My 9/11

With all those images and comments at the moment in the medias, impossible not to remember this experience that was personal for each one of us.

In August 2001 I was going to the States on a home swapping. We were going to Maryland, not far from Washington and I had thought that on the way back, we could stop at the Marriot in the Twin towers... as my daughter didn't know New York, but I finally decided on a direct trip to and from Washington.

When we arrived at the airport, we took our bags and went to our new "home".

When we arrived at the house, I wanted to offer some presents to my swappers, but my green bag refused to open.... And when I looked at it, I realized it wasn't mine, it belonged to a Chinese man whose address was in LA....

We had to go back to the airport, and I was anxious about my luggage, because in France, as we had already experienced terrorists' bombs, any abandoned bag was isolated and exploded by the police! And I could imagine the "boules de pétanque" those enormous metallic balls I had brought for the children, launched in the airport...

But my fellow swapper looked at me with a commiserating look, saying that this was America, and nothing like that would ever happen in this God blessed land....

In fact, we had always been surprised by the fact that there was almost no control of the luggage or the bags when you entered the country. They made you fill silly papers where you had to answer stupid questions.. But no-one had ever checked that I always carried a knife with me...my Opinel I cherished and was so useful!

And the fact that friends and family could accompany you almost at the door of the plane, withour any control!

For us, it was incredible! America was still living a dream!

And when we arrived at Washington Airport, my bag was among hundreds of left luggage, in a corridor, nobody watching them, just a student on a summer job, telling me I could choose whichever bag I wanted, and I could leave the other one... And he left! I could have stollen tens of them!

Well, when I told the lady I was with, she said " What could happen?"

So, when I  heard the news of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, at first, I couldn't believe it. I was coming back from work, and had to stop my car to listen, then rushed home to see the images that were frightening,and I remembered the absolute certainties the Americans had that nothing could happen to them on their soil...

On the following day, what surprised me was the reaction of my pupils, who were mostly muslims from Africa and were crying because America had been attacked!

They were afraid they would be at war with the USA they loved... and finally,ten years later, it's America that's at war with them! and I'm not sure that now they would be so anxious about America...