ডাকবাংলা

Twenty years on, the terrifying memories of 9/11, through the eyes of American citizens with a Kolkata connection.

Riya Banerjee, Resident, New Jersey

I was a 22-year-old and had just joined at my first job. My office was in midtown Manhattan at the time and I was at work in midtown on 9/11 when the first plane hit the tower. I was horrified and in complete disbelief when I heard the news on TV. I ran out of the office and could see the tower burning. I will never forget that moment.

I used to visit the World Trade Center regularly back then because one of the offices of my company was located there.

In fact, I had taken my uncle and aunt for a meal at a restaurant at the WTC just a week before 9/11.

I still love New York and work here.

Sougata Chattopadhyay, Resident, Philadelphia

I was working in my office when a colleague gave me the news on 9/11. I turned on the radio immediately; there were no television sets in our office back then. We couldn’t believe what we heard, couldn’t comprehend what had happened. How could planes crash into the Twin Towers?

When we understood that America was under attack, there was a strange sense of fear and anger. A colleague got over his TV from home and put it on. The sheer scale of destruction we saw in those images made us numb.

We also heard that the Pentagon was attacked, and then news came in of the United 93 plane crashing in Pennsylvania, near our home. That plane was probably headed towards Washington DC, with the White House or the Capitol as targets. But the passengers on board had realised what was going on and fought the terrorists on board to turn away the plane from its possible destination, the Capitol building. Many on board that ill-fated flight called up home to bid their families goodbye. I wondered how these families had felt.     

The entire character of America changed since 9/11. A light-hearted lifestyle gave way to an atmosphere of terrible mistrust and fear; these two words became our daily companions. Rules and regulations on travelling via flights became so severe that it took at least four hours to board from the time one reached any airport. Huge queues would form outside airports. I had to travel to Canada on official work a week after 9/11. The plane that we boarded usually had a hundred-plus passengers; there were just two of us on that flight.  

To be honest, I doubt how safe or comfortable people feel flying in America even now. That terrible wound has left a permanent scar on all of us.

Anindita Mukhopadhyay, Resident, New Jersey

No one should have experienced 9/11. My husband Partha worked at Merrill Lynch; his office was located in a building right beside the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, Partha was on his way to work, like every day. He was driving because he got late and because it took a little while on the train. He received a call from his colleague midway. ‘Don’t come to work today, there has been a small accident, a plane has accidentally crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. There’s a bit of chaos all around.’ Partha called me up and said he was on his way back; that he will work from home. He also asked me to turn on the television and follow the news. When I switched on the TV, I saw there was a fire on the upper end of one of the towers. ‘This fire will be extinguished, not a big deal,’ I had thought. And exactly then, a second plane came and crashed into the other tower. That was unbelievable; I could not comprehend what to make of the incident. I had no idea how long these terrifying attacks were going on for.

Tears flew freely from my eyes as I sat glued to the TV. I did not realise my two-year-old son Tukai sat watching the entire coverage as well. To him, the fall of the Twin Towers seemed something out of a Lego game. We would go sit on the patio of the Twin Towers every now and then, where Tukai would play, that very building fell down in front of his eyes. His favourite building, his playspace, was destroyed in the blink of an eye.

We could not sleep for many nights after 9/11. The whole world changed that day. America, the nation that opened its arms to welcome everyone, shut down the doors to its heart.

However, we never imagined that we would have to suffer the fear of the unknown again, post 9/11. COVID proved us wrong.

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