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 Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 4:11 PM We ARE Victims Too There is a population of individuals who do not qualify under the definition of victims. However, we are victims nonetheless. Our lives have been turned upside down since September 11th because we live in the immediate vicinity of Ground Zero. While my apartment sustained no physical damage, it was filled with contaminated dust which had to be cleaned by a company specializing in handling Hazardous Materials. We were banned from our neighborhood, our homes, for a variety of reasons while many disaster and crime related incidents took place. In the hours immediately following the disaster, when I begged to be allowed in just to retrieve my dog, my loyal companion, and was told no, I asked "So you're going to let him die in there?" . One Federal marshal told me point blank "Yes, I guess so". This is a government official that is supposed to SERVE us?! Also, even with emergency and rescue workers, and the press, commandeering buildings and streets, tourists seemed to flock to the area. The sheer volume of tourists made commuting around (for those of us who live here) a nightmare. Not to mention that for a time, the area looked like a war zone-certainly not indicative of a "Free Country". Now, as our buildings reopen, amidst a swirl of controversy (the EPA says the air is safe, yet why do we get headaches, nosebleeds, rashes, etc.?) and concern (is the air really safe? Short-term? Long-term?), we are faced with rebuilding our lives. A hefty task considering that many of us do not have renters insurance and have to absorb thousands of dollars in HazMat cleaning bills, laundry bills, alternate lodging, meal and travel expenses. Even with the help of FEMA and Red Cross, it is still not enough to help us regain the semblance of normalcy every politician in the area is suggesting we do. Our landlord has offered menial concessions, at best, even with a formidable tenants association on our side. Our neighborhood has suffered too. Transportation is limited. Quality of services and amenities will be reduced for a long time. Air quality is questionable, at best. All this loss may be quantifiable, but what about the psychological and emotional toll this tragic event has had on us. What choices do we have? Leave a neighborhood we have come to call home or live near a mass graveyard. Add to this the potential decrease in work performance, strain on personal relationships and necessary therapy or counseling, and you have a serious dilemma. We ARE victims too. Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-07 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 dojW000250.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. email 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. 2001-11-07