N000688
Saturday, December 22, 2001 11:20 AM
Eligibility under an act of war within the vicinity of Ground
Zero
Kenneth L. Zwick, Director
Office of Management Programs
Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Mr. Zwick,
I have read many of the comments made pertaining to what actions and efforts the government should take in an effort to help those so greatly affected by the unimaginable events of the longest day of our lives beginning at 8:46 am on September 11th, 2001. The rule of government was established by the people and for the people and any decision made by the government should invoke the sentiments of those words in relation to compensating the victims. Keeping that in mind I think it should be considered that the victims of war traditionally are those that have been affected directly, meaning that the act of war has direct impact on their lives. It is obvious to all that the most directly affected are those that lost family and friends and now endure the difficult process of acknowledging that their loved ones have been lost as a deliberate attack on the United States of America. This alone clearly makes an unprecedented distinction between natural disasters and an act of war as President Bush himself had clearly and publicly stated on several occasions following the events of September 11th.
Eligibility should be more profoundly evaluated or extended to those families directly impacted by an act of war perpetrated against the United States including all of its citizenry. The obligation of the government is to ensure that the impact of any attack against its citizens be evaluated beyond the most obvious victims of this heinous act.
I am specifically referring to those individuals and families within the immediate vicinity and community that have experienced great loss and face the challenges of an uncertain future and can establish the deep impact of the events of September 11th as it pertains to their lives and the lives of their families. Although these families have not experienced the loss of a loved one they have definitely experienced a long lasting loss that most Americans will never see as they watch the events on television.
My family and I are one of those many families. On that morning, just as any morning my wife and I who had spent all of our earnings to build a home and a business were looking out the south window facing Park Place, approximately two city blocks from the World Trade Center as the first plane crashed. We watched in horror as the second plane crashed into the south tower. We were in an immediate state of shock. The proximity of the towers posed a real threat to our lives and we are thankful that our son was at school at the time. We watched in agony as we saw many falling to their deaths and realizing that it was not just a building but that we were actually watching people deliberately put to death. This horrific memory will undoubtedly stay with us for the rest of our lives. The images on television could not possibly encompass the horror nor the emotional and psychological impact of any witness who lived in the immediate area of ground zero. Soon after, we were evacuated and as we left our home and work we witnessed the collapse of building seven. My family and I have experienced the full extent of war and have just barely begun to experience symptoms of post traumatic syndrome. We were not able to get back to our residence until October 28th, 2001 and as we re-entered our home we suddenly realized that our home was no longer a home. We think of home as a place of security and an extension of the lives individuals decide to build and create. Our home was an extension of the love of family and friends and that simple value was taken from us forever. On December 15th, just three months after the attack we said goodbye to that home and workplace for the last time. The effort in building a home and business and restarting or as volunteers from American Red Cross stated so eloquently, "This is now... the first day of your lives" is a statement that rings true for us and many families that have begun this arduous journey and the acceptance that our lives and the lives of our loved ones has changed forever. We have exhausted our savings and are at the brink of economic ruin, not to mention the emotional toll it has taken. My wife refused to return to the residence and sleep for both of us is an uneasy and distant memory. Every waking moment of our lives since September 11th has challenged us beyond the superficial physical wounds of war. It has scarred and assaulted our very core essence of being.
Every night after being allowed to re-enter our living and work place we were confronted with the destruction of so many lives walking down Church Street towards our home on . Every night after an exhausting day of filling out forms and proving that we were directly impacted to various charities... I would walk down the street as the work lights lit up the rubble and dust and we are immediately transported to the widespread destruction on the morning of September 11th. We are constantly trying to piece together our lives that have been torn apart by the far reaching destruction in our neighborhood. As we opened our windows facing Park Place the smell of contaminants and smoke filtered through to remind us that we are the silent victims of September 11th. It is hard to imagine the turmoil a family experiences as residents of ground zero. What that entails is that we are starting our lives from zero. Countless numbers of families have moved. Every day we see movers evacuating families who all have one thing in common. WE ARE ALL BOUND TO GROUND ZERO IN AS MUCH AS IT HAS DEEPLY IMPACTED OUR LIVES AND CHANGED US FOREVER. WE ARE THE FAMILIES THAT HAVE PHYSICALLY SURVIVED GROUND ZERO AND MUST NOW START ALL OVER AGAIN. WE ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE TERM VICTIMS but yet we have been directly assaulted and our experience of war is one that requires compensation. I would argue with anyone that the obligation of the government in response to this act of war is to extend the generosity of the American people to those families of ground zero that live within the immediate area. Our government is in a position to acknowledge the obvious victims that will experience the loss of a loved one for a lifetime but to include those that have lost everything they have built and created and no longer exists as a direct result of the attacks.
President Bush often speaks of the compassion of the American people and I believe as an American that compassion should be extended to those within the immediate are of the World Trade Center vicinity. We are also rebuilding our lives which will take years to rebuild and our inclusion in the compensation fund will acknowledge the intended compassion of all Americans who want to help those families directly impacted. Let us not draw a line that separates the direct impact of those that have lost and those that need to rebuild. We are all directly bound to the events of September 11th. For those who have written about feeding the greed and who don't think compensation is a just means by the government to distribute funds are those that can speak from a distance and those that do not have the experience of war in their neighborhood. They speak of legalities and they speak of right or wrong as it pertains to the lives of thousands that live in the vicinity of ground zero... or they visit and leave behind what many families have to confront every day. These are comfort zones that we are not afforded at Ground Zero. It is not a question of greed or government handouts or taking advantage of the American people. We are the American people and we are united in rebuilding our lives and in order to accomplish that we at Ground Zero who have lost our homes and businesses and as Ground Zero slowly becomes a ghost town because it is no longer a viable live or work area the impact of war on our neighborhood is obvious to all. The compensation fund as directed by Congress should encompass this group of individuals and families as a sign of hope for a second beginning for survivors and witnesses of a direct act of war. We are the witnesses, we are survivors, we are the families of ground zero that will remind future generations of Americans of what we saw that day and how it changed us forever. We are bound by our direct experience and not by television. We represent the rebuilding of downtown and the future of New York City. When my son asked me... "Dad, what are we going to do now?" My eyes filled with tears as I told him... "Never forget son... we will never forget our experience".
We ask that you include eligibility to those families and individuals within the immediate vicinity of Ground Zero so that we may be allowed to heal our deep wounds and help us rebuild our shattered lives. To ignore us would be to deny that anything has changed since September 11th and we urge you to never forget all of those impacted by this tragedy.
Thank you for hearing our voice. The voice of the families of ground zero.
God Bless us All,
Individual Comment
GROUND ZERO, NEW YORK CITY