Sunday Magazine Feature
By Muhammad Bilal Lakhani, Express Tribune,
September 11, 2011
Despite everything she had been through in the last ten years, Talat Hamdani, a Pakistani-American substitute teacher in New York City, was still caught off guard when her 7th grade student called her a terrorist.
“Why did you call me a terrorist?” asked Talat.
“Because you guys attacked the twin towers,” replied the 14-year-old.
It’s an accusation that would hurt anyone, but for Talat Hamdani, it cut to the core. That’s because for her, 9/11 was not just a national or even a global tragedy, but a deeply personal one.
And even today, she remembers every detail of the day her life changed forever,
“It’s a very clear Tuesday,” Talat remarked to her younger son, Zeeshan, as she drove him to college on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Her eldest son, Salman, 23, a cadet with the New York Police Department and a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), was still in bed at their home in Queens, when she left at 7:15 a.m.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. According to the 9/11 commission’s report, in the 17 minutes between 8:46 and 9:03 a.m., the largest rescue operation in the city’s history was mobilised. Well over a thousand first responders were deployed, an evacuation began and the critical decision was made that the fire could not be fought. Then the second plane hit.
For complete article, click here
“Why did you call me a terrorist?” asked Talat.
“Because you guys attacked the twin towers,” replied the 14-year-old.
It’s an accusation that would hurt anyone, but for Talat Hamdani, it cut to the core. That’s because for her, 9/11 was not just a national or even a global tragedy, but a deeply personal one.
And even today, she remembers every detail of the day her life changed forever,
“It’s a very clear Tuesday,” Talat remarked to her younger son, Zeeshan, as she drove him to college on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Her eldest son, Salman, 23, a cadet with the New York Police Department and a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), was still in bed at their home in Queens, when she left at 7:15 a.m.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. According to the 9/11 commission’s report, in the 17 minutes between 8:46 and 9:03 a.m., the largest rescue operation in the city’s history was mobilised. Well over a thousand first responders were deployed, an evacuation began and the critical decision was made that the fire could not be fought. Then the second plane hit.
For complete article, click here
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