story1044.xml

story1044.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-18

The weeks following September 11 were perhaps more difficult for me than the fateful morning itself. As an American living in Canada I felt terribly disconnected from my family ? both my blood relatives and my fellow Americans ? during a time of great need. When other Americans were embracing each other for comfort, I felt totally alone. And it would be months before I again set foot on American soil. Please don?t get me wrong, Canadians were also deeply affected by the attacks and history will remind us that Canada responded heroically and neighbourly to America?s disaster (by receiving, for example, numerous flights originally destined for the States but diverted following the attacks). Nonetheless, I could clearly discern on the streets of Montreal that my blood was ?red, white & blue?, whereas the blood of those around me was ?red & white.? From the very beginning there were murmurs that America somehow deserved it, that our foreign policies had come back to haunt us. (Interestingly, I could never get anyone to confess to exactly which foreign policies they were referring). Nevertheless, at the national level Canada always expressed solidarity with the U.S., and complained very little even when four of their own were killed by American ?friendly fire.? Truly Canada did stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States during this time, but oh, how I wish I had been home in Virginia on September 11, 2001.