9/11: From a child’s point-of-view
Recap: On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.
I remember that day. I was in second grade and everyone was doing their school work. Suddenly, the intercom in our classroom went haywire, and later we heard the voice of our principal saying to turn on the TV’s. When the teacher put the news channel on, she was horrified by what she was seeing. Every one of my classmates gasped, some yelled, but was one of the few who stayed very calm and collected. I’m not saying that I wasn’t surprised, because I was. I had only seen the Twin Towers once or twice before the attack. At that age,I was not very sympathetic about what happened to be honest. It was only growing up that I realized just how much damage this attack did, damages that still am learning about today. Every year, when it was time to commemorate on September 11, each time it was different for me. I became more empathetic with the situation and the pain in the families that lost their loved ones.
An example of what I’m writing about is better explained in the movie “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”. This boy named Oskar Shell loses his father due to the terrorist attack on 9/11. The story depicts Oskar’s view on things, asking himself a lot of questions and distancing himself from his mother because he does not want to face the truth. (The trailer for the movie is below)
You see, every time something a news article or a program or even images everywhere are shown, they are shown from an adult’s perspective, yet not from one of a child. I’m not speaking of toddlers, I’m talking about pre-teens or young adults. Growing up, I got to know people who lost their brother, their best friend and even both their parents because both worked there. I think it’s very important to show the teens who lost practically everything, the ones they loved taken from them that day that they are not suffering alone and that we care and that life goes on…
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477302/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgp8rR2fykU&feature=fvst
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2083745,00.html
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks