Rachel (England), Ruth (England), Louise (Ireland), Josh (Australia)
and I made arrived in New York late last night following our trip down from
Long Point Camp in Upstate New York.
We’d been talking on the train about what sites we wanted to see in New
York. Given we only have three days
here, so have to be a little selective.
One place we were all keen to visit was ground zero. Between us, we didn’t know anybody who’d been
involved in the event, but we all felt we should pay tribute to those who died or
had lost loved ones on that fateful day.
We then spent about half an hour during our walk down to the site
talking about where we were when we heard the news back in 2001.
It wasn’t anything like what I’d expected. Where the two sky scrapers used to be there is
now a construction site. But even though
it probably looks like many other construction sites, my awareness of its history made it feel a lot more solemn. My friends and I wandered around
on our own, taking our time and silently reflecting. It did not seem like a time for jovial
conversation, or conversation at all really.
Along a wall to one side of the construction site was a plaque
tribute to those fire fighters who fought the fire, rescued people and
retrieved bodies during the event. As I studied the
images, I could faintly hear inside my mind the sounds from the television
broadcast I had viewed back in 2001: the cries of the injured, the wailing of
the disorientated and the voices that spoke with tremor as they 
recounted the
event to reporters. This, coupled with a
sign advising people not to use a bridge on this coming anniversary, made the
place seem haunted.
There were also some flowers left in memory of those who had died
there. I thought about what it must be
like for the partners of the deceased. This
significant loss, caused by a truly disturbing means, must cause them to relive
the event every day of their lives. I
wondered if they had any children who were now fatherless, and how different it
must be for them growing up without a father.
It is so heart breaking. It
really is…
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