187. Minutes before 8am on that September morning of 10 years ago I was having breakfast in my kitchen in Lima with the company of CNN International. Suddenly the station started to show an almost static image of the World Trade Center with dark smoke billowing off one of its towers. The anchors were just guessing about the possible causes. A few minutes after 8am their voices became louder. A second plane was approaching the second tower. The rest has been well described by the media during that day and the next days, weeks, months, and years.
The shocking reality of a never expected terror act on US soil overcame everyone. The attack on the Pentagon, the crashed plane over Pennsylvania, the solemn face of president George Walker Bush, the muteness of a vibrant metropolis.
I couldn't leave home too quickly because at the time I already had a flight ticket to spend a few days in New York City and Montreal up early October and wanted to call friend Marybeth, my charming host in Manhattan. After many tries I reached her. Comprehensibly appalled she confirmed to have been at a safe distance.
October approached fast. I visited Ground Zero with Marybeth and other friends, experiencing the unforgettable smell which invaded a huge part of Manhattan and seeing the thick dust still covering walls, windows, trees, cars, and asphalt.
Later on, occasions came to have candid conversations with several people about the possible motives, trying to provide some insight which may have been helpful in connecting critical dots.
In the meantime Usama Bin Laden has been eliminated inside his Pakistani hide-out. Still though, the menace of renewed attempts to plot keeps preoccupying security forces.
As we all make efforts to disrupt despicable acts of terror based on religious fundamentalism, we need to liberate ourselves of the myths we're still following since the Middle Age in order to help e.g. our Arab sisters and brothers to free themselves also of their own, coming all together closer to GOD through the only means: Our good deeds to our fellows, no matter where from they are or which skin pigment they have.
