What memories do you have of September 11, 2001?

 

A girl looks at a monument for fallen firefighters of the 9/11 terrorist attack near the World Trade Center site, New York, the United States, Sept. 5, 2011. [Fan Xia/Xinhua]

The 9/11 attacks caused great damage to the U.S. A lot of people died. But perhaps it is fortunate that [the attacks] happened in the U.S. If the attacks occurred in China, people would not even be able to afford to buy a grave.  —Yan, Student, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province

It was a horrible incident in world affairs. It transformed the international system and changed the agenda for international affairs.  —Zhou, Research Fellow, Shanghai

When my teacher told us [that the 9/11 attacks had happened], all the students were shocked. Everyone was silent at first, but then some people in the class started cheering, saying that the U.S. deserved what it got for putting pressure on other [countries]. However, the teacher then asked the students, "Do civilians deserve such a tragedy?" After that, everyone fell silent, and we observed 3 minutes of silence for the victims.  —Sun, Journalist, Beijing

I remember being in class watching the day unfold. It was very difficult since many of my classmates and friends had parents who worked in the World Trade Buildings or near by. It was almost impossible to make cell phone calls due to over saturation of the lines making them more worried. It was an extremely frightening morning for everyone not knowing the details and it seemed that almost every minute the situation kept getting worse and worse.  —Taryn, Freelance Writer, Beijing

It was as if the world has suddenly shrunk. The terrorist attack against America made nearly everyone on earth seem like neighbors. Good people were appearing as an enormous majority, and the hateful cowards rejoicing in the shadows did not seem at all like representatives of mankind. The tragedy brought about a poignant moment of solidarity, during which people around the world were acting as citizens not of many nations but of one planet, bearing simply their humanity as a passport.  —Jonathan, Business Consultant, San Francisco, USA