Shockwaves from 9/11 still felt worldwide, 15 years on
NEARLY 1.5 million people began hajj in Mecca yesterday. After preliminary rituals this week at the Grand Mosque, above, Islam’s holiest site, pilgrims moved in buses, by train or even on foot in temperatures exceeding 40°C to Mina, about 5km east of the Saudi Arabian city. From there they proceeded to Mount Arafat, several kilometres NEW York marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks more resilient, wealthier and more diverse than ever, yet that terrible day is forever seared into its DNA.
The al-Qaeda hijackings of September 11 2001 — the first foreign attack on the US mainland in nearly two centuries — ruptured a sense of safety and plunged the West into wars still being fought today. From Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen to Libya, Somalia, North Africa and Syria, teenagers worldwide have grown up in a never-ending state of war.
More than 2 750 people were killed when two passenger jets destroyed the Twin Towers, the symbol of New York’s financial wealth and confidence. The reing
From Iraq to North Africa and Syria, teenagers have grown up in a never-ending state of war
mains of only 1 640 people have been identified.
Nearly 75 000 others live with mental and physical illnesses as a result of the attacks, many of them emergency workers who breathed in cancerous toxins as they tried to save lives.
In the past 15 years, New York has sought to craft a balance between remembering the victims, and doing what it does best: endlessly regenerating, rebuilding and looking towards the future.
Downtown Manhattan is today one of the most fashionable parts of New York, packed with luxury hotels, boutiques and smart restaurants.
The World Trade Center site has been totally rebuilt, home to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, the world’s most expensive train station, a perform- FALLEN HERO: Bernadette Ortiz holds up her daughter Adriana as she reaches up to point to the name of her grandfather, New York City police officer Edwin Ortiz, at a wall commemorating officers who died during the attacks of September 11 2001 arts centre and offices.
The jewel in its crown is World Trade Center One, or Freedom Tower, which at 1 776 feet (the year of US independence), or 541m, is the tallest building in the western hemisphere, its lights visible for kilometres.
Its observatory affords stunning views to rival the Empire State Building’s, and the Oculus transport hub is an architectural marvel — a $4-billion (R57.6-billion) glass and steel oval.
In the 15 months since it opened, the neighbouring 9/11 museum has welcomed nearly seven million visitors. — AFP