Thoughts From a UK Perspective
Created | Updated Jul 11, 2003
From 2pm in the afternoon B.S.T. office across Britain
ground to a halt. Phones rang to tell friends and
loved ones to get to a T.V. and radio. Frantic net
adept employees were told to get on the net and find
out any news. What was happening in New York and
Washington was having repercussions around the world.
With actual communications down in New York, verifiable news in any format was hard to come by but
slowly it started to trickle in. The drive home from
work in the evening saw many faces sullen and in a
state of disbelief at what they were hearing on the
radio. Then, once people got in, they went straight to
the T.V. for a marathon of news we have not seen in
Britain since the death of the Princess of Wales, but
has not been as horrific since the Gulf War.
Just as we settled down to what would normally be our
post work drink of tea or coffee some amateur video
footage showed the second plane impacting the South
Tower. Still Britain and the world sat transfixed in
front of their televisions.
It is hard to believe that something so big could
actually have taken place, but familes were united in
their T.V. vewing. Sadly, we will all remember where we
were on about 9am New York time and how we first heard
of the attack on the World Trade Centre.
As we sit and wait to find out who is actually dead we
can only sympathise with those who are still waiting
for news of loved ones who were either sitting down to
start a days work, or who went to help those in the
building as it collapsed.
As Prime Minister Tony Blair said from Downing Street:
'This is not a battle between the United States and
Terrorism, but between the free and democratic world
and terrorism. We therefore, here in Britain, stand
shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in
their hour of tragedy and we, like them, will not rest
until this evil is driven from our world.'
