At around 6:30am-7:30am on September the 11th, 2001, my Mum woke me up and said, “Danielle, something terrible has happened.” I got up wondering what was going on.
As I went into the lounge-room, I noticed that the T.V was on…..and what I saw horrified me.
I saw images of planes flying into buildlings, and the two towers collapsing, one after the other.
A look of shock filled my face, and all I could do was watch. All of these questions were going through my head.
WHO? WHEN? WHERE? HOW?
But there was one question in my head that really had me crying…..
WHY?
At school that day, nearly everyone had heard about what had happend in New York, and we were all in a state of shock.
In Period 1, I had religion, and the teacher asked if there was anyone in the class who had loved ones who had been involved with the attacks…..I’m not sure, but I think that no one put up their hand.
During the day when all of the talk was about the attacks, I was told that there was a lady who had rung up an Australian radio station saying,
“Please Please all of the help-lines are blocked! Please tell me if my fience
(fee-on-say) was on one of those planes that hit the towers!” The people at the radio station had to ring her back, and tell her that her fience, was dead.
On the bus trip home from school, I was talking to my friend Steph about what had happend. We are both very religious people, and all of our prayers were for those who had perished.
When I got home, I went to go into the house, then I realised that I didn’t have my keys. So I just sat down on the steps, wondered what to do, then cried.
I cried like I had never had cried before. I always hoped that I wouldn’t be alive to witness anything as scary and heartbreaking as this.
I felt so pathetic that there was nothing that I could do. I just felt so useless and heartbroken.
In the end, I just looked up at the sky and said,
“Why the hell did he have to do that?!
Why did Osama Binladen attack those innocent people?! WHY?!”
I didn’t care whether people could hear me or not. I just kept screaming,
“F— you Osama Binladen!F— you!”
I just kept praying to God to please help those who had died, and especially those who had lost loved ones.
Despite what has happened in the past year, always remember one thing…things will get better.
For anyone who has lost loved ones through the attacks, or for any other reason, just remember this.
I know that it hurts now, and it probably will for a long time, but I ask you this question. Are the people that died really gone? Or have they just gone away for a while? Remember, no matter what, the people who have died in the past are always with you. If you find it hard to accept that, find a photo, draw a picture, find a vidio or anything else you can think of, and imagine that the person/people that you have lost are standing right beside you, watching you, being your guardian angels. And who knows? They really could be standing there, but we just don’t know it.
Remember, there is always hope, no matter what. September 11 may have been a traumatic time in history, but look how much it has brought the world together. Nearly everyone now sees life as a privalage, and have realised that they shouldn’t waste their lives holding grudges about how someone hasn’t paid back the money they borrowed, or how someone called them a name, or anything else that people have thought were bad at the time.
Remember, there is always hope. And to the people who have lost loved ones through the attack, things will get better eventually, and that where there is grief, you will always find hope.
From Danielle, aged 14
P.S- If the President of the United States happens to read this, please, don’t start a war, as that will only cause more pain and suffering in both countries. Please if you read this, take it in.