September 11, 2001. A day that will be remembered for a long time. It has been three years since the worst terrorist attacks in the U.S and perhaps the world took place. Around 3,000 people lost their lives when terrorists hijacked four planes, slamming the three of them into the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, and owing to the heroism of the passengers, missed its intended target, which could have been either the White House or the U.S Congress.
I was in fourth year high school when the attacks took place. We were watching tv when at about 9 PM my dad flipped the channel to CNBC. I was about to sleep when mom called me and told me about the scene on tv. The two towers were burning already. At first I thought it was a plain fire accident until I saw the news clips below the screen: FBI investigating possible terrorist attacks. Then came the replays of the video showing the planes hitting the towers. Now we were all glued to the screen. A few minutes later, they showed one side of the Pentagon, burning and apparently hit by another plane. Much later, they showed the crashed plane at a field in Pennsylvania. And then, at around 9:30 PM, the towers collapsed, one after another. There were even reports, later proven false, that car bombs exploded at several government buildings. The whole thing was surreal, like something out of a hollywood movie!
A lot of things have happened since that fateful Tuesday morning (evening here in the Philippines). Afghanistan has been liberated from the oppressive rule of the Taliban. More recently, Iraq has been rid of Saddem Hussein, and, arguably, is now given an opportunity to be transformed to a democracy. Hopefully, in the future, people will look back to this event and see it not just as a tragic event, but more importantly, as a catalyst for making the world a better place.