[Nettime-bold] A view from Pakistani survivor of WTC attack

["Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>]

Bill Pierre, head of the AFSC's International Programs' Middle East 
Region
circulated this -- I don't know where he got it, and it may be more
apocryphal than an actual first-hand account, but the themes are worth
sharing --



> 
> Subject: First hand account from a Muslim in the WTC
> 
> 
> salaam everyone,
> 
> something i think we all must read.  remember that of the dead, injured
> and
> missing, there are an estimated 10-15% muslims.
> 
> masalaama,
> 
> itrath
> 
> ------------
> 
> My name is Usman Farman and I graduated from Bentley with a Finance degr=
ee
> last May. I am 21 years old, turning 22 in October; I am Pakistani, and =
I
> am Muslim. Until September 10th 2001, I used to work at the World Trade
> Center in building #7. I had friends and acquaintances who worked in tow=
er
> #1 right across from me. Some made it out, and some are still unaccounte=
d
> for. I survived this horrible event.
> 
> I'd like to share with you what I went through that awful day, with the
> hopes that we can all stay strong together; through this tragedy of yet
> untold proportions. As I found out, regardless of who we are, and where =
we
> come from, we only have each other.
> 
> I commute into the city every morning on the train from New Jersey.
> Rather, I used to. I still can=EDt believe what is happening. That morni=
ng I
> woke up and crawled out of bed. I was thinking about flaking out on the
> train and
> catching the late one, I remember telling myself that I just had to get =
to
> work on time. I ended up catching the 7:48 train, which put me in Hoboke=
n
> at 8:20 am. When I got there I thought about getting something to eat, I
> decided against it and took the PATH train to the World Trade Center. I
> arrived at the World Trade at 8:40 in the morning. I walked into the lob=
by
> of building 7 at 8:45, that=EDs when the first plane hit.
> 
> Had I taken the late train, or gotten a bite to eat, I would have been 5
> minutes late and walking over the crosswalk. Had that happened, I would
> have been caught under a rain of fire and debris, I wouldn=EDt be here
> talking to you. I=EDd be dead. 
> 
> I was in the lobby, and I heard the first explosion; it didn't register.
> They were doing construction outside and I thought some scaffolding had
> fallen. I took the elevators up to my office on the 27th floor. When I
> walked in, the whole place was empty. There were no alarms, no sprinkler=
s,
> nothing. Our offices are, or rather, were on the south side of building
> seven. We were close enough to the North and South Towers, that I could
> literally throw a stone from my window and hit the North tower with it.
> 
> My phone rang and I spoke with my mother and told her that I was leaving=
,
> at that moment I saw an explosion rip out of the second building. I call=
ed
> my friend in Boston, waking her up and told her to tell everyone I=EDm o=
kay,
> and
> that I was leaving. I looked down one last time and saw the square and
> fountain that I eat lunch in, was covered in smoldering debris.
> Apparently, I was one of the last to leave my building, when I was on th=
e
> way up in the
> elevators; my co-workers from the office were in the stairwells coming
> down.
> When I evacuated, there was no panic. People were calm and helping each
> other; a pregnant woman was being carried down the stairwell.
> 
> I=EDll spare the more gruesome details of what I saw, those are things t=
hat
> no one should ever have to see, and beyond human decency to describe.
> Those are things which will haunt me for the rest of my life, my heart
> goes out to
> everyone who lost their lives that day, and those who survived with the
> painful reminders of what once was. Acquaintences of mine who made it ou=
t
> of the towers, only got out because 1000 people formed a human chain to
> find
> their way out of the smoke. Everyone was a hero that day.
> 
> We were evacuated to the north side of building 7. Still only 1 block fr=
om
> the towers. The security people told us to go north and not to look back=
 .
> 5 city blocks later I stopped and turned around to watch. With a thousan=
d
> people staring, we saw in shock as the first tower collapsed. No one cou=
ld
> believe it was happening, it is still all too-surreal to imagine. The ne=
xt
> thing I remember is that a dark cloud of glass and debris about 50 stori=
es
> high came tumbling towards us. I turned around and ran as fast as
> possible. I didn=EDt realize until yesterday that the reason I=EDm still
> feeling so sore was that I fell down trying to get away. What happened
> next is why I came
> here to give this speech.
> 
> I was on my back, facing this massive cloud that was approaching, it mus=
t
> have been 600 feet off, everything was already dark. I normally wear a
> pendant around my neck, inscribed with an Arabic prayer for safety;
> similar
> to the cross. A hesidic Jewish man came up to me and held the pendant in
> his hand, and looked at it. He read the Arabic out loud for a second. Wh=
at
> he said next, I will never forget. With a deep Brooklyn accent he said
> =ECBrother, if you don=EDt mind, there is a cloud of glass coming at us,=
 grab
> my hand, lets get the hell out of here=EE. He helped me stand up, and we=
 ran
> for what seemed like forever without looking back. He was the last perso=
n
> I would ever have thought, who would help me. If it weren=EDt for him, I
> probably would have been engulfed in shattered glass and debris.
> 
> I finally stopped about 20 blocks away, and looked in horror as tower #2
> came crashing down. Fear came over me as I realized that some people wer=
e
> evacuated to the streets below the towers. Like I said before, no one
> could
> have thought those buildings could collapse. We turned around and in sho=
ck
> and disbelief and began the trek to midtown. It took me 3 hours to get t=
o
> my sisters office at 3 avenue and 47th street. Some streets were
> completely
> deserted, completely quiet, no cars, no nothing=D6 just the distant wail=
 of
> sirens. I managed to call home and say I was okay, and get in touch with
> co-workers and friends whom I feared were lost.
> 
> We managed to get a ride to New Jersey. Looking back as I crossed the
> George Washington Bridge, I could not see the towers. It had really
> happened.
> 
> As the world continues to reel from this tragedy, people in the streets
> are lashing out. Not far from my home, a Pakistani woman was run over on
> purpose as she was crossing the parking lot to put groceries in her car.
> Her only fault? That she had her head covered and was wearing the
> traditional clothing of my homeland. I am afraid for my family=EDs well
> being within our community. My older sister is too scared to take the
> subway into work now.
> My 8-year-old sister=EDs school is under lockdown and armed watch by pol=
ice.
> Violence only begets violence, and by lashing out at each other in fear
> and hatred, we will become no better than the faceless cowards who
> committed
> this atrocity. If it weren=EDt for that man who helped me get up, I woul=
d
> most likely be in the hospital right now, if not dead. Help came from th=
e
> least expected place, and goes only to show, that we are all in this
> together =D6
> regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity. Those are principles that th=
is
> country was founded on.
> 
> Please take a moment to look at the people sitting around you. Friends o=
r
> strangers, in a time of crisis, you would want the nearest person to hel=
p
> you if you needed it. My help came from a man who I would never have
> thought
> would normally even speak to me. Ask yourselves now how you can help tho=
se
> people in New York and Washington. You can donate blood, you can send
> clothing, food, and money. Funds have been setup in the New York area to
> help the families of fallen firefighters, policemen, and emergency
> personnel. The one thing that won=EDt help, is if we fight amongst
> ourselves, because it is then that we are doing exactly what they want u=
s
> to do, and I know that nobody here wants to do that.
> 
> My name is Usman Farman and I graduated from Bentley with a Finance degr=
ee
> last May. I am 21 years old, turning 22 in October; I am Pakistani, and =
I
> am Muslim, and I too have been victimized by this awful tragedy. The nex=
t
> time
> you feel angry about this, and perhaps want to retaliate in your own way=
,
> please remember these words: "Brother, if you don't mind, there is a clo=
ud
> of glass coming at us, grab my hand, lets get the hell out of here."
> 
> ***LET'S JOIN TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY AND DONATE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED**=
*
> 
> 
> Bill Pierre
> Director
> Middle East Region
> AFSC International Programs
> e-mail:  bpierre@afsc.org
> phone:  215-241-7142
> fax:  215-241-7026
> 
> 


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