I still remember the day the destruction had struck Manhattan. I was at the common lounge in my university dorm and the TV was on. As it was a common dorm, the best channel to be watched was news. But no one seemed to care about that. Sometimes you could feel amazed at how much noise a few students could make. Suddenly, someone shouted "World Trade Center in NY was just attacked!" And every eye turned to the TV screen. There it was, the news flash with an image of a plane crashing into one of the towers. It was the first plane. We were buzzed with surprise and soon, anger. As a business student myself, I used to dream of going to Manhattan and working in a financial company located at WTC. Yeah, I was idealist.
A few minutes later, the news flashed again. The second plane had collided with the other tower, and what once-a-financial-symbol had become a pile of scrap. A breaking news soon became a development story and world headline. When I went back to my room and checked the Internet, the number of dead victims was counting. And the culprits were speculated. But one thing for sure, this despicable act was done under the name of religion. That was so wrong in many levels. Personally, I do not dislike any religion. Even though I am a free thinker, I am considered myself as Buddhist in heart. And I used to read Buddhist texts when I was in Vietnam which taught us how to be a better person by getting rid of anger and hate towards other beings. And I think other religions are preaching the same ideals. I do not think any god (or whoever the higher being in that religion) would like you to kill thousands of people for his name. So why in the seventh hell is that some group of people could something that vile?
Even if they blamed a country's government on what it was doing in their country and religion, it was so cruel to take revenge on its innocent citizens. That was why they were called terrorists. And I still do not understand why they would want to resort to such a violent method. If they had that kind of money, why did they not focus on improve their economy? Fighting by economy is the best way to get back on a country.
Anyway, the past had happened. Anniversary is for people to remember and mourn for their loved ones. And going forward in life. That is what those victims probably want for their livings.
I visited Ground Zero in a cold winter day in 2009, during my trip to New York city. It was not like what we are seeing in the news these days. The memorial was still being re-built and the new building was just an empty land. I was advised to go to One World Financial Center to have a better view, which I did. The feeling was hard to describe. Seeing one of the world's most famous buildings demolished into nothing was emotional for me. My dream would be forever a dream. Even if it was a silly dream but if Sep 11 did not happen, I would have a much better chance to make my dream come true.
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