story1487.xml

story1487.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-26

I had started the day a bit anxious due to the scheduled walk off of some of the workers in are office that are affiliated to a different union than I am. That morning the Quebec City office where already being blocked by picketing lines and most of are workers where stuck outside. However since we are located in a non government office space, shared with other public services, I thought that would make picketing almost impossible. I was right, we all got in without any problems that morning.

I was reading that morning Emails when, from one of my co-workers cubical, I hear a resounding ?QUOI ????? (in English WHAT ???). Andre run?s out of his office to tell me that something had hit one of the World Trade Center tower. ?A small plane!!!? he says. We both run to the break room and open the TV. Andre has a pilots licence and I am a student pilot so anything that has to do with aircraft is of great interest. I remember thinking, as we first saw the images on the TV, that this impact was no small plane. It had to have been a lot bigger than a Cessna or even a Piper Twin to leave such a gapping hole in such a big office tower. That amount of damage could only be from a commercial aircraft. At this point people are filtering in from other offices to see what was wrong. There are a lot of questions going around the small room. How could a pilot make such a mistake as to collide with such a large building in such good weather? Will they get to the people in those floors on time? How will they get that fire under control? Could this not be a boom? I also remember somebody saying that a collision like that had happen before in N.Y. with the Empire State building in heave fog. Is this the same think?

But just then the second plane hit. Silence fell in the room. My co-workers faces went from interrogation and concern for the people inside the first tower to a look of downright fear and disbelieve. I for one was in shock and could not believe what had just happened. I think we just stood there for about a minute or two before someone finally broke the silence. I immediately broke out of the break room to call my wife at work and inform her of what had just happen. Neither she nor the people that work there believed me at first. I don?t blame them. I was not sure I believed it myself.

The office was a buzz with speculation as to what had just happened. No way could this be an accident. People are calling family and friends. Get the word out. I get a call from the Lan administrator in Quebec city. He is stuck outside the office behind a picket line. He wants me to take his calls while he is stuck there. I informed him of what I had just seen on the news and tell him to get the word out where he is. As I get back to the TV we here reports that the Pentagon is on fire. By this time some of the people are crying. I will soon join them. This is happening miles away, in an other country, yet I am crying and unable to carry on with my work. I think of my 10 year old in school and 4 year old in daycare. Do I go and get them to make sure they are safe? What should I do? What will I tell the kids? They will be asking questions. I don?t want to alarm them.

I finally decided that the best way I could be of any help to anybody was to stay at my post in case of an event in Canada. Our ministry is the equivalent of the FCC in the USA and could be ask to participate in an emergency to identify or locate radio signals. When the towers feel, I again called my wife to let here know what had happened and that I loved her. At this point most of us are sitting in the conference room and listening to CNN, ABC, and our local news. No more speculations, no more theory as to what had happened. It is now clear. This is an attack. By 1h00 pm the staff in our offices in Montreal and Quebec city are told that they can leave because they are located in high rise buildings. The fear is spreading to Canada. Offices in Ottawa and Toronto are shutting down.

Buy 4h00 pm most of us had left the office and where on there way home. I pick up my son at school and my daughter at daycare all the while listening to the local FM station. The teacher in my sons class had already explained a bit of what had happened that day. I was relived to see that he actually understood a lot of the situation. One question did how ever shake me up a lot : Dad, are we safe here in Sherbrooke? That was one question which I could not answer any more. I told him that I would do my very best to keep him safe and that events like the ones in NY and Washington where exceptional. This question would come back quite often over the next couple of days.

Those who, on September 11, did these monstrous and unthinkable things wanted to hurt the United States of America but they ended up hurting humanity itself. History will judge them, and they will be remembered with the likes of Hitler and other oppressors of freedom and rights. I sincerely hope that they will never find comfort in is.