We have recovered and we will continue to recover, to overcome, and to succeed – but we will never forget.
It happened eleven years ago, but I still remember that day clearly – many will tell you the same. I sat in my seat when another teacher had rushed into the room and whispered something into my teacher’s ear, something that made her gasp and turn to look out the window. We all turned to look, too, but we weren’t very sure what we were looking at: it was just a cloud of smoke. They wouldn’t tell us anything, but it was obvious they were all distressed. When I saw my mother, she finally told us what had happened: planes had hit the twin towers. On the way home, she pointed out dust that had settled on cars. We would turn on the T.V. only to see footages of people screaming and running, trying to escape from this cloud of dust that was chasing after them, footages of the towers on fire, constantly on loop. We didn’t know what was going on. Later, we found out that it was a terrorist attack, and 9/11 became a day that no one could forget.
Recently, I had the chance to visit the memorial for the first time. It consisted of two giant marble pools, with water rushing out, falling to the bottom before flowing, then falling again. The sound of the water was loud, insistent, soothing; it overpowered the sound of the passing cars. The names were carved into marble; neat, serif letters made new homes for beautiful, vibrant flowers. We were made small by skyscrapers, a reminder of what used to stand here in place of these serene pools. Looking up, we saw progress of the Freedom Tower, its completion imminent.
But what completed the atmosphere was the people: families everywhere; whether they were tourists or native New Yorkers, it didn’t matter. They varied from the young and the old, from little boys posing like superheroes, to the elderly led by their grandkids. There was a sense of togetherness all around us, and the themes of the memorial were especially exemplified. Resilience: we are able to rise from catastrophe and rebuild, renew, rejuvenate. This space is proof of that. Still, even as we come together for this place of mourning, of recognition, its immediate vicinity is undergoing construction to help restore the area to its former glory and beyond. It doesn’t matter that the new structures don’t stand as tall as their predecessors. In fact, it is more powerful that way. Today, in the place of Ground Zero, a place that was regarded as taboo – its stand invoking a sort of fear and dread, stands a hopeful place of gathering for families to reaffirm their sacred bonds and show one’s love for one another. We have recovered and we will continue to recover, to overcome, and to succeed – but we will never forget 9/11.
Article by Becky Chao.
