An emotional reunion
Women who bonded on Sept. 11 reunite and reminisce
Shahnaz Baha’i is from Halifax, a small town in eastern Canada. She was home on Sept. 11, 2001, and watched in horror as the scene unfolded on TV.
Ruth Hirtz, of Tamarac, and her husband were on a flight from Amsterdam and looking forward to returning home after a vacation.
The women were two strangers — until that day. Since then, they became friends for life.
Baha’i and Hirtz met recently in Tamarac for the first time since 2001, with Hirtz hosting a party at her house for her friend.
“It was a great party,” Hirtz said. “She told the story from her end; I told it from mine. At the end of it, therewasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
While more than 12 years have passed, Hirtz remembers vividly how her path crossed Baha’i’s that fateful day.
“Our flight to Miami was throughAtlanta,” Hirtz said. “When the pilot came and said thatwe had to make an emergency landing, we didn’t think much about it. We thought it was something minor and that we would be on ourway soon.”
She soon knew something had to be wrong.
“There were about 35 to 40 planes sitting on the tarmac,” she said. “We later learned that all non- U. S. flights had to go back. Soon, police arrived and asked us to take our hand luggage.”
The next part of the journey took Hirtz, her husband Irwin and others from the terminal to a sports stadium inHalifax.
Walking into the gym at the stadium, Hirtz saw images of whatwas happening on TV.
“I remember being dumbstruck at what I saw,” she said. “Soon, everything started falling into place. Looking back, it is almost surreal that the whole world knew about it 10 hours ago, but we had no idea.”
By then, Baha’i had left her house. She did not have much of a plan, but she knew what she wanted to do: help as many people as she could.
“All the hotels, schools and places of worship were packed with people,” Baha’i said. “There were about 30,000 people stranded in eastern Canada. … I baked some cookies, made some muffins and drove to the stadium.”
It was there that she met Hirtz.
“I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder and looked around to see this woman with awarm smile,” Hirtz said. “She said, ‘ You look like you could use a hot shower and a warm bed.’ I just could not get my emotions under control.”
Baha’i drove back home with Hirtz and her husband.
Hirtz said they ended up staying with Baha’i for four “incredible” days.
“The whole community got behind us; everyonewas so helpful,” she said. “No onewould let us pay for coffee or for food. Medical stores wouldn’t let people pay for medications.”
“I really didn’t do much,” Baha’i said. “I knew people needed people, and I had to go. My mother used to live in the Caribbean. She was a registered nurse. Once, during a hurricane, she left the house without informing us and did all she could to help people. Shewas 70 then.”
Thetown, Baha’i said, left an imprint on many people.
“Some people have written books about their experience that day at Halifax; some, like Ruth and I, have made friends,” she said. “The locals even planned and organized a wedding for two people on one of the flights.”
Her friendship with Baha’i has reaffirmed Hirtz’s faith in the goodness of people: “It is about people helping people. It is a beautiful story.”