Meet Joel. He was in school, trying to pull Marcie’s hair and plotting how he can get away with cheating on his fourth grade math test when his dad jumped off the window of his office in one of the Twin Towers on Tuesday, 9/11. Joel was startled when Mrs. Watson, his math teacher, rushed out of the classroom after answering a phone call from the principal. Like the rest of the class, he immediately thought that someone was in deep trouble. Mrs. Watson walked into the classroom trying not to choke up on her tears while trying to explain what happened. An hour later, a rush of concerned parents ran into the classroom to pick up their kids, including Marcie’s parents. Joel waited for his dad to come, thinking that he will show up eventually since it was his turn to pick him up. His dad never came, but Mrs. Spencer, Joel’s mother, walked into the classroom in tears, a while after the parent rush. “Hi baby,” she said, trying to hold back the rivers. “We are going to grandma’s, okay?” As they were getting into the car, Joel asked where his dad was. Mrs. Spencer could not answer. Years after the fact, Joel still has not forgotten what happened to his dad and has been, rightfully, blaming “Islamic militants.” Neither Joel’s education at the fancy Ivy League University or the countless hours spent at a psychiatrist’s office was able to change his mind; he remained angry for the rest of his life, repeating over and over again that “they” took his dad away from him like the loved ones of 2,976 people who died during the attack.
Meet Deniz. On an unreasonably warm September afternoon, she was just back from school, and the kitchen door was closed, hence her parents did not hear the phone ringing. She answered the phone and heard a firm, cold voice at the end of the line “Alo? Hi dear, can you hand the phone to Deniz Oz please?” As a 10-year-old kid, she was not sure how the lady knew her name, “Th-this is she.” The voice on the phone paused and starting asking questions in a softer tone, “Hi, Deniz. I am calling from the U.S. Embassy, dear. How are you? Has anyone tried to approach you nowadays? Do you feel safe?” She answered every question while staring at her untied shoelaces. During dinner that night, Deniz nonchalantly mentioned what happened. Mr. and Mrs. Oz’s faces changed, looking a little confused. Years later, when Deniz was old enough to comprehend what “war,” “safety,” and “terrorism” mean, her parents explained that the U.S. government was checking on her, in case Turkish parliament gave permission to the American military to invade Iraq from Turkish soil. In case of a war break out, she was going to be put on a plane with the others in her position and sent back to the U.S. as the only American citizen in the family. Until this day, she still can’t wrap her mind around how the U.S. government could so blindly break up a family in the name of security.
Meet Ahmed. He was 10 when he screamed at the highest pitch and watched his parents dragged out by two young men. His dad tried to fight back and, therefore, was shot in the head, right in front of Ahmed and his mother. As he sat there in shock, not knowing what to do, he watched his mother being dragged away. Ahmed grabbed his baby sister and looked for a home a week after his father’s death and mother’s disappearance. The only thing he remembers from that incident is this small flag figure on the men’s arms, which had white and red stripes. That day, Ahmed and world’s greatest power got off the wrong foot. Fourteen years after losing everything, his school, parents, friends, home, feeling of trust, and sense of safety, Ahmed is still asking in rage why he was punished for a crime that he did not commit. He, and the loved ones of 1,774,547 Middle Easterners are still wondering why they are considered as “violent” and “destructive,” even though they, probably, have not hurt a fly in their lives. They are also repeating that “they” took away everything they had.
Now the spot of the burned-to-the-ground Twin Towers, which represents this mess, has become one of the most popular “selfie” spots for tourists in New York. Most people come and go, not realizing that this place started a new era that would contain a lot of antagonizing and irrational rage. A crowd of Americans are angry at Middle Easterners and most Middle Easterners are upset with Americans, because of a thing neither side has done.
Nothing will ever be the same, but maybe it is time to let go of the “grudge" on both sides. This war has done more damage than wrecking two buildings in New York and continues to do so. That day, on 9/11, this small world, which we can’t seem to share, has lost more than just mommies, daddies, best friends, daughters, and husbands. Opening old wounds does not help to reconstruct the world peace that we all need, it only creates more “Joels," “Denizs," and “Ahmeds." Never forget.
