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. Sunday, November 25, 2001 10:37 PM September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 I write to advocate that the definition of ?victim? be expanded. It is my understanding that the Victim Compensation Fund defines ?victim? as family members of those who died, and those who suffered physical injury as a result of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center (?WTC?) towers and the Pentagon. There is a group of people that does not qualify under this statutory definition of ?victim,? but these people were and are victims of the WTC attacks nonetheless. These were people who were present during the attacks, but suffered no obvious physical injuries, and those whose homes or businesses were damaged, or otherwise adversely affected because of their proximity to the WTC. My apartment complex is located across the street from where the WTC towers stood. I was home at the time of the attacks; outside in the courtyard at the time the first tower collapsed, and was engulfed by the wave of ash and debris. I was fortunate enough to have survived and was among the lucky ones who were evacuated across the Hudson River to New Jersey. In the days and weeks following the attacks, my building complex, because of its proximity to ?Ground Zero,? was designated part of the ?crime scene? in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, and was among the last of the Battery Park City residential buildings to be able to be prepared for re-occupation. My apartment, like those of many other tenants in Battery Park City, was contaminated with dust, ash and debris. (I was fortunate here, too, as many of my neighbors? apartments were damaged by falling rubble or caught on fire when flaming debris flew across the street.) I have not been able to return to my apartment or retrieve any of my personal possessions (including clothing), however, since September 11th, because of the contamination. It is costing thousands of dollars to clean all of my clothing, linens, blankets, etc.; thousands more for the certified hazardous material abatement company to decontaminate my apartment and its contents, or safely dispose of those items that cannot be salvaged. (I don?t know yet which of my personal possessions are salvageable or which will have to be replaced.) I must also purchase air purifiers with HEPA filters in order to keep the air inside my apartment "safe." Like many of my neighbors in Battery Park City, I did not have renter?s insurance, and neither FEMA nor the Red Cross will cover these costs. There are thousands of people in similar circumstances: some, like me, are still displaced, some have returned to their apartments (and are enduring respiratory problems, nosebleeds, headaches, rashes), others will not be able to return to their homes for several more months. All have been traumatized by their experiences. Fires at Ground Zero still burn and, while the EPA has stated that the particulate matter and other substances in the air pose no long-term health risks, the air quality has certainly been compromised (for example, we have been advised that children should not exert themselves when playing outdoors). I urge that the definition of ?victim? who qualifies for compensation from the Fund be expanded to include residents who were displaced and whose homes were contaminated by the attacks, businesses that were adversely affected, and those people who were at the site during the attacks but who did not suffer apparent physical injury. (The psychological impact should not be ignored.) Thank you for this opportunity. Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-25 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 dojW000550.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. 2001-11-25