In memory of the 2981 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, among them three Albanians
[Disastrous September, by the Albanian-American author, Skifter Këlliçi, takes place on two different days: May 10 and September 11, 2001. The novel tells the story of a well-known CNN reporter named Steve Ferguson, engaged to Jacqueline Cramer, a flight attendant based at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, the novel explores the lives of four Albanians. Besim Istrefi, Rrok Camaj, and Marko Muzaka worked as window washers in the Twin Towers. Sokol Kama, a journalist and writer, works in security at Logan International Airport. On September 11, 2001 just a few days before Steve and Jacqueline’s wedding, two planes, bound for Los Angeles, depart from Boston. Terrorists hijack them and crash them into the Twin Towers in New York. The author, who worked at Logan International Airport during the attacks, offers a gripping account of the tragedy and shows how it could have been avoided.]
By SKIFTER KELLICI
[Translated from the Albanian by Carrie Hooper]
At 10:28 AM, the North Tower fell, swallowing hundreds of people. Steve and Jim continued to cover the tragedy which would forever remain in the annals of history. They showed pictures of people who had come out of the Twin Towers, surrounding skyscrapers, stores, restaurants, and cafes. Ambulances with doctors and nurses arrived on the scene, and civilians risked their lives to rescue people from the suffocating smoke, swallowing everything in its path. Police officers guarded the area, and firefighters pulled victims from the rubble.
Meanwhile, Steve recalled a radio reporter from Chicago named Herbert Harrison, who on May 6, 1937, covered the arrival of the Hindenburg at New York’s airport. The giant German balloon had departed from Frankfurt, flown across the Atlantic Ocean and was supposed to land in New York. Steve could still see the pictures of the Hindenburg’s majestic, carefree flight and the thousands of spectators who had come to watch it land, but had seen it crash instead. The terrified passengers, unable to escape the tongues of fire which engulfed the balloon, jumped to their death just like the people on the upper floors of the Twin Towers, who saw no other alternative. Steve recalled Herbert Harrison’s words about the crash which took the lives of thirty-four of the balloon’s ninety-eight passengers: “What fire! What ruin! This is the world’s worst disaster.” What would the attack on the Twin Towers be called? Within two hours, hundreds of people had died, and when all was said and done, thousands more would likely perish. Years ago, when Steve watched the documentary which made Herbert Harrison famous, he dreamed of achieving that kind of success, but not by reporting on a tragedy. His anger and bitterness formed his words.
The terrified passengers, unable to escape the tongues of fire which engulfed the balloon, jumped to their death just like the people on the upper floors of the Twin Towers, who saw no other alternative.
He interviewed people on the lower floors who had managed to escape. They told him how they felt as they descended the stairs to get away from the grave which had opened like a volcanic crater and had buried scores of people, including friends they couldn’t save. One person talked about the hundreds of people, including acquaintances, who had stayed on the upper floors of the North Tower and had said their final good-byes to him on the phone. Steve mentioned Besim, Marko, and Rrok. Someone shook his head with sadness and said they were window washers.
At that moment, Steve saw Said on the other side of the street, holding something in his jacket, and a young woman waiting for him with open arms. She also saw Steve. It was Serena, Said’s pregnant wife. Steve was glad Said and Serena had survived. Said took the child, whom Rrok had rescued, from his jacket, and handed him to Serena, who took him in her loving arms.
Steve surmised Serena had been far away from the towers when the attacks occurred and went back to wait for Said when she heard what had happened. Said looked like he had lived through a nightmare. In his report, Steve included pictures of Said, running toward Serena, about to give birth in the midst of death. If only Jacqueline were running toward Steve! Steve cried inwardly as he often did during this trying time, but he kept his composure with superhuman strength.
As a child in 1966, he had heard about the construction of the towers which would become the World Trade Center. The first tower was completed in 1970, and the second one was completed Two years later. Over 10,000 people worked on the towers, and 60 workers died during their construction. The residents of New York watched with pride as the buildings rose and felt as if they were watching twins grow. What had taken years to build was destroyed within three hours.
“Don’t worry. For we, Allah’s devoted children and members of al Qaeda, founded by holy bin Laden, will soon be in heaven. Check your weapons before you leave. Hold on to your knives, and don’t let those animals get you down.”
As Steve, Jim, and their cameraman walked to their car, Steve’s telephone rang. It was the director of information at CNN, who, on behalf of all the department heads, offered his heartfelt thanks to him and his colleague for expressing America’s pain, and he told Steve to go home and rest. Steve could barely contain a sob and almost told the director he had lost Jacqueline in the attack.
The car drove through the wide, straight streets of New York and past skyscrapers with their fragile windows, which, although they glistened in the September sun, seemed to mourn their fallen sisters. The people, who wandered the streets, grieved, too.
Steve asked the chauffeur to go to the Park Plaza Hotel.
“Oh, that’s the hotel where you and Jacqueline were supposed to get married,” he murmured. “How awful for you!”
Steve clenched his jaw to suppress a blood-curdling scream which could not possibly have alleviated his sorrow. When the car stopped in front of the large hotel, Jim asked, “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, thank you,” said Steve.
Jim embraced him. He knew time alone in the hall where he and Jacqueline were supposed to have had their wedding would help Steve regain his composure. Jim looked at him with compassion as he slowly walked toward the stairs.
In one of the offices of American Airlines, an assistant handed Floyd a suitcase.
“This belonged to an Egyptian passenger, Muhammad Ata,” said the assistant. “It appears not to have made it onto Flight 11 because of a delay in Portland”
“Aha!” Floyd thought. “Muhammad Ata and his friends went to Portland the night before to cover their tracks. They came from there to Boston and got on American Airlines flight 11. Muhammad Ata had already purchased tickets for them”. His suspicions were confirmed when he talked to company supervisors. Both Muhammad Ata and Abdul al Ramzi had flown from Portland to Boston. When Floyd opened the suitcase, he found pilot uniforms and a letter in Arabic. He wondered if the terrorists had packed the uniforms in case they had needed to disguise themselves. He asked FBI agents to find translators, who could read Arabic, and to learn as much as they could about the terrorists. It was clear they had intended to hit the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. But the fourth plane, which crashed in Pennsylvania? Where had it been headed?
Floyd’s assistant returned with the translation of the letter, found in Muhammad Ata’s suitcase. As he read it, he flashed his eyes, and his hands trembled:
“Don’t worry. For we, Allah’s devoted children and members of al Qaeda, founded by holy bin Laden, will soon be in heaven. Check your weapons before you leave. Hold on to your knives, and don’t let those animals get you down.”
To whom did Muhammad Ata address his letter? To himself or his friends? (Continues)
Click here for Part-1, Part-2, Part-3, Part-4, Part-5, Part-6, Part-7, Part-8, Part-9, Part-10, Part-11, Part-12, Part-13, Part-14, Part-15, Part-16, Part-17, Part-18, Part-19, Part-20, Part-21,
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About the Author
Skifter Këllici was born in Tirana, Albania and received a diploma in history and literature from the University of Tirana. He worked as a journalist, scholar, and sportscaster on radio and television. He is the author of several novels and nonfiction books, including the children’s books, “Memories of the Old Neighborhood” and “In the Footsteps” as well as the historical novels, “Assassination in Paris”, “The Murderer with the White Hands”, and “September Disaster.” He wrote the screenplay for “In the Footsteps” which won a special prize at the International Children’s Film Festival in Giffoni, Italy in 1979. He has lived in Boston, Massachusetts since 1999.
About the Translator
Carrie Hooper was born and raised in Elmira, New York. She has been blind since birth. She received a B.A. in vocal performance from Mansfield University, Mansfield, Pennsylvania. She went on to receive an M.A. in German and an M.A. in vocal performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo. After completing her studies, she spent a year at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden as a Fulbright scholar. Carrie currently lives in Elmira, New York. She taught German, Italian, and Romanian at Elmira College. She has a passion for foreign languages and in addition to the languages mentioned above, she is also proficient in Swedish, Spanish, and Albanian. Music also plays an important role in Carrie’s life. She teaches voice and piano lessons, gives vocal concerts, plays the piano and organ at a church, and sings in a community chorus. Carrie not only loves music and languages, but also enjoys poetry. She has published three books: “Piktura në fjalë” (“Word Paintings”), a bilingual collection of poetry (Albanian-English), “My Life in My Words”, and “Away from Home.” She has also translated texts from Albanian and Romanian to English.
[The book ‘Disastrous September is being reproduced in episodes with the consent of the author]
