Twentieth Anniversary Of 9/11!

As the United States commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and pay respects to the memory of nearly 3,000 people killed that day, they are also celebrating the end of the nearly two-decade-long US war in Afghanistan.

Though Taliban and Al-Qaeda are two sides of the same terrorist coin, it is quite amusing to see the United States and the United Nations putting together their intellectual prowess to make a rather fine distinction between the two terrorist groups and help Taliban form a legitimate government in Afghanistan.

Taliban has now announced a temporary cabinet, with many members falling on the UN designated terror list. This will put the American president and his senior colleagues in the most ignominious position of having to rub diplomatic shoulders with their counterparts in the Afghan government.

It is as if the world is back to square one after 20 years!! I shudder to think of that horrendous day when I happened to be in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The Day That Changed the World For Ever!

Sep 11, 2018: 17th Anniversary

As we reflect on the 17th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 event of 2001 that claimed nearly 3,000 lives at the World Trade Center, New York City, we ask the question how has it impacted the world. It brought in dramatic changes that transformed the world for ever – spanning from the launch of deadly, long-running wars in the Middle East to taking off our shoes to go through the airport security. 

Photo Courtesy: The Web

And it took 17 years for the World Trade Center station, Cortlandt Street, to open again (see photo). This New York City subway station was under the WTC building, whose twin towers had collapsed, after being struck by the terrorists' planes. 

Today, this is all just a story old people tell the youngsters who weren’t born then. But for me it is not just a story, but an incident that had touched me! This is an excerpt from my diary of that traumatic and historic day.

Recalling Events of Sep 2001

Sept 11, 2001: There was a pleasant chill in the morning breeze coming from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and touching the banks of the Cache La Poudre River in Fort Collins, Colorado. In the breakfast room at AmericInn, that day on 11 September 2001 the TV screen on the wall was showing the CNN channel as usual. I was sipping orange juice and indifferently watching the TV at what appeared to be the trailer of a Hollywood action thriller - a huge aircraft striking a tall tower and bursting into flames and after about 15 minutes, a second aircraft approaching from another direction and performing the same feat. 

No matter how inquisitive the media men are, and how innovative their methods of news-gathering be, you don’t expect to witness such an incident live on the TV screen! Even the reporters sounded bewildered and perplexed at the live news they were presenting. It soon dawned on me that what was happening in front of our eyes was genuine news all right, albeit far-fetched and awfully incredible. A few other guests in the breakfast room were whispering in low tones trying to comprehend the unimaginable spectacle unfolding in front of their eyes.

After breakfast I crossed the road and entered the office of our business partner where I had come for a series of technical meetings. It was definitely not a good morning as usual; I offered my sympathy and heartfelt condolences to everyone at the horrific tragedy that had struck the country and its people. The ramifications of the morning incident were far reaching. By the afternoon almost everyone in the country was affected one way or the other. The President of the company couldn’t return from Canada because of the unprecedented and unparalleled measure taken by the US Government to stop all flights across the country. One of the Senior Managers couldn’t get back from Los Angeles even by road since all car rental companies had run out of vehicles. 

I called my friend and relative Dr Jayaprakash Gosalakkal living in New York to inquire about his family and find out what was going on at the location of the incident. He informed me that everyone is safe except that his daughter is unable to get back home from the school because of the thick smoke that had enveloped the whole area.

Getting Back to UAE

Sept 15, 2001: Two of my colleagues and I were wondering whether we would be able to leave the country on 14th as scheduled. On 13th I realized that I couldn’t travel the next day since the flights were canceled and the airlines would be able to give me a confirmed seat only after seven days. However, on 14th my colleagues were fortunate to get their return booking to Dubai confirmed for 15th, the next day. 

I was in a dilemma whether I should go to the airport since the authorities had issued a statement that only passengers with confirmed tickets should enter the airport premises. Finally, I decided to accompany my colleagues to the Denver airport, 110 km away, and try my luck in spite of the warning. While checking out of the hotel I informed the front desk that I may be back and would need a room for a few more days!

The one-hour journey by road at five o’clock on 15th morning from Ft Collins to Denver International Airport (DIA) was without any incident. Though the road leading to the airport looked unusually deserted, once inside, DIA was humming with routine activity. We had arrived four hours in advance of of my colleagues' flight. Passengers were standing in long queues with their varied pieces of luggage. We were three of us. with destination Dubai. 

We joined the serpentine queue for the American Airlines check-in. One of my colleagues was a Muslim with a Lebanese passport, the other an Armenian Christian with an Iranian passport, and I was holding an Indian passport. We were mentally getting prepared for the worst form of questioning by various authorities in view of the heightened security measures at airports. Also, the memory of my Armenian colleague’s harrowing welcome to USA just six days back was fresh in our minds. Being his first visit to the country, that day at Chicago airport, he had to undergo a grueling forty-five minutes ordeal of intensive questioning, baggage searching, and fingerprinting.

The check-in queue was moving slowly but steadily and when my turn came the lady at the counter said that I do not have a confirmed booking but will help me leave the country at the earliest. After ten minutes of checking on the computer terminal along with her supervisor she got me a seat to Zurich via Dallas Ft Worth by American Airlines. My colleagues were booked to Zurich via Chicago. 

I proceeded with apprehension for the security check. Surprisingly my carry-on bag passed through the x-ray scanner, and myself through the body scanner, with surprising ease. I realized that the woman scrutinizing my briefcase on the x-ray screen and the man scanning my body with the magic wand were bored with their monotonous jobs. While the automated part of the American system runs like a well-oiled machine, the manual part still remains as its weak link. I had a pair of 4” scissors and I was prepared to forgo it if the security staff objected to its presence in the carry-on baggage. But nothing untoward happened!

Finally, I boarded the aircraft. The atmosphere within the cabin was rather tense and the usually boisterous passengers were very quiet. I was mulling over the horrific attacks that were unprecedented in terms of their scope, magnitude, and impact on the human psyche - why was such a thing happening in America? 

The American Establishment

I am a great admirer of the American system - the way it utilizes science and technology for the improvement of the human life, as well as the way it facilitates advances in basic sciences and arts. Every visit to this magnificent country leaves me awestruck with the fabulous infrastructure of efficient transportation routes, huge skyscraper buildings, humongous shopping malls, pristine public parks, well-known universities... with the many organizations and establishments that smoothly and efficiently function, independently and together. 

Another striking feature is the large number of different nationalities working in USA and contributing to the advancement of the country. I am sure that many of these foreign-born people, especially from my own country, working in different fields of science, technology, and art would not be so creative, prolific, and productive in their own home countries. There is clearly a distinct American spirit that distinguishes it from other countries of the world. 

Back in Dubai

From Zurich airport I phoned my wife, Vasantha Unnikrishnan, and also shot off a couple of emails from the rather unoccupied Internet cafe area. Finally, it was great to get back to Dubai after such an eventful trip!

The 17th Anniversary remembrance was originally published in my Facebook Page on Sep14, 2018. See the post and comments here: That Day on Sep 11, 2001