My mother and father used to talk about how everyone remembered where they were when JFK was assassinated. Even though they are not American, it was a moment which shocked the world. My two moments were learning of the death of Princess Diana (waking up on a Sunday morning and switching the radio on) and hearing on the radio about the attack on the twin towers in New York. I was driving home on the M54 from an interview in Telford and I even remember the place on the road and the radio presenter and what he said. It’s almost like it’s hard-wired in my head for ever more.
The moments and hours and days after the atrocity we watched with horror as the death and suffering of so many people was played out in front of our eyes – beamed across the world for us to see in real time. It was horrific and yet compelling at the same time. We were all transfixed – our eyes glued to the tv screens. At one stage you could see people jumping from the top of the building to their death below.
This image has stayed with me ever since – the image of people jumping – and when I am at the top of a tall building like the Shanghai Financial Centre in Pudong (last Sunday) I go close to the edge and I look down and I try to imagine the kind of horror which those who jumped had to bear. There was a choice – burn to death or jump.
The events of 911 in 2001 affected many people directly and indirectly in many ways which are hidden. I will never be able to go up a tall building without replaying those images over and over again. When something has been seen it is impossible to “unsee” it which is a shame.