10 years ago today

Dear Abby:

Today at book club Peggy started talking about how 9/11 is a special day and she felt like there was something we should do to remember and honor. All I could think of was to write you my story. We can share it every year and think about brave people like Uncle Jay that help keep us save.

10 years ago today I was working for Lutheran Social Services Refugee Resettlement Program. I woke up that morning in a hurry like every morning and didn't watch the news or turn on the radio. I hopped in the car and started driving down Forest Home to work. I had 94.5 WKTI on the radio and after a few moments wondered why there was no music, just Reitman and Miller talking. Something had happened in New York City with a plane or a bomb. I couldn't quite get what they were saying. Then all of a sudden they said "the other tower has been hit the other tower has been hit". I literally stopped driving my car in the middle of 27th Street. All the other cars on the street had stopped t0o. I was dumbfounded and confused and nervous. Ironically that day we were supposed to be hosting a seminar on working with clients with post traumatic stress disorder. It was cancelled and we spent the whole day fielding calls from families and church sponsors wondering what would happen to the 50+ refugees we were to welcome in the next month.

In the months to come the United States government closed our borders to all refugees and asylum seekers and foreign travelers. Many flights were rerouted to Canada or never left Europe. We had a lot of work ahead of us trying to find out where our clients were. It was an emotional time for our nation. There had not been a bombing from out side forces since World War II. For me at that time it was emotional for different reasons, I felt so sorry for people that had been lost. A college friend worked near the towers and looking was safe. But also we had the tough job of trying to offer comfort to people that had left such war torn countries as Somolia, Burma, and Liberia. We didn't know where there families were and when/if they would ever come.

The first clients I had to visit that day were two men from Burma (Myanamar). They had arrived a few days before and spoke few words of English. Their tv was on and the towers falling and on fire was shown over and over again. I wondered what they must be thinking not understanding what the news broadcasters were saying. The interpreter tried to explain to them the best we could what had happened.

This year has been especially emotional for me because your Uncle Jay will be returning to Afghanistan in December. He is with a great group of guys and they all look out for each other but it scares me anyway. I hope that you don't experience anything like 9/11 in your life time. Each year we will remember, we will thank God that we live somewhere that allows everyone their own opinion without violent consequences. We will thank God that we live in a country that was hit hard but continues to remember that people outside our borders still need help. We will ask God to bless our troops and keep them safe, and that world leaders make good decisions.

I feel fortunate to have had that job at LSS and had a taste of the world. I will never forget that day and how it affected the global community. We will always remember.