Reaction in London & Around the World

Reaction in London & Around the World

“Julie! Julie, come over here quick – a plane hit the World Trade Center!” was what I yelled across the mall when I saw the front page picture on The Evening Standard, a London tabloid. By the time Julie had raced over from the shoe store she had been browsing in, an English guy had heard me and wandered over to look at the picture.

“This isn’t true is it?” he said. He was thinking what I was: English tabloid journalism – sensationalism, a hoax picture. But a woman in the bookstore confirmed its authenticity.

“Two planes,” she said. “And another hit the Pentagon or near it.” But the details in the paper were very incomplete. It mentioned a terrorist attack on the WTC, but no mention of the Pentagon. Surely she was mistaken. But it was only 4pm, London time, and the attacks had occurred at 2pm London time, not enough time for the paper to have all the details.

We rushed back to Julie’s hotel room and turned on CNN and the BBC. They both kept saying the WTC had collapsed, but the pictures we saw were of two buildings on fire… again, British sensationalized journalism – but then the horrible reality was broadcast, and we watched both buildings come down like a house of cards.

I just remember grabbing Julie, my hand over my mouth in disbelief, and bursting into tears. I have friends in NY, having grown up in Clifton, NJ, just 13 miles outside the city. “Oh god,” I thought, “this isn’t happening…”

But of course, it was and did and is now a reality all my friends back in the States are having to deal with. Luckily for me, I didn’t lose anyone, but some of my friends have. One of them was the co-pilot on the Pittsburgh flight, and my friend Lola has lost two good friends, an NYC policeman and an NYC firefighter. I wanted to go home to be with Lola as she went through this terrible time, but to go home I finally realized is to give in to what THEY want, to show fear and be cowed by them. But I’m staying and going on with my round-the-world trip, despite the overwhelming desire to JUST GO HOME.

Following are excerpts from an email I sent my friends regarding how the Brits acted in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, along with excerpts from emails I received from my friends in the States and other countries.

The little fantasy world I’ve been living in came to a standstill yesterday and now I wish I was home with all my friends and family to share our grief at this unimaginable tragedy that has struck our home. Our information here in London is sketchy but it seems the entire USA has come to a standstill and terror has struck everywhere. We heard the Hancock and the Sears Tower were shut down. Is it true there were fighter jets flying over Chicago?

Here trains were turned away from central London, Lloyds of London – the world’s major re-insurer was shut or evacuated and the financial district – Canary Wharf – was also evacuated. The police and military were put on full alert and Parliament has been recalled. Tony Blair announced that Britain will stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the USA on retaliation. I just hope we don’t overreactï¿½

In London people have been flocking to the American Embassy to place flowers under the statue of Roosevelt. I was there leaving a list of the missing that I’ve received from my friends and there were thousands of flowers, candles, letters and condolences. Making it all the more poignant was the British drizzle and overcast skies.

Buckingham Palace made a special tribute at the changing of the guards – for the first time ever, playing something other than the British national anthem. They played the American national anthem. There’s also been prayer services all over the city – at the American Church and especially at Westminster Abbey. There was also three minutes of silence in London last week. Precisely at 11am, the entire city came to standstill and stood in silence in memory of those who had been lost.

The news says that England is America’s closest ally, but what I’ve seen is they’re acting more like they are our closest relative… everyone is sad, for us, for them and for what it all will mean in the coming days and months.

People here really don’t know what to say to me, a stranger in their town, but my friend Julia, when stopping at her local newsstand was told by the proprietor, in a hushed undertone, how sorry he was about what happened. He is Arabic.

I’ve been getting emails from friends I’ve made along the way expressing their condolences to me and all the American people and condemning these acts. I mention this, because anyone who has traveled knows Americans get crap about being American everywhere we go. It’s so incredible how people here are now rallying behind us. Here’s what a couple of friends had to say:

From Sydney: “I just still can’t believe the horror of what has happened. No human being deserves to go through this! Innocent people have been killed in the most horrific way. The whole world is behind all these innocent American people. The events just bring home that all humans are vulnerable and that we need to work together and support each other in times like this.”
From Canada: “Canada and the US are close enough and similar enough that an attack South of our Border is almost like an attack on us. I had a hard time last night when I finally got home. I felt impotent with rage for most of the day; I joined up (the army) at one time in order to stop things like this from happening, and I know that if I had the chance, I would gladly kill anyone involved with this tragedy.”
And from my friends back in Chicago: “Most everyone will probably know someone who was in or around NY or on one of the flights. Most of my family is in the air quite a bit and luckily, they are all safe. Unfortunately, one of my brother’s friends was the co-pilot of one of the hijacked planes; We would like to think that he helped prevent the hijackers from reaching their destination. Never will know I guess.
“In Chicago, the feeling I sense is solemn, the usual hustle and bustle has been reduced to a ghost town. The Metro trains commuting from the Westerns Suburbs which traditionally carry 8 to 10 cars full of workers were at less than half their capacity. This morning was somewhat eerie as I could hear and see the Jets flying over head even where I live. They circle around every now and then which is disturbing given the fact I witnessed the aircraft flying into the Towers on television yesterday.”
From an Arab-American friend: “It’s easy to detect the anger towards middle-easterners (believe it or not I think I feel it just walking in the streets with random glares by passersby) since my family and I have gone through years of this in the past two decades. we suffer as much as other Americans when these things happen… my hope is peace in our lifetime.”

Please know that millions of people here in London are also grieving with us.

In memory of those friends of my friends who lost their lives in the WTC and trying to rescue the wounded.

Kriste’s friend Frank – missing a brother who worked in the WTC

Lola’s friends – John and James McCarthy, an NYC firefighter and an NYC policeman

Jim’s brother’s friend – the co-pilot on the Pittsburgh flight