Some people escaped safely, and some regretted what they did. Who can tell what will happen in our lives?

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the New York City government, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army all set up rescue centers to assist victims' families. Tzu Chi also provided assistance at two locations: the NYC Family Assistance Center at Pier 94, and the Office of Recovery and Victim Assistance Center in New Jersey. We helped victims with their needs, including handing out emergency cash and food, providing translation services, and giving spiritual counseling.

After days of service, the Tzu Chi station at Pier 94 earned the trust of people from all sectors of society, and more and more people came for our help.

Emergency cash

The Red Cross staff brought over a couple who used to work as cleaners at the World Trade Center. Now the buildings had been destroyed and they were unemployed. They also had two small children to feed. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army couldn't help them right away, and the couple looked depressed and anxious.

When our volunteers heard of their plight, they immediately gave them a check for US$500. The couple wept when they received the check, and even the Red Cross people were very surprised. Even though this was not a small amount, Tzu Chi could just hand out this check right away without going through any complicated procedures.

A volunteer couple from Ohio who came to help look for missing people parked their car on the street. When they returned to it after they had finished their work, they discovered that someone had broken into their car and had stolen all their identification and money. They were very worried that they wouldn't be able to go home. When the Salvation Army referred them to us, our volunteers gave them one hundred dollars cash so they could fill their car with gas and get something to eat. The wife tearfully said, "Now we can go home!"

After the terrorist attacks, many victims' families suddenly found themselves unemployed, homeless and penniless. Even the government, the Red Cross and insurance companies would need two to three weeks before giving them cash or checks. However, Tzu Chi was able to give emergency checks or cash to victims' families right away. The military, the police, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army were all very surprised at Tzu Chi's speedy efficiency.

Thus, we became the "Blue Angels." Whenever our cars passed through any checkpoint, we all received special treatment. Even at restaurants or in hallways, people would greet us or ask more about us.

If...

It was extremely difficult to work at the service center because there were too many sad stories that broke our hearts. We saw helplessness in sad-looking eyes and we also heard repeatedly how people had escaped and the financial problems they were facing. Nevertheless, the most unbearable stories were from the families who had lost loved ones in the attacks.

"If I had allowed my brother to sleep in, he wouldn't have died and my parents wouldn't have lost their son. I killed my own brother!"

A thirty-year-old woman came to us with her parents. They looked sad and tired, but they still tried to console their only daughter.

This woman and her brother had lived together and worked in the north tower of the World Trade Center. Her office was on the 14th floor and his on the 104th floor. On that day, her brother preferred to sleep in and didn't want to work. She became furious with him and forced him to go to work. Unexpectedly, she thus lost him forever.

The woman was still blaming herself for his death and she couldn't sleep at all. Her escape kept playing repeatedly inside her head: clouds of dust filled her eyes, but she had to watch out for debris falling from the sky...

People were all very afraid, but they still tried to help each other. She saw a woman take off her high-heels and start running, but a man immediately took off his sports socks and handed them to her so her feet wouldn't get injured while running. However, there were also people who took the chance to steal from others... She sighed when she remembered these extreme cases. However, those who stole were few in number; she believed that most people were kind and good.

What she needed the most was to receive psychiatric therapy.

Three saviors

"Now I still don't know how I could have survived without the help of three people. It was so incredible! I don't know what else I should say besides 'Thank you.'"

This is the story of a survivor who worked on the 87th floor of the south tower. When the north tower was attacked, he followed everyone else down the stairs. When they were somewhere between the seventieth floor and the eightieth floor, he heard the announcement that it was okay to go back to work, so some of his coworkers either took the elevators or the stairs back up. He was too tired to move, so he stopped to rest. But two or three minutes later, the south tower was also attacked.

He hurried down the stairs with other people. The whole building was in chaos and there was so much dust around that he could hardly see anything before him. Suddenly, a firefighter came to show him the way out, so he followed him to the lobby. Then, the firefighter told the man to stay there for him while he went back to help others.

He stayed there for a few minutes. A woman passing by saw that his back had been injured by fire. She asked him why he hadn't run away. The woman led him out of the lobby to one of four ambulances, and then she walked away.

At that time, there were two people in the ambulance, but they were only slightly injured. The ambulance staff was concerned that there weren't enough ambulances around, so they intended to drive away only when the ambulance had four patients. One of the injured people, wearing an oxygen mask, clamored that he would die if the ambulance remained there. The ambulance staff finally gave in and drove away. Two minutes later, the building suddenly collapsed.

The man said that if he had been sitting in one of the other three ambulances, he wouldn't have been sitting here talking with us now. But what was quite incredible was that from the time the airplanes rammed into the buildings to the time he came out, he was completely in shock and never said a single word. Nonetheless, these three saviors appeared before him and led him to safety.

We asked him whether he knew if the other two people who had helped him, besides the person who had clamored about leaving, were safe. He shook his head and said, "If the woman who brought me out of the building had left right away, she would be fine, but that firefighter didn't come out of the building."

The wives of a firefighter

While we were handing out emergency funds to victims' families, we discovered that a firefighter's family had received money twice, so we phoned to find out why. We discovered that this firefighter had married three times.

His current wife came first to apply. She received our US$1,000 and a pension of US$150,000 from the fire department. She would also be able to receive other benefits and insurance as well. The woman who came after her was his second wife. She had to raise her former husband's two school-aged children. However, she received no support other than ours, so she would have a hard time supporting herself.

She also told us that if we wanted to take back the money, she wouldn't complain. But if we didn't want to, she would give $500 to her former husband's first wife, who also had two children with this firefighter. We were all stunned to hear that, but we were also touched by what she said.

A family from the Middle East

What saddened me the most was a Moslem family from the Middle East.

The husband had worked as a waiter in a restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center and had died in the attacks. His distracted wife and their two children, a son and a daughter, were brought over by the Salvation Army.

The daughter was twenty-one years old and the son was seventeen years old; both were good children. Keeping their spirits up, they applied for all the necessary documents. The mother just sat there absentmindedly, as though she had nothing to do with what was happening around her.

Our volunteers kept encouraging the two young people and hoped they would be strong. Tzu Chi was willing to walk with them until their difficulties were over. When they received our $1,000 check, they were surprised and grateful; tears filled their eyes.

I couldn't fight back my own tears when I saw them leave without a strong arm to support them, because they suddenly seemed so lonely. I wondered why there was so much hatred in the world.

Our assistance to victims' families has been continuing ever since September 11. We believe that with seeds of love sprinkled around, the world will suffer less.