20 years ago today

At 8.46am on the 11th of September in 2001, an aeroplane hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists slammed into the first tower of the World Trade Centre in New York. About 17 minutes late at 9.03am, a second hijacked aeroplane completed the humiliation and symbolic destruction of America's invincibility by crashing into the second tower. The terrorist attack had severe ramifications around the world. Life was never the same again as security was beefed up everywhere in the world. Every action caused everyone to look over the shoulder to ensure one's personal safety.

But where were you on that fateful day in September? When the two aeroplanes crashed into the twin towers, it was night time in Malaysia. For me, the first I learnt about the attack was while surfing the Internet from my house in Seberang Jaya. Immediately after that, went to turn on the TV to watch the events unfolding on CNN and CNBC. And the next morning while driving to work, the radio stations reported on nothing but the destruction in New York.

Once at the office, it became clear that all my colleagues at JobStreet.com had already heard the news. Our computers were surfing the CNN website for the latest news. Time and time again, we saw the video of the planes crashing into the towers. Time and time again, we saw the destruction on the ground. Throughout the day, the reports came in thick and thin of the casualties. For the rest of the day, there was very little work done. Then, gradually by the second and third days, while we still followed the news from the websites, work life returned to normal. But we knew that nothing could ever be the same again.

Only yesterday, a former colleague told me that he was flying between Houston and Las Vegas when the attack happened. The pilot came on the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to make an announcement and I want you all to listen VERY carefully...." The news almost scared the living daylight from him as the pilot continued that there had been a series of attacks on the east coast of America and they had been ordered to clear the skies. They landed at the nearest available runway in El Paso, Texas, and everyone were stuck on the ground for three days before some of the passengers pooled together to rent a van and drove 12 hours back to Houston.

I asked him what went through his mind in those three days. "Mostly that we were at war, and I had no idea how we were going to get home to Malaysia in about a week's time. As it turned out," he recollected, "we were on one of the first flights out of the United States."