9/11 From Far Away

I was 10 years old when 9/11 happened. Of course, due to time difference, it wasn’t till the next day I finally watched the clips. Sad to say, at that point of time, it was merely something I watched on television. I had no emotions or thoughts for everything that happened. Why would I? It wasn’t the twin towers in Malaysia.

Despite being young and ignorant, I remember floods of opinions that filled the front pages of the newspapers. Some criticizing the act of terrorism, while some turning that issue to remind America for their interventionist policies. Of course, none of these arguments made sense to me. All I knew was innocent people have died, and I feel the term innocent should be all that matters.

Today I had the chance to attend a small service to remember those who have died during that incident. I knew that my presence as an international student did arouse some curiosity among some. Why would a non-American care about that incident? The truth is, I wasn’t there to feel like an American, I was there as a fellow human, who shares the same sentiment and emotion as any other American would when you lose something.

Sometimes, people mistaken that you have to “walk a mile in their shoes” to truly understand something. Well, to me it doesn’t matter where you come from. It matters how you connect with people who do not come from the same walk of life.

I saw people from different ethnicity and even nationality present in that service today. It made me realize how universal this incident has been. I might not have lost a family in the tragedy but I definitely feel the pain of my friends who did. That’s all that matters to me.

While I consider myself a member of human race more than anything else, I’d like to take this chance to ask people around me. If this happened in Malaysia, would you be there for me as how I will be for you?