Guest guest Posted September 24, 2001 Report Share Posted September 24, 2001 Friends, The below mail is worthreading at this time. Regards / Mit freundlichen Gruessen Vinodhini, J. Anita Anandraj [aanita] 21 September 2001 10:25 Am I my brother's keeper? > Hi! > Almost all of us are too busy to stop for a moment. If > you have some time to spare, please read this. Or > else, read it when you take your next breather! I've > put together some bits of an email from a Muslim > friend who survived the WTC attacks and Max Lucado's > illustration in his book " The Applause of Heaven " . I > hope this helps as we try to make sense of what's > going on around us. > > > Anita Jeyachandran > a_jeyachandran > ------------------ > > " The wound is fresh. Part of us is broken. Part of us > is bitter. Part of us wants to cry and part of us > wants > to fight. " > > 1. Enemies become brothers. > > My name is Usman Farman. Until September 10th 2001, I > used to work at the World Trade Center in building #7. > I'd like to share with you what I went through that > awful day, with the hopes that we can all stay strong > together; through this tragedy of yet untold > proportions. I'll spare some gruesome details of what > I saw, those are things that no one should ever have > to see. > > Apparently, I was the one of the last to leave my > building. When I evacuated, there was no panic. People > were calm and helping each other. Whoever survived did > so because 1000 people formed a human chain to find > their way out of the smoke. Everyone was a hero that > day. > > We were evacuated to the north side of the building 7. > Still only 1 block from the towers. The security > people told us to go north and not to look back. 5 > city blocks later, we saw in shock as the first tower > collapsed. No one could believe it was happening, it > is still all too surreal to imagine. The next thing I > remember is that a dark cloud of glass and debris > about 50 stories high came tumbling towards us. I ran > as fast as I could. I didn't realise until yesterday > that the reason I'm still feeling so sore was that I > fell down trying to get away. What happened next is > why I'm writing this. > > I was on my back, facing this massive cloud that was > approaching, it must have been 600 feet off, > everything was already dark. I normally wear a pendant > around my neck, inscribed with an Arabic prayer for > safety, similar to the cross. A hesidic Jewish man > came up to me and held the pendant in his hand, and > looked at it. He read the Arabic out loud for a > second. What he said next, I will never forget. With a > deep Brooklyn accent he said, " Brother, if you don't > mind, there's a cloud of glass coming at us, grab my > hand, let's get the hell out of here " . He helped me > stand up and we ran for what seemed forever. He was > the last person I would ever have thought, who would > help me. If it weren't for him, I probably would have > been engulfed in shattered glass and debris. > > Help came from the least expected place, and goes only > to show, that we are all in this together. The next > time you feel angry about this and want to retaliate > in your own way, please remember these words: > " Brother, if you don't mind, there's a cloud of glass > coming at us, grab my hand, lets get the hell out of > here " > > 2. Brothers become enemies > > Max Lucado, in his book " The Applause of Heaven " > writes about two brothers who became enemies. > > Daniel, one of Lucado's Brazilian friends was at war > with his brother. His brother had betrayed him and > Daniel threatened his brother that he would break his > neck the next time he sees him. But Daniel was not the > same guy when he met his brother again. He was a > Christian now. But his fists did clench when he saw > his brother. > " But as I looked into his face, I saw the image of my > father. I saw my father's eyes. And as I saw my father > in his face, my enemy became my brother " . > Lucado writes: " Daniel's words are worth repeating: > " When I saw the image of my father in his face, my > enemy became my brother. " > > Seeing the father's image in the face of the enemy is > painful and difficult during a crisis such as this. > But it will allow the hurt in the heart to heal. > > > Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? > Donate cash, emergency relief information > http://dailynews./fc/US/Emergency_Information/ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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