Remembering 9/11

Sarah Njora ’27
EE Staff Writer

On September 11th, 2001 a sudden attack that killed 2,977 victims at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA devastated the American people and sent the world into a state of panic.

One of the legacies of the day was the story of Flight #93.

The American Airlines Boeing 757-222 was filled with 20,000 gallons of fuel and set off expecting to land in San Francisco departing from Newark, New Jersey. It was supposed to be a non-stop flight but 46 minutes in, hijacker Ziad Jarrah had other plans, along with other hijackers in flights #11, #175, and #77. But out of all four hijacked planes, flight #93 was the only one not to reach its intended target of Washington D.C.

Jarrah’s initial objective was to strike an American symbol like the Capitol or the White House. Thankfully passengers soon realized that no matter what they did in the situation they had been faced with, they were going to die. Using whatever power they had, the alerted passengers of Flight #93 defeated Jarrah and faced their demise at around 9:30 am, crashing in Somerset County Pennsylvania.

We can only assume what actually happened on this flight and we will never really know the truth behind Flight #93. What we do know is that no matter how hard the terrorist group led by Mohamed Atta tried to deface America’s national tokens, the American people only became stronger, not by forgetting what happened, but from hearing and learning the stories from those still facing the repercussions of 9/11 up to today.

For most, 9/11 is a day to remember, and look back at the tragedy that America endured and a solemn remembrance of the people who either risked their lives or faced the consequences of the terrorists’ wrongdoing. But for others, 9/11 is a more personal reminder of loss and anguish. 24-year-old Khang Nguyen is one of them as told in a 2021 profile on National Public Radio. 

Born in Vietnam and raised in America, he had a mother, father and an overall content life in Virginia. But in the blink of an eye, all that was taken away from him as he stood 4 years old, in front of his family’s photos, wearing a traditional Vietnamese white headband for mourning, weeping over his father’s casket.

He was young and vulnerable according to his mother, so grieving was hard for both her and her son. After witnessing his dad die at the age of 41, Khang made it his goal to get a master’s degree that his dad was on track to get before his life was cut so short.

Khang became a software engineer as a way to honor himself and  his father. He and his mother attend annual memorial services at the Pentagon and make his father’s favorite foods and desserts as they light candles and pray for him and their future without him.

For others, 9/11 may be a reminder of the threat of racism, harassment, ostracization, assault and more because of their real or perceived genetic and/or religious association with the terrorists of 9/11. The Muslim community has faced islamophobia dating before 1923 but that prejudice increased for many after the attacks.

Through WWII, this community had been portrayed as supporters of a negative, false, or violent religion. 9/11 didn’t make it any easier for Muslims to be welcomed into countries with Christian majorities –whether they were citizens, or refugees. Many found their identities characterized for them, further pushing them from or stripping them of their faith.

Ruwa Romman–a Palestinian American–was only 8 years old when the terror attacks occurred. Her story was featured in an article from CNN Crime + Justice.

She did not speak English very well and didn’t get a full grasp of what was going on, but could remember being called slurs (some that didn’t even apply to her ethnicity) followed by or prefaced with words associating with the sand, desert, or being a terrorist. A teacher asked if she was related to Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda mastermind behind the attacks.

Her friends’ parents labeled her as a Muslim terrorist and banned her from their house or from even hanging out with her friend. Traveling at the airport required over three bag checks compared to the white American family near them going through security smoothly.

Her younger self tried so hard to get people to accept her, but all the built up anger from the constant belittling never helped her figure own life. By eighteen she faced the reality that her people are and will continue to be systematically targeted from their place of worship in mosques all the way back to the places that started it all: airports and their security cameras.

In 2016, Romman joined the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, as their communications director. She’s since become a community organizer, policy analyst and consultant working on related issues.

“We will continue to be politically engaged and unapologetically so.” Romann said. “Muslims are no longer willing to carry that burden. None of us committed 9/11. Why should we carry that burden?”. 

September 11th is known as a date to commemorate the American citizens that faced an unbelievably harmful attack killing almost 3,000 of them. But 9/11 is more than that, it sends a different reminder to each individual, each family, and each community of how 9/11 redirected the wellbeing of their lives.

Whether one’s life is like Khang Nguyen, having to live the rest of his life knowing his father is never going to come back, but making decisions that keep his story alive. Or someone like Ruwa Romman, who was never a part of the attacks, but blamed for the things that happened to the American people and facing backlash until she knew she had to fight for change.

Or for the average citizen, too. Witnessing the attacks but still feeling something for the people that have to face the repercussions and are thankful for the ones or sacrificed themselves for the wellbeing of their people. All should be commemorated, celebrated, and remembered because forgetting what happened will weaken the unity of the people of our country.

Photo credit: By Derek Jensen – Tysto, Public Domain