would rush through saying another plane hit the second tower....the pentagon's been hit....there's another plane crash in PA. My mom called me, crying, just wanting me to get home and be safe. They sent us home early and I just wanted to be with my daughter and husband. The news was filled with such horrible images, I was overwhelmed, but I couldn't turn it off. That sinking feeling would not leave. I just hugged my child and tried in some small way to explain what was going on, but I had no words. I went to bed that night not knowing what we would wake up to. The next day I remember the silence of the sky--no planes. It was so weird. My heart ached for the losses. So many people, hoping to find loved ones. So many questions left unanswered. As the 1-month anniversary passed, we had some answers, but we still had heartache. For me, the birth of my second child a few weeks later, helped to fill some of what was taken that day. And now, here we are one year later. I still get that sinking feeling, I'm not sure it ever fully went away. We have such uncertainty. Perhaps it was always there, and we just didn't see it. I don't know. I worry about the world that my daughters are growing up in now. I had such an innocent childhood and now I am trying to answer questions about war and mean people. It's not easy. I try to find a deeper sense of respect and love for those who pass through my life. More patience, more tolerance, more understanding. I just want to get past the bad and work on the good. I want to close by saying that my heart is with all of those who have experienced loss and pain from this huge tragedy. I hope time can help you heal. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4077.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.148.3.47 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It?s funny how a moment can be permanently etched in your mind. But I will always remember exactly what I was doing the moment I learned about the horrors that occurred on September 11. I was sitting at my desk, talking to one of my co-workers who had come into my office. Our conversation was lighthearted. It was a beautiful September morning in Ohio, and the sun was shining brightly outside. Then, I heard my cell phone ringing. I told my co-worker, ?My purse is ringing,? and we both laughed as she left my office and I answered my phone. It was my fianc?. He had taken the morning off work and was watching TV. He told me that there was an explosion at the World Trade Center. I remember a feeling of disbelief at his statement. I told him that had happened a long time ago (I was referring to the bombing at the WTC in 1993). He told me that it was happening right now, that two planes had hit the World Trade Center. He had seen the second plane hit on live television. I hung up and wandered out to find some of my other co-workers. By then, a few of them had also heard about it, and we all gathered in the center conference room and turned on the TV. We were horrified when we learned that a plane had also hit the Pentagon. Later, I watched both towers collapse on live TV. It was sickening to witness, knowing that people inside were dying at that very instant. We stayed glued to the TV all morning and afternoon, none of us quite able to grasp how this could happen to us here in America. I called my parents and sister and best friend and talked to them about the events. One thing was clear?every one of us was in shock. Our boss ended up letting us go home early because none of us could concentrate on working. I remember driving home, listening to the radio, unable to understand how something like this could actually happen. I drove by a flag, which had been lowered to half-mast, and felt all of this emotion well up in my heart. Although I did not know anyone personally who died in the terrorist attacks, I still cried for all of those people who did lose their lives that day. September 11 was a terrible day in our nation?s history, one that none of us will ever be able to forget in our lifetimes. Today, September 11, 2002, the one-year anniversary has been a solemn day. No one at my work has laughed much, the phone has not been ringing much, there is a respectful silence in the atmosphere. September 11 is a day that should never be forgotten. I am so proud to be an American! I love my country and I pray for her healing. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4083.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.89.221.18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was a Senior in high school on 9/11/01. I remember the day so vividly, almost to the point that it is all like a bad dream. However I know it is not. I arrived at school and prepare for my first class of the day, which happened to be advanced history (my high school worked on a block 8 system so my first class changed everyday). I sat down in my desk to discover that today we would be watching a movie about Queen Elizabeth of England. Sometime after the movie began, our principal walked in our room and pulled our teacher out into the hallway. People instantly started talking, because the only time the actual principal, not the assistant principals, came to see you was when either you were in serious trouble or a family member was dead. My small advanced history class had no idea had wrong we were. Our teacher returned to the room and sat back at her desk as if nothing had happened. When the movie had ended, she turn back on the lights and began to speak. She began with talking about what we would do during our next history class, since the bell was about to ring to send us on our next class of the day. Her voice was shaking slightly though. Just before the bell rang, she said, "Mrs Murphy came up here to let me know that just a little while ago, a plane crashed into one of the towers of the world trade center, and they thing that it was a commercial jet. No one really knows what is going on right now, just that the tower is on fire, and people may be trapped inside. They think it was an accident." The bell rang, and we all walked out. We I arrive in my next class, the room was buzzing with conversation about what had taken place. Not long after my second class began, one of our assistant principals walked into our class, and pulled his ex-wife (our teacher) to the corner of the room. He was the type of man that talked with his hands, and it was very easy to tell by his hand motions and the look of horror on our teacher's face that another plan had crashed. Only, she wouldn't tell us where. The bell rang to release us to lunch, where I met up with my friends at my car to head to a local fast food resturants. The knew as much as I did, but that changed when I started the car. The radio came on and all we heard were minute to minute reports. We then learned about the other planes had crashed into the other tower and the pentagon. WE FREAKED OUT! We all wanted to go home, but school wasn't canceled. We had no choice but to go back. I was sad and scared. My first class after lunch, we didn't do anything. My teacher was crying and running all over the place. Her dad was happened to be flying that day, and she couldn't find him. Her panicing was scaring us. I just kept think of the fact that a month before this day I was standing underneath the towers as I did the summer before. What if this had happened a month earlier? What is happening to all those people I saw leaving the building at the close of the day? School ended and I had a dress fitting for the homecoming dance. But I went home first. My TV was already on our NBC station. I watched in horror as the replayed the tapes of the planes hitting the buildings, and the buildings falling. That night I didn't sleep, I cried. Everytimed I closed my eyes I saw faces from the days I was in NYC or a plane hitting the buildings. So I sat up all night watching the clips over and over again, and watching the recovery effort. I was shaking uncontrolablly, and it didn't stop or weeks after. 9/11 changed my life; however, I have not be back to NYC since the attacks. 9/11 will fully sink in for me until I return to New York and see the gap in the skyline for myself. Then, maybe I will be able to begin to let heal and let go. My heart, prayers, love goes to the heros, victums, and famlies touched my the attack. Peace and Love! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11764.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-08-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.225.56.196 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in Mililani, Hawaii and heard of the attacks when I woke up in the morning. Because of the time difference, everything happened early in the morning. Everyone went to school as normal since Hawaii wasn't in any danger. For part of the classes, we were allowed to watch the news so we could see what was happening. School was pretty normal since we were so far removed, but we didn't concentrate on anything other than the attacks. I wasn't scared of anything happening in Hawaii, but I was kind of stunned. Seeing the planes crash and everybody running away was disconcerting. Nothing like that had ever happened before. As soon as it was known who was to blame, I was immediately angry at the Muslim terrorists for killing so many innocent people The only personal connection I had to the attacks was that a family friend was in Washington DC and was supposed to meet with the general who was killed at the Pentagon. The friend's household goods arrived from Hawaii to his new house, so he had to cancel the meeting. If he hadn't canceled, he could have died. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10832.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Like many of us, the telephone rang to awaken me to the day that would change America forever. A friend called ordering me to "turn on the television" to see what was happening in New York. Naturally I did. Like many others, the images of that first plane hitting the World Trade Center seemed too unbelievable to be genuine. I started looking for the "hoax" - perhaps another Orsen Wells "War of the Worlds" broadcast which would soon be interrupted with the message that this event was fictional and that no harm has come to anyone. Then the 2nd jet crashed into the 2nd tower - live and before not only my eyes but millions of others. This was no media event - this was actually and unbelievably happening! Reports of a plane hitting the Pentagon in Washington were interlaced with events which were unfolding in New York. Talk about other planes in other parts of the country were beginning to filter in as well. The American Airlines jet in western Pennsylvania pierced into our reality. Who could possibly be coordinating events of this magnitude and devestation? What kind of sick mind kills innocent people by the thousands? These and other answers would be slow to come to most Americans - but come they would. America was never to be the same. The world was never to be the same.....and yet - our resolve has been strengthened and our determination to direct our own destinies has never been lessened by these horrendous events. America is strong and we were about to show the world just how strong we are and will always be. David Mare Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3739.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am an academic, and I write about US images of the Middle East. Three days after September 11, I wrote an email and sent it to about 25 friends and family, responding, as much as I could, to my personal experiences of the previous three days, and offering some analysis of the political context of U.S.-Middle East relations. I was as horrified and angry as everyone else I knew, and I am not a pacifist, but I also knew that I could not support the kind of war that was already, even then, so clearly on the horizon. What happened next, I never expected. Many, many people forwarded that email, posted it on listservs, etc. And within a few days, I had begun to receive responses from all over the world: a man who had been in the WTC; a Muslim woman in the Philippines; an ex-Marine who was afraid his sons were about to go to war; one of three men in South Africa, who read the letter out loud during their daily commute -- he wrote me to say how glad they all were that Americans were thinking about the horrific attack in ways that went beyond the initial shock and outrage. Within a month, I had received more than 100 reponses from people all over the world, almost none of them people I knew. A few were hate mail: one retired military officer told me I was a traitor; one guy sent me the entire lyrics to a patriotic Ted Nugent song. But mostly, in those first few days and weeks after the attacks, people were simply happy and grateful to find that there were others who were thinking as they were --that there was a way to express outrage and sadness that didn't lead directly to jingoism. Receiving those responses was one of the most powerful political experiences of my life. It let me know that, despite what the Bush administration would tell us over the next few months, that there _were_ people, many of us, who were trying to imagine alternatives that might bring more peace and more security, not less -- not only to Americans, but to people in the Middle East and Asia and elsewhere. The text of the email is below. It is fairly long. Melani McAlister September 14, 2001 Friday Dear Friends and Colleagues, I'm writing to offer some thoughts and reactions to what has happened this week. Several of you have asked me what I think, given that I write about U.S.-Middle East relations and the media. I *want* my work to have some relevance here, and I believe it does. But in all honesty, I'm not sure yet how to make sense of the atrocities that have happened or the various dangers still to come. Yesterday, I gave a brief presentation for some folks in the American Studies department, and we had a discussion afterward that was very valuable, but in the end I felt unsatisfied with what I had to say. I think I may not make much of a pundit, since still, 3 days after the news began to unfold, I feel capable of doing little more than attending, again and again, to the tragedy and loss ? the stories of final cell phone calls and the images family members carrying pictures of their loved ones. Sometimes I feel as if I can't do much more than stand silent in the face of such pain. We've seen such images before, of course, and they are usually not Americans. As many of us have said to each other, grimly, now Americans have come to know what it is like to live in a war zone, the kind of place where bombs drop on your neighborhood or (here in DC especially) the military roam the streets. And we know that the United States has too often been a part of the causes of that pain, from backing military dictators in Latin America (who could see all those photos of loved ones in New York and not remember the mothers carrying pictures of the Disappeared in Argentina and elsewhere?), to bombing raids on cities, from Baghdad to Belgrade, in which thousands of civilians died. Some people are calling the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "blowback" ? an entirely predictable consequence of years of U.S. muscle-flexing and arrogance. My partner Carl Conetta and I have talked a great deal about this. Despite what seemed to be the (short-term) experience of the Gulf War, we must now come to realize what we should have known all along, that no nation can expect to consistently intervene militarily all over the world ? to literally dominate the post-cold-war political and economic landscape ? and not have some profound costs associated with those actions. This does NOT mean that the United States deserved what we got. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were horrific, extraordinary crimes against humanity. That they were unconscionable goes without saying, but those of us who are going to find ourselves in the minority over the next weeks and months must make sure to say it very clearly. There are many reasons why people commit terrorist acts; sometimes those reasons are based in situations of profound injustice and deep, justified anger. But morally and politically we must stand firm on this simple notion: it is never acceptable to respond to even the most profound grievances by killing whoever is in reach. This is true in reference to the terrorists who struck last Tuesday, and it will be true when the United States works to craft a response to those murders. That response will not be long in coming. In the first few days of shock and horror, most of us seemed to be able to do little more than sit mutely in front of our television, watching the nightmarish images of destruction. That was certainly the case for me. But now, as we seem to have so quickly moved from the solidarity of our grief to the politicization of our anger, the government, with the support of the vast majority of Americans, is forging a narrative about what has happened, and what should be our response. As the drum-beating and jingoism is building so rapidly around us, we need to ask some hard questions about the war that seems surely about to come. Many people in the United States want to get some better understanding of why this happened: what kind of people could take so many innocent lives? Is it something about Islam or the Arab world that encourages hatred? And why do they seem to hate the United States in particular? Most of my friends and colleagues are quite sure that the story is a hell of a lot more complicated than President Bush's assertion that the terrorists acted because they were determined to destroy "freedom." But from our leaders and in the media, there remains a kind of willful ignorance about the larger context that led to this disaster. As was the case in the Iran hostage crisis in 1979-80, or in the Gulf War in 1990-91, or in the years since, our news media seem incapable of providing any kind of serious analysis of the dynamics of U.S. power and Middle East politics. Yet it is vital to understand, much more deeply than we do, the political and social situation that has made the United States not only feared but hated in so much of the world, especially the Middle East. For at least 40 years, the U.S. government has actively opposed many popular struggles for social justice and national self-determination, in the Middle East and elsewhere, in the name of U.S. "national interests." In the Middle East, those interests have been defined as protecting low-cost access to oil, supporting Israel, keeping Arab allies in place as a base for military and political action (which then could be used to help protect access to oil, as in the Gulf War), and, until the 1990s, keeping the Soviets out. U.S. foreign policy has supported those "interests," sometimes diplomatically (as in the repeated attempts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace, generally on Israeli terms), sometimes politically (the arming of the Shah of Iran in the 1970s), sometimes militarily (the U.S. has intervened militarily in the Middle East dozens of times since WWII, including the stationing of Marines in Lebanon in the early 1980s after the Israeli invasion; backing the Islamic militants in Afghanistan, supporting both sides in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, and of course, the Persian Gulf war of 1990-91). In the face of this history, our president's insistence that the terrorists attacked "freedom" infuriates me, not only because I know that freedom is often the last thing the U.S. represents abroad, but because I know this language is the rhetorical justification for what will likely be another war against a Middle Eastern nation ? one that will be deadly, disastrous, and wrong. Writing in the National Review this week (Sept. 13), conservative columnist Ann Coulter called for the United States to just start bombing, and not to worry too much about who the actual terrorists are. "Those responsible include anyone anywhere in the world who smiled in response" to the attacks, she wrote. "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war." Coulter is a terrifying human being, but she is not alone. And she is right about the nature of war, which is precisely what must stop us from supporting it. Wars are military battles between nations over political goals. Civilians die in wars, and most of us can accept that as necessary if we believe that the goals are imperatives and that war, and war alone, will meet those imperatives. But just because a given group of criminals want a war, it doesn't mean that we should give them one. When Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma and killed 165 people, he made clear that he intended it as a declaration of war against the U.S. government. The U.S. government, however, responded by treating his action as what it was: a horrifying, vicious crime carried out, not by a government, but by a fanatic. Right-wingers like McVeigh can declare war on the U.S. government, but the terrible level of their violence does not give them the status of a nation state, and we don't go bombing Texas for giving succor to them and their kind. The extraordinary magnitude of what happened in New York and DC doesn't change that calculation. To the best of my understanding (and to the degree that anyone in the public really knows), the perpetrators of this crime were exactly that: criminals. They should be found and captured, using all the tools at our disposal, including the force of law, the pressure of diplomacy, and covert activity if necessary. And then they should be tried, legally, for conspiracy and hijacking?and for 5,000 counts of murder. If we follow the general call for war, we will do the wrong thing, morally and politically. We will also sow the seeds of many disasters to come. The reality is that the United States already helped to make Osama bin Laden into the force he is today, by backing him and other militant Islamic fighters in the Afghan war. U.S. policy then was to strengthen anyone who would oppose the Soviets ? and indeed we did that. But if CIA training and military backing were not enough, then maybe the U.S. government should do them another favor and go ahead and take former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger's advice and just bomb Kabul flat. When that happens, as Bruce Shapiro put it in Salon.com (Sept. 12), "You might as well hand out box-cutters and directions to Kennedy Airport to every kid in Afghanistan unto the third generation." It is a matter of the most basic political realism that we as Americans must begin to understand, finally, that our nation cannot act with impunity. There are of course times when we should be willing to risk "blowback" for the sake of a principle; the principle of war as revenge fantasy is not one of them. I hope it's clear that none of this is intended as even back-handed support for the world-view of Osama bin Laden and his kind. I know where they came from: Islamic fundamentalism gained strength from the political failures of secular Arab governments in the 1960s and 70s, and from the sense among many people that "Americanization" was destroying their traditions and identity. I believe that the United States has some responsibility to bear for helping to create the climate of anger and fear that is so much a part of the Middle East today, and that has fueled the radicalization of certain people who believe they have little to lose. But I am also convinced that Islamic fundamentalism is dangerous and wrong. I think the same is true of Christian fundamentalism. When Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson go on television as they did this week to sagely agree that the ACLU and gays and lesbians and feminists are all responsible for bringing God's wrath down upon the United States, they are the best argument for secularism I know of. Yet just as my Christian friends are clear that Falwell's hatred is far removed from their own faith, we also need to know that there is nothing in "Islam" that creates a special inclination toward suicide, violence, or hatred. Despair and alienation breed all of those things: from Jonestown to South Central LA to Beit Jala. It's true that faith is a powerful motivator for extraordinary actions, of all types, but beware, beware of pundits claiming to explain the nature of Islam as the reason for violent actions. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with adherents whose beliefs and practices are no less varied and no less rich than those of other religions. Christianity is deeply meaningful to many people, but it means something very different to French Catholic socialists than to conservative American Protestants, and something else again to black evangelicals or Coptic Christians in Egypt. Like all religions, Islam is profoundly real as experience, and utterly elusive as explanation. I also don't want to imply that I think the right foreign policies will lead to a world without violence. Even if the United States were to develop a far more judicious and just foreign policy than we have, it would not stop all the causes of terrorism. While it is obviously true that without attention to causes, there will never be solutions ? who can believe that there will ultimately be any end to the violence in Northern Ireland or in Israel/Palestine until the underlying political problems are resolved in ways that most people on both sides can accept as fair? ? it is also true that there are a certain number of people who will be opposed to even the best of policies, simply because human beings are unlikely to agree on what is "best." Even if we were somehow able to forge the kind of world I believe in ? democratic, anti-imperialist, multicultural, economically just, and as queer as can be ? I don't doubt that what is my liberation project would be, for some people, a nightmare. And it might just make a few of them angry enough to kill. I do know this, however: a world in which there is real progress in forging economic justice within and between countries, where the United States and its allies bomb less and talk more, and where the national rights of others are taken seriously, even when they are inconvenient, will be a world in which there is less terrorism. But that is not why I support those things. I support them because I believe they are right. Because I want a world that is more just and safer for all people, not just for Americans. And because I also realize that, despite my criticisms, I *am* an American, and I want to feel about my country politically and globally what I feel about it at the individual and human level: that we are remarkably capable of doing the right thing. This is longer than I intended, but of course it is only a beginning. There are several good resources on the net that I urge you to keep following: www.commondreams.org is an excellent compendium of liberal/left alternative news articles; www.salon.com represents a more mainstream set of opinions, but has some excellent pieces; the home page for Middle East Report (www.merip.org) has good background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One group that is organizing a response is Move On, and their action campaign on this issue can be accessed at: http://www.moveon.org/justice. My book _Epic Encounters_ came out this week, and to the degree it speaks to a long history of fear, anger, and misunderstanding, I think it speaks to this. But there is nothing right now that feels adequate to me; I trust that we will forge our truths, and our political space, in the days and weeks ahead. Melani Melani McAlister Assistant Professor of American Studies George Washington Univ. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story321.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.44.18.222 Annotation Annotations to this item. Afganistan/Mideast Civil Liberties/Discrimination Foreign Policy Internet Military Osama Bin Laden Patriotism Peace Politics and politicians Protest Religion Terrorism U.S. retribution DC:2 Feature Notes Notes about this item. Move to emails