By Carolyn Little
“I worked in Grounds Zero and it changed me forever”
20 years ago today, I watched in horror as the World Trade Towers fell and there was no question that I would go to NY City and find a way to help.
I was 23 and briefly back in Delaware after living in Maui. I had a couple of months before I was to start working in Washington DC with the National Youth Leadership Forum’s Defense, Intelligence, & Diplomacy Conferences.
So a few days after 9/11, I met a friend in Queens. We went to the Salvation Army’s office just blocks from where the towers had fallen. It had become very restricted regarding who was allowed in, but a rescue team from Ohio had gotten delayed arriving and they were short on people, so they gave us ID’s, a hard hat, army poncho, and sent us in to Ground Zero.
One of my jobs was to deliver food and supplies to the canteen stands that were set up on various sides of the pile. Driving a mini John Deer pick-up past armed military personnel, I was dwarfed by the massive steel beams being taken out on tractor trailer trucks. I was working nights, sometimes 15+ hours, and more than once I fell asleep on the subway only to wake not knowing where I was.
At the pile, fire and rescue teams worked feverishly on adrenaline while some sat exhausted, dirty, weeping. The air was thick with dust, debris, and death and it rained most nights as if the earth and sky were weeping with us.
Every time an ambulance went by, those who were able to, would stop in a moment of silence. By this time, no one was found alive.
But there was a beauty in the midst of the devastation and destruction; a level of human connection that was pervasive. Strangers worked together tirelessly, selflessly in service, with a care and determination that was often met with deep appreciation for each other.
It was as if for that moment in time and space all that separated us was dropped and through a collective despair, grief, and perseverance we were united in our humanity.
To experience this pivotal moment first hand gave me insight into what we are capable of as human beings when all else is stripped away and we are left raw, empty, resilient, and united.
We have a long way to go, especially as we look at the increasing polarization in this country, but this knowing that lives within me fuels who I am, my purpose in this lifetime, and my hope in humanity.
Today may we remember the thousands of the lives that were lost on 9/11, along with the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the 20 year war to follow. May we remember the Muslim community that has unjustly had to bear the burden of these violent acts.
May we meet one another with a gentle understanding of the suffering that touches the heart of each of us and yet is the very essence of our humanity that binds us as one.
Our healing must be a collective and communal one. And I have hope. I’ve seen it happen. Even if just for a moment in time.
In Love and Gratitude,
Carolyn Little