Reflections: Looking back at tragedy

I woke up Tuesday morning immediately hearing about the news in New York and Washington. My initial reaction was complete shock; I could not believe what was happening in my home city.

My attention shifted right away to my family and loved ones.ÿI had so many ties with the place that I could not even begin to contemplate the consequences of such an event. My sister worked downtown, near theÿtowers, and several of my friends workÿin the financial district. My old high school was justÿfour blocks away from there. I even spent time working in the towers several summers ago. I worried about whether everyone was all right, if they had seen anything, if they knew anyone. I was just in a complete state of shock, fear and confusion.

After many attemptedÿphone calls and conversations with family and friends, I found out that everybodyÿclose to meÿwas all right. The relief I felt was great but brief. Iÿlearned soon afterÿthatÿan acquaintance from high school worked high in the towers and had not contacted her family as of late last night. This really upset me and made me think: I wasÿsad about a personÿwho wasÿnot that close to me -- but she was only one.ÿOneÿofÿthousands.

Although the enormity of this tragedy still has not hit me, I can say that I have learned something. The feeling of thankfulness when I learned that my loved ones wereÿOK was indescribable. As a new student to Penn, I have not had an easy time here over the past weeks, but my problems were completely dwarfed by Tuesday's events.

This attack was a complete shock and shows us that we never know what to expect. I just want to ask everyone who has loves ones that are unhurt from this event to pleaseÿtake the time to appreciate the fact that you have them in your lives. If you can, call them once more to let them know you care. It's so important.

-- Ray Liu

College '04

*

As I began my second week as a college freshman, I finally started to shed my feelings of uneasiness and to adopt comforting sensations of stability and certainty. I became oriented with most buildings on campus and comfortable using the coed bathroom on my floor. Yet, as I walked out of my writing seminar on Tuesday morning, this newly acquired feeling of assuredness quickly escaped me.

As I witnessed University students frenetically rushing down Locust Walk, and members of the community trying to get cellular reception as tears streamed down their faces, I was revisited with a feeling of discomfort and anxiety which I assumed I had lost after being on campus for two weeks.

I quickly became uneasy about all that surrounded me. After contacting my family in New York, I was engulfed by feelings of doubt. I became skeptical of the security of our country, the newly elected president, the supposed "unbreakable" status of our nation and all the faith which I have held in these great United States of America.

Whatever happened to the notion that our country was indestructible and impenetrable by outside nations? We are supposed to be the "policemen of the world," yet since when do others threaten a nation with this status?

Not only did I begin to have qualms about the security of our country -- but I began to doubt my own vulnerability. How could I step onto a plane when I know that airport security allowed hijackers onto commercial jets? And, putting all political bias aside, I began to question the effectiveness of our traditional intelligence gathering.

I questioned whether it is even reasonable to expect that we should be able to prevent all terrorism on American soil.

As these feelings of skepticism continue to permeate our minds, I can only hope that at some point in the near future, I will be able to return to the feeling of security which I was just beginning to grasp when this terrible disaster occurred.

-- Blake Kohn

College '05

*

We, the members of the Penn Arab Student Society, wish to express our deep sorrow over the horrific events in New York and Washington. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and all those whose lives have been touched by this tragedy. We join many other Arab organizations around the country and the world in our categorical condemnation of these vicious attacks, and any use of violence against innocent civilians.

At this time of uncertainty and extreme anxiety, we look to our Penn community for support, and offer the same in return. We hope that through our solidarity, we at Penn can restore in our own community the sense of comfort and security that was shattered on Tuesday.

-- Omar Al-Wir

Undergraudate President,

Penn Arab Student Society

*

Over the past few days, America has been struck by heinous attacks of terrorism. Like the Kennedy assassination and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Sept. 11 will now be a date that becomes part of the national consciousness. On this date, the World Trade Center -- a symbol of American financial prowess -- and the Pentagon, the very center of our military might, were struck by hijacked aircraft. Terrorists attempted to strike at the very heart of America.

They have failed.

While our capital markets may be crippled and the hub of our military may be in need of repair, the attackers have failed to hit at what I consider the very core of our nation.

Today, in our schools, children will continue to learn. In Washington, politicians will continue to debate a wide range of issues. In churches across the country, Americans will pray to their respective gods so that the souls lost in this week's tragedy may somehow be saved.

These events will occur because the freedoms of speech and worship are preserved in America. Our country was founded on the somewhat abstract ideal that all men and women are free to do as they please so long as their actions do not infringe upon the freedoms of others. That principle -- that all individuals are born free -- represents what I believe to be the heart of America.

This is something that has escaped unscathed after September 11.

I will leave the question of the effects of American cultural, military and economic hegemony aside, but the real fight for Americans lies ahead. In the coming months a new question will come before the American body politic: What price are we as a nation willing to pay in terms of our liberties to feel safer?

Will Americans feel OK with warrantless searches of their homes to ensure no bombs are present? Will military checkpoints be established to control passage into and out of sensitive areas?

It feels somewhat reassuring to me that, in a time of extreme vulnerability, our perpetrators missed the mark. And, it is even more reassuring that it may have been downright impossible for these terrorists to hit the goal which they sought.

We as a nation will have two options: We can begin the arduous work of rebuilding our wounds or we can assist the terrorists in finishing their work. An essential part of moving forward involves fighting to ensure that our freedoms remain unchallenged and that the guilty party is brought to justice (but not subjected to vengeance).

By limiting freedoms and allowing ourselves to be consumed by hatred, we assist the terrorists and demean ourselves as a nation.

-- David Greene

Engineering '02

*

I am a 2001 graduate of the College, living and attending school in New York City. I had just left my apartment in Battery Park City, and entered the World Trade Center to take the subway to school when suddenly, everyone was running toward me and screaming to get out of the building.

At first, we thought it was a bomb, and it was not until we were standing outside, with flaming debris falling on our heads, that we first heard someone say that a plane had struck the North Tower. I was only a block away, standing at One Liberty Place, when the second tower was struck by a plane. I later witnessed the first tower collapse from that same vantage point.

I write this not to give my experiences from the disaster, because the horrific details are all over the news, and the last thing anyone needs is a further reminder of the events of Tuesday morning. I write this to illuminate the one positive aspect of this incident: the remarkable thoughtfulness and inherent decency of New Yorkers, and of the American people as a whole.

Through the kindness of strangers, I escaped Tuesday's tragedy with my life and only minor injuries. Far from the chaos and panic one would imagine, the situation on the streets yesterday as the Twin Towers collapsed was one of remarkable courage and strength. Everyone, from direct survivors of the disaster to those who were 40 or 50 blocks away, pulled together to help each other through this.

In the pitch-black darkness and confusion of the clouds of smoke and debris that engulfed us as the South Tower crumbled over our heads, complete strangers banded together to ensure each other's survival. In particular, I owe my life to two gentlemen, Ari and Pete, who helped me navigate my way to South Street Seaport, and I wholeheartedly regret that I only ever learned their first names.

As my newfound companions and I trekked up the East Side to Beth Israel Hospital, we were overwhelmed by people falling over themselves to help us with anything they could -- water, towels, food, bathrooms, cell phones, money and even a place to spend the night.

Naturally, I urge you all to place your thoughts and prayers with those who were not as lucky as I was. But I also ask that you keep your spirits high, and know that the greatness of America and its people are only heightened by a tragedy like this. I came away from my experiences Tuesday with an even greater sense of faith in the basic goodness and camaraderie of humankind.

To be sure, our nation will be forever-changed by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, but I believe it will be a change for the better.

My warmest wishes and prayers are with the victims of yesterday's tragedy, their friends and families, all of the rescue workers and with my fellow survivors.

-- Gina LaPlaca

College '01

*

It is not often that I am apprehensive to walk on this campus. Regardless of what some may say about West Philadelphia, I have never felt any sort of palpable danger to my being. On Sept. 11, however, that changed. Not because of the attack on New York and the "impending" attack on Philadelphia, but because I am an Arab, and a Palestinian one at that. Bombs weren't my main concern. A sense of anti-Arab sentiment growing around me, on the other hand, was.

It is natural in such a situation to lash out on the most obvious target, which in this case would be the Arab and Muslim communities. However, I think it is worth our time to remember that, unlike the stereotype that is force-fed down our throats daily by the media, we are not all "terrorists" or "fanatics" or "fundamentalists." Not every Arab is grinning at the prospect of American (not to mention Israeli) blood being shed, and not every Arab cheered as the horrific image of a plane hurtling into the Twin Towers was broadcast over and over again on television.

I would urge the Penn community to not only remember that such actions are not committed in a vacuum, but also that people around us -- some of whom we even call friends -- are among those suspected of being the killers of friends and families in New York and Washington. Such suspicions are unfair and possibly even racist, both of which are unfitting for a country so entrenched in its search for justice.

To those who have friends in New York or Washington (as I do), I offer my deepest condolences and wishes that such a tragedy will never be a part of their lives ever again.

-- Nabih Bulos

College '02

*

Imam Kenneth Nurad-Din, speaking at the University memorial service on Wednesday, said, "All of us are asking for peace. We need to establish peace within ourselves first."

How grateful I was to hear these words. We need to take care of our suffering, fear and anger with a lot of love. We need to hold it gently, smile to it with compassion, like a mother tenderly holding her crying baby. That is the first thing we must do, the most important thing we can do, in this time of crisis.

There are many voices of anger right now, speaking words of punishment, of retaliation, of revenge. We should be mindful that we are angry because we are suffering -- indeed, anger is made of suffering. We should also be mindful that the horrible events we have experienced are manifestations of the cycle of suffering, the cycle of violence.

In my ancestral homeland of Vietnam, unspeakable atrocities were committed by soldiers on all sides -- not because they were evil people, but because war brings out the worst in us.

Instead of dwelling in our anger and acting out of fear, can we begin to take care of our suffering and heal our pain? Can we bring peace into our hearts, our community, the world? Can we transform the cycle of violence into a cycle of healing? The Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, "Remember, brother, remember: Man is not our enemy. Hatred will never allow you to face the beast in man."

We have been wronged, and we are grieving, and we are angry. Let us stop, look deeply and ask: Can we bring peace to our hearts by acting in anger? Can we end the violence in our world without transforming its roots -- the beasts of suffering, of fear, of anger, in ourselves and in all people?

We are experiencing the cycle of violence which has gone on for countless generations. For the sake of our world, and for the sake of future generations, I hope that we can find a better way.

-- Dzung Vo

Medicine '04

*

As rescuers pick through the debris that was the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, we already hear of plans for retaliation. NATO has already promised America its full support in any military action taken against the perpetrators of the attack. And a poll not long ago indicated that 90 percent of Americans support retaliatory military action.

Whether Tuesday's attack was the work of independent terrorist groups or the result of state-sponsored terrorism, there is little doubt that America will find some way to retaliate. Missile and air strikes will likely be the primary weapons used to target terrorists or offending nations. And when the dust settles after our strikes, we will call it justice.

Justice? If that's our view of justice, what about dealing justice to the terrorist hijackers who died in their suicide attacks? They brought death upon themselves and thousands of others in the belief that such an act would guarantee them martyrdom and spiritual reward. Would any American believe that they have been served justice because they are dead? Would it have made a difference had they lived and we hunted them down later?

Should we manage to find and punish those responsible for these attacks, it will only be a temporary solution. Our eye-for-an-eye mentality will lead to a cycle of violence similar to one that exists in the Middle East. America will end up like Israel, using its military might to strike at select targets. And the suicide-bent terrorists will keep coming at us.

Terrorists embrace a culture of death. Maybe America should strive for changes that will encourage the people of this world to look toward life instead.

-- Jeremy Hsu

College '04

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