15 years on from 11th September 2001 ("9/11")...

Freedom Tower

> Click HERE to listen to Mr and Mrs Hanson (StoryCorps)

Transcript:

Lee: My name is Lee Hanson.

Eunice: I’m Eunice Hanson.

Lee: We’re here to talk about our children - Peter, our son, Sue Kim, our daughter in-law, and our granddaughter Christine Lee - who were all killed on 9/11 while flying on United Airlines 175. The morning of the eleventh we got up and we were having breakfast. We were talking about the kids taking the trip and it was Christine’s first trip in an airplane. And um, the phone rang and it was Peter, and he said: “Dad, we’ve been hijacked”. He said: “I think they’ve already killed somebody and I don’t think the pilot’s in control of the plane.” I hung up and I called the police and they said: “A plane’s crashed into the World Trade Center and you ought to turn your television on.” Uh, then I waited. I didn’t want to call Peter because I didn’t want to attract any attention to him. He called again and told me he thought they were going to crash into a building because they’d been talking about it. He said: “Well don’t worry Dad, if they do, it will be quick.” And, just after that, Peter very quietly said: “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” Then I heard what sounded like a woman screaming, and everything was cut off. We turned to the television.

Eunice: And we saw the plane burst into flames and the building explode. And uh, I wanted to reach out, I said: “my kids are on that plane.” I kept shaking my head. “This isn’t real, this can’t happen.” To this day, Peter’s friends are in contact with me, and, I get cards and pictures of their children. I should be happy for them, and I am. But I think “I don’t have that anymore.” I have nothing of the people I love the most. It had to be that they stayed together right to the end, died in each other’s arms.

Remembering 9/11

Fourteen years ago, on the 11^th September 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed in a terrorist attack in the USA. 

Extremists hijacked four passenger jets.

They used two of them to destroy the Twin Towers skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, in Manhattan, downtown New York.

A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, America's military headquarters in Washington D.C.

A fourth plane went down in fields near Pittsburgh.

As thousands of workers scrambled to escape the burning buildings, hundreds of rescue workers rushed to get in.

The south tower collapsed first and then the north tower.

Around 300 firefighters were among those killed.

The group behind the attack was Al Qaeda, an islamic terrorist organization.

America, backed by the UK and other countries, promised to strike back.

They launched the Afghan conflict (in October 2001); in Afghanistan the ruling Taliban supported the organisation.

They also launched the second Iraq War (in 2003); it has since been determined that Iraq was not linked to Al Qaeda and many think the invasion of Iraq made things worse there, not better.

In May 2011, American troops tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda.

Terror suspects remain locked up without trial in Guantanamo, a controversial US detention centre in Cuba.

The 9/11 Memorial to the victims was opened in 2011.

A replacement skyscraper to the Twin Towers, the Freedom Tower (officially known as One World Trade Center) was completed in 2014.

Click HERE to watch a video commemorating 9/11.

9/11

To do:

1. Describe in detail the photo above (the man and his surroundings as well as the tattoo) and give it a title.
2. Describe your feelings when looking at this picture (would the feelings of an American be the same as yours do you think?).
3. List questions you would like to put to the photographer about the photo he has taken.
4. Imagine the internal monologue of the tattooed man in the situation above.
5. Ask someone who remembers 9/11 where they were, with whom, and what they were doing at the time they heard the news of the terrorist attacks on NYC and Washington.
6. Send a short "comment" to this blog post stating what you think of the 9/11 MEMORIAL.

12 years on...

Lady Liberty

On september 11, 2001, nineteen al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes, intending to strike the World Trade Center in New York City and targets in Washington, D.C. The hijackers deliberately crashed American Airlines Flight 11, carrying 87 passengers and crew, into 1 WTC, the North Tower, and United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 60 passengers and crew, into 2 WTC, the South Tower. The hijackers also deliberately crashed American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 59 passengers and crew, into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. After learning of the other attacks through cell phone calls, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, carrying 40 passengers and crew, launched a counter-attack on the hijackers to seize control of the aircraft. As a result of their actions, Flight 93 crashed into an empty field in Somerset County in western Pennsylvania, instead of the hijackers’ intended target, believed to have been the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. In New York City and Washington, D.C., thousands of people evacuated safely. Tragically, nearly 3,000 lives were lost – representing the largest death toll from a hostile attack by a foreign entity on American soil. The attacks triggered immediate rescue and recovery operations at all three sites. In the aftermath, donations of money and supplies poured in and people came from all over the world to volunteer their help. Vigils, memorials, and prayer services were held in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and all over the world. While the voids in New York City’s lower Manhattan and the destruction at the crash sites are reminders of loss, the outpouring of generosity and assistance in response to the attacks demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit.

The above extract is taken from a document published by the 9/11 Memorial (http://www.911memorial.org/)

Wallet found at Ground Zero...

To do:

Interview someone about where they were and what they were doing on the 9th of September 2001; what is the significance of the event to them and how, according to them, should we commemorate 9/11?