First Hand History

"Particularly in the first six months we would have rocket attacks."

"I was riding the elevator up when the first plane struck the North Tower."

"I could hear the bullets and the scandal of people and planes. I was scared because I did not know what was happening at that moment."

"Earlier that day, life had been going on as normal, but now we could hear the bombs dropping, and that was just..."

"I do remember feeling glad we moved to New York when we did because I feel like if we were supposed to come after 9/11 we might not have gone, and I was so glad to be there, you know, in those years"

"I had a faith, I had a voice that kept telling me that I will be alright, that I will escape. "

"Everything that my family owned was taken away by the government."

"They were viewed as an inferior people. They became a scapegoat for other people. I’ve always viewed it that any person who looks down on other people is wrong. I’ve accepted everybody and I try to be nice to everyone. "

"And the gravity of the situation... we all slept very well at night actually. It was not like being in Vietnam or someplace where you sleep with one eye open"

"And it was the smell of the fires, initially, but once the fires subsided, then was the smell of - dead things. "

"I came home after the 14 months of training to say good-bye to all of my family because we were leaving but we didn't know if we were going to come back."

"If just tapped the brakes the propeller would curl up."

"I walked up the stairs and there was a sign that said “Colored Bathroom” And I said to myself, “Where are we? What country is this?”"

"It's just giving me... the memory"

"I would catch glimpses...of these poor people... I thought 'my goodness, that's hard for them' and I felt the need to help."

"And it just seemed impossible, it seemed impossible that we weren't just coming under attack everyday."

"I remember I came here with only 300 dollars."

"It was the most beautiful green I’d ever seen in my life…"

"After two or three years we knew we would never go back."

"These Palestinian kids... they haven't actually seen the ocean even though it's only 45 minutes away. "