On September 11th, 2001, a terrorist attack on the United States shook the entire world. Two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, and a third plane plowed into the Pentagon. A total of 2,977 people were killed, marking the most deadly terrorist attack in American history. This interview, conducted with the teachers at BASIS Independent Fremont, displays the firsthand experiences of the horrific day from a variety of different perspectives. We asked many questions to capture as much information as we could, ranging from their immediate reactions to the impact they thought this attack had on our nation.
Teacher Jasica: I was in fourth grade in a Union City apartment with my parents. My mom said that the terrorists were attacking our country. When I went to school, it was really weird because we weren’t given a lot of information.
Dr. Akulov: I was asleep when it happened, and my mom woke me up and told me that an attack took place. At first, I didn't believe it, but when I turned on the news, I saw that every news channel was covering it. It was 9 o'clock in the Bay Area, so it had already taken place on the east coast. It was time for me to go to school. There was a question about whether or not the classes would take place, but my school didn't cancel the classes. It was difficult to go over the curriculum as usual.
Dr. Araci: (In Turkey) It was such shocking news. Everyone was in the cafeteria and the TV was on. The news showed that one of the first buildings was hit. We thought it was an accident but the news actually showed it live, and when the second one was hit, everyone thought what happened was impossible.
Dr. Akulov: First of all, I didn't believe that something like that was possible, but it was something that was quite shocking. I thought about how it was a different reality from what it used to be. The prevailing perception that the country was far away from any other places of conflict was proved wrong.
Teacher Jasica: My dad used to wear a turban, and at the end of the day when he picked me up, we went to Burger King. There were a couple of teenagers who started calling my dad a terrorist, but he didn’t really respond. That continued for the next couple of months, and at the end of the year, he got rid of his turban.
Mr. Hanlon: Maybe a day after, I saw a pick-up truck drive by and it had “how we are at war” spray painted on it. I thought it was strange because this is a terrorist attack, not a war, but it turned out to be true.
Teacher Jasica: There was a lot of uncertainty in my family specifically. We had a fear of being racially profiled, and that fear came true because my dad was profiled. He became worried about his job, so he got rid of his turban and trimmed his beard so he could be safe.
Ms. Beverly: People were just terrified. I went to work and handled calls because people were wondering if the attacks were also going to happen here. I was trying to keep people calm and let everyone know we are safe.
Teacher Jasica: Fear, aggression, increase in propaganda against Middle Eastern people, of people who looked brown. That fear drove propaganda that didn’t paint Middle Eastern people in a positive light.
Mr. Hanlon: They responded by turning it into a so-called “War on Terror” which is a never-ending war because terrorism never goes away. This is not how a terrorist attack is usually treated. You try to figure out who perpetrated it, and you prosecute them in a court of law; you don’t use it as a pretext to go back into Iraq, which has nothing to do with the 9/11 attack, and finish the war that your father started by trying to kill Saddam Husain because he supposedly had weapons of mass destruction. Yet, that is actually what happened.
Mr. Akulov: There was a transformation in what had happened to the country. Before, there was a division, especially in political parties. The division was clear with what had transpired with the election of 2000. The first months of the Bush presidency still had tension and everyone was being rather critical of the administration. After 9/11, that transformation went away overnight to the people I have observed. There was a sense of unity that lasted for two years and then political division began to emerge again.
Ms. Beverly: They let people know that even though it happened, the US is still a safe place to live. They gave comfort and reassurance that it most likely won’t happen again and that the people who did this would get justice.
Teacher Jasica: It is something that reminds me that even though I have been in this country for a really long time, when things happen that may villainize people who look like me, I am open to that scrutiny.
Ms. Sagal: I wasn’t affected personally, but since becoming a history teacher, I have been thinking about the way people view other countries and how other people view our country. Things like the war in Afghanistan that ended last year were a direct result of 9/11; there are a lot of effects in history, and we won’t know the big effects for another 20 years.
Dr. Araci: It teaches each of us to get ready for anything possible in a more cautious way. Immediately afterward was bad, but people began to feel more open to differences. It was horrible; I wish it never happened but if we look at people today, they are more communicative.
Mr. Hanlon: I went to drama school with a particular kind of view on what theater could do in terms of impacting social changes. After 9/11, theaters became much more conservative in their programming; they did not want to be seen as being overly political because this whole issue was politicized and further created more division in society. So it changed the whole trajectory of my career and my life.
Teacher Jasica: Shows and shows from Southpark to Criminal Minds all have episodes with terrorist threats. They became saturated with the image of the frightening Middle Eastern coming to bomb your country.
Mr. Hanlon: We don’t remember a time when airport security was not the way it is now. Before it was super easy: you could put whatever you wanted in the bag you brought on board and you could meet a friend or family member at their gate - without even having a boarding pass! There is also the demonization of Muslims and trying to find a way to humanize and incorporate Islamic Americans. We also need to recognize that the relationship between terrorism and Islam is non-existent. It just so happens, that Al Qaeda used Isalm as a pretext for this attack
Dr. Araci: I think I have seen how people can get together in this horrific event. I have seen help from all over the world and even personal connections get stronger. I have seen the goodness in people even after this bad thing. Those sacrifices taught me more people were good.
Ms. Sagal: There was a massive upswing in patriotic fervor. There are also some negative things: islamophobia is another major effect, a lot more paranoia, in general; and of course the two wars we ended up in.
Although we never experienced 9/11 ourselves, these interviews demonstrate both the immediate and gradual impacts that took place because of the attack. Regardless of where they lived, many of the teacher’s experiences were common. All of them heard about the attack through the news or from their peers at school, and all of them found it shocking or incomprehensible. Teacher Jasica, Mr. Hanlon, and Ms. Sagal all discussed the increase in division and islamophobia that emerged because of this event. On the other hand, Dr. Akulov, Ms. Beverly, and Dr. Araci all discussed the unity and solidarity of Americans in the country’s recovery. Diverse accounts provide us with a better understanding of the country’s nuanced reaction to the attack. Despite uniting as a nation to collaborate and recover, the United States also needed someone to blame and isolate.
Even now, 20 years later, the consequences of this event are different for each person, and the ideas that resonated with each individual varied due to their identity. For example, Teacher Jasica, as a person of color, focused on discrimination as well as the distorted view of people from the Middle East. Mr. Hanlon's dialogue reflects his past experience in drama, detailing how most major theater companies started to avoid overtly political plays. As history teachers, both Dr. Akulov and Ms. Sagal recognized the short and long term continuities and changes. As a 911 call recipient, Ms. Beverly, focused on the reassurance given to Americans during the days after the attack. Finally, Dr. Araci focused on being more optimistic, presenting the positive consequences of the event on the world and the country.
Everyone has, in one way or another, felt the effects of the 9/11 attacks, and we have yet to find out the true extent of this tragic event’s impact.