Do you remember? Maritimers reflect on 9/11 terrorist attacks 20 years later
Julia Stewart was working in tourism 20 years ago.
On Sept. 11, 2001, she was taking a group of Americans on a tour of the Maritimes.
She'll never forget telling them about the terror unfolding in their country.
"I remember distinctly, one woman sobbing because she has family members who worked in the towers," Stewart explains.
For many, time stood still the moment they heard the news.
Some educators were teaching classrooms filled with young children when they learned about what was happening in the United States.
"You have the students speak to you, tell them about their concerns," former principal Earl Muise remembers how he handled the situation that day. "What is important to them, and how you can reassure them that they are safe."
"We put the TV in the library so that we could go check while eating lunch," adds former teacher Yvette d'Entremont. "But I'll never forget that day."
Maritimers, who were in school at the time, say they tried to make sense of what was taking place.
"I was in Grade 11, I was 17 years old," reflects Bassam Mothana of Bedford, N.S. "I had a friend that rushed over and told us that a plane had hit a building in New York City, half of the class went down to the cafeteria to watch the event unfold. That's what happened, and my biggest concern and worry was that it was a terrorist attack, and unfortunately, it was."
Others were going about their day – running errands or at work.
"The bank teller told me, had explained to me, that there was a terrorist attack at the world trade buildings in New York," explains April Ramsay who was doing some banking in Halifax that day. "I just remember feeling overwhelmed."
"I was building an apartment building in Bridgewater," explains Robert Richardson. "I remember we took, it was almost dinner time, and we decided to stop a bit early, and we always had the radio running, and it was on the radio about these attacks in the states. We sat around the radio for probably two hours and listened."
Mothers, like Joanne Ozon, tried to comfort their children.
"I remember my three year old son saying Mommy, what happened to the plane? And that's when I instantly became fearful, saying that this is not the world that I hope my kids will grow up in, and I remember crying out to God because people's lives were being shattered."
As people gather to make the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, Julia Stewart says she will reflect quietly.
"I won't watch the footage again of that day," the former tour guide says. "I don't need to. It's engraved in my brain. But I'll reach out to other tour guides I was working with at that time and say, hey, I'm thinking about ya."
A global historic tragedy, that's still fresh on the minds of many Maritimers two decades later.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.