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[|After the Attacks of 911]

Introduction Final Interview Individual Interviews

Our group conducted five interviews of people of different ages, lifestyles, and locations. Taylor interviewed her brother, Andrew who is a 20 year old that attends UCI. Jaye interviewed her dad, Bob, a 71-year-old man that grew up in New York. Lina interviewed Be, a 17 year old girl who offered the opinions of the average high school student, and Mr. Champion, a former marine who grew up in New York. Finally, Sydney interviewed Grant and Jane Haskell, a couple from Auckland, New Zealand, who offered the views of another country. We found that September 11 and the following events affected everybody in one-way or another.
 * AFTER THE WAR

Across the globe in New Zealand the people shared the same reactions and feelings toward terrorism and 9-11 as people in states. For the most part, September 11 was the day that finally ignited the movement of patriotism and the war against terrorism. Since that fateful day one of the changes apparent in the states is that America grew closer together as a whole. Through our interviews we saw how it personally hit everyone’s heart around the world. With Andrew Brown we found out how young adults feel about how the government and the way President Bush is handling the situation. It has changed views on President Bush because of the way he handled the next steps after the event. Everyone supports the troops but many dislike Bush’s decision to go to war. We would say that it has made the majority of the country more interested and involved in politics. From Mr. Champion and Bob Hellmich, we got the view of how it really hit their homes where they grew up in New York and had friends and family living. It has taught them both to really appreciate life more and to be ready for anything. Be Diep was only in middle school when the event took place, but it was her generation’s first real national emergency. For the younger generation it was a real eye opener to the brutality and negative side of the world we live in. It has made us more aware of the world on a whole. The day of September 11th is still fresh in all our minds and still hard to talk about and relive.

The war in Iraq is going on still. At first it was a big deal here in Costa Mesa, but people seem to not pay attention so much to what is going on in Iraq. Right after the attacks and at the beginning of the war everyone was so patriotic and involved but as time has passed, things have expectedly cooled down. Other than news stories the war really doesn’t affect us much unless you are personally connected. Many feel that the war should have never taken place and that in the end it will just slowly fizzle out. The government in New Zealand decided that since they don’t have the military might they would rather remain neutral and only take on a peacekeeping role in Iraq. In New Zealand, as in America, views on Islamic and Muslim people have changed. Kiwis don’t feel that it is safe to travel in the Middle East and don’t understand, as Americans really don’t, what would provoke someone to do something like this. As a small country they need to be up to date and involved in bigger countries’ affairs so they are experiencing much of the same things as us. The terrorist attacks of September 11 and the following war are events that will be on people’s minds for a long time. They have changed America mostly for the better and have definitely made us stronger.

Intro: Jane Haskell, New Zealand: For us, it was like a movie happening, a big blockbuster American movie, but it was actually real and we couldn’t get over it. Bob Hellmich, Costa Mesa: My initial thought was how could a commercial airliner possibly do such a thing? Be Diep, Costa Mesa: I didn’t know what was going on. I thought at first I thought it was fake. Mr. Champion, Costa Mesa: Realizing what was happening was just unbelieving and was just a total shock. Grant Haskell, New Zealand: And when the buildings collapsed that was when it hit home.
 * Final Interviews Transcript **

B.H.: I actually lived and worked on Wall Street at the time that the World Trade Centers were being built. I moved out of New York a couple years after it was completed. When I first saw the video of the plane crashing into the building, my initial thought was, how could a commercial airliner possibly do such a thing? J.H.: I was living in Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand and I was on my way driving to work. It’s a 60 km drive through the really most beautiful beautiful scenery on the South Island. I didn’t pass any other cars or anything on the way and I heard it on the radio and I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was hearing the wrong thing M.C.: When I saw this on television I was in complete shock I just could not believe that this was happening and I was thinking about the human life and the effect on family and friends and all of us. G.H.: No one was sure what had happened at first and for us really getting sort of these on sight CNN, straight from NBC sort of footage and they’re saying, ‘Well, we don’t know whether it’s a plane that’s just gone of course,’ and the next minute its filtering through that it was terrorists or possible terrorists and then next minute the second plane went in and it was sort of surreal, it was a bit like a movie. B.H.: I was truly upset that somebody would not only kill all those people in the plane, but they would destroy the building and almost 3 thousand people that were in it. G.H.: Such a contraire to our normal way of life, to see people go and kill themselves and to try and kill others. B.H.: I was concerned about the people who were in the building and people who were outside the building but not far enough away when the building collapsed. Not to mention the fact that there were three hundred firefighters and rescue personnel that were killed trying to get other people out of the building and fight the fire and so on. J.H.: My heart went out to all the people, all the families, the people that were involved in it, or that didn’t know whether they were involved in it or not, that had people perhaps missing that they didn’t know whether they were ok or not, and disbelief about the whole thing, about why would people want to do this and how could it happen and amazement at the way everyone in New York rallied around, all the firefighters and everything. It was very amazing but very very sad. B.H.: As soon as they learned of the scope of the terrorist attack at the time, they grounded all aircrafts across the country and that was the right move. Just in case there was another one in the air. They responded with military aircraft but because this was such a new situation, the military aircraft that was already in the air arrived too late to do anything about it. The passengers that were on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania took it upon themselves to prevent that plane from flying to Washington. M.C.: Well I think we began to realize the seriousness of the situation and that we have to do something about this terrorist situation. J.H.: This was truly a very remote part of New Zealand but everyone was still tuned into it because New Zealand is very very aware of international events because we’re such a small country that we kind of have to have that awareness where other countries that are bigger have to only know more about their own country not so much about anywhere else. G.H.: Our government was non-committal I guess you’d have to say. They didn’t want to get involved in Iraq and I think probably most of the country, perhaps some of the older generation, may have wished to get involved but certainly most of the younger generation and my generation didn’t want to get in another war that was perceived from this part of the world as maybe a no-win situation. J.H.: I think that our role as a small country is the way that our government elected to act, that suited me and I think that it is really fantastic that we have our forces over there but only in a peacekeeping role. G.H.: We haven’t got the military mite to do anything on our own. We’re ill advised to get involved in major conflicts and if we can do a peacekeeping or a medical or humanitarian stuff that’s the way for us to do it. A.B.: I think that the war should have never taken place but now that it’s happened I think that you kinda have to deal with it and move ahead with it and figure things out. I think it’s gonna take a long time to fix A.B.: the war its just become a mess with a-there's not there doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of focus and it seems to be changing all the time and you just hear like the newspaper’s full of different stuff happening each day that’s just horrible so I don’t know it doesn’t seem like its going anywhere A.B.: I think its just gonna fizzle out but I think its gonna be awhile I think a-it just gonna kind of like slowly fades out and nobody will really notice that it ended. J.H.: Its given an overall greater awareness to people in New Zealand about all things Islamic because people are grasping to understand why it is all happening. B.H.: It made me wonder about, you know, those who perpetrated crime and what kind of religion they have. I wonder if it’s a religion or just a phenomenon that they have developed on their own. J.H.: We have both traveled a lot in Islamic countries, through the Middle East and Indonesia and northern Africa and that was fine when we were younger and everything. There was some of the things we didn’t like, like their attitude toward women, but now it would greatly effect where we would go on holiday. We would just not go to those countries now. We wouldn’t feel safe. B.H.: I didn’t really have any fear at all for me here in California or for my family in New York because none of them were near the World Trade Center. A.B.: I don’t feel scared or in danger I mean if something happens it happens. And like I know that the security has been stepped up since it happened so were better off now then before I guess M.C.: It brought it home to all Americans everywhere. Here in this country and all around the world. It took something like this, which is a shame that it took something like this to wake us up about the seriousness of this situation. B.D.: We’re part of history. It affected us a lot. B.H.: If I did not work in New York, if I did not live in that area, I would have been more detached from what happened. But because of my experience there which kind of set with the people and in watching the TV account of what was going on, I recognized the area that was so devastating. M.C.: Well I began to realize how of course I always realized how fragile life was and that there’s terrorism in the world and you never know from one minute to the next where it’s going to hit. Going to hit in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa is it going to hit everywhere and anywhere. It’s just a sad situation, that this is happening and we live in a level of society than how difficult it is to combat terrorism living in an open society under the constitution and the bill of rights that we have. It’s very difficult. B.D.: There were like good parts and bad parts about the terrorist attacks like the worst part was all the people dying but bringing the states together that was the best part about the attacks. B.H.: The World Trade Center, or September 11th, brings still better patriotism. Furthermore, or in other words, if you try to destroy us, we’re going to get closer together, and we’re going to fight back.


 * INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS: **

By Jaye Hellmich**
 * Interview with Bob Hellmich

Q. How did you feel when you understood the magnitude and everything that happened on September 11th? A. I was affected somewhat differently from other people because I lived in New York at the time. I actually lived and worked on Wall Street at the time that the World Trade Centers were being built. I moved out of New York a couple years after it was completed. When I first saw the video of the plane crashing into the building, I initially thought, how could a commercial airliner possibly do such a thing? The moment I found out later that it was a terrorist attack, I was truly upset that somebody would not only kill all those people in the plane, but they would destroy the building and almost 3 thousand people that were in it. I wanted to do what I could to eliminate the terror aspect in this country. Personally there’s not much I can do, other than to support our government in their efforts to eliminate or reduce terrorism.

Q. How do you think our government handled it? A. Well they, as soon as they learned of the scope of the terrorist attack at the time, they grounded all aircrafts across the country and that was the right move. Just in case there was another one in the air. They responded with military aircraft but because this was such a new situation, the military aircraft that was already in the air arrived too late to do anything about it. The passengers that were on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania took it upon themselves to prevent that plane from flying to Washington.

Q. Were you scared for you here in California or did you have more fear for your family that lives in New York? A. I didn’t really have any fear at all for me here in California or for my family in New York because none of them were near the World Trade Center. I was concerned about the people who were in the building and people who were outside the building but not far enough away when the building collapsed. Not to mention the fact that there were three hundred firefighters and rescue personnel that were killed trying to get other people out of the building and fight the fire and so on.

Q. Did it change any of your views on religion? A. No. Not on my religion but it made me wonder about, you know, those who perpetrated crime and what kind of religion they have. I wonder if it’s a religion or just a phenomenon that they have developed on their own.

Q. If you were younger or if you didn’t grow up in New York, do you think it would’ve affected you differently? A. I’m sure it would have. The fact that I was on Wall Street, I worked on Wall Street in the area that was subsequent building of the Trade Towers took place. I knew many of the people and the businesses that were in that area and when they closed due to the construction of the World Trade Center, or towers, I don’t know if I was upset. I didn’t like the fact that the places that I was familiar with were now disappearing, but that was progress and that’s the way it had to be. If I did not work in New York, if I did not live in that area, I would have been more detached from what happened. But because of my experience there which kind of set with the people and in watching the TV account of what was going on, I recognized the area that was so devastating.

Q. What about how America came closer together by showing patriotism? A. That’s true, America did come together but it didn’t have to be that way. Any national emergency would bring America together. The hurricane, Katrina, and the tsunami in Sumatra, any kind of emergency like that brings people together. However, the World Trade Center, or September 11th, brings still better patriotism. Furthermore, or in other words; If you try to destroy us, we’re going to get closer together, and we’re going to fight back.

By: Sydney Barloon**
 * Interview with Jane and Grant Haskell

Q: Where were you when you heard about September 11? JH: I was living in Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand and I was on my way driving to work. It’s a 60 km drive through the really most beautiful beautiful scenery on the South Island. I didn’t pass any other cars or anything on the way and I heard it on the radio and I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was hearing the wrong thing and then when I arrived at school, we had a television in the classroom which was in a little very very remote, one of the remotest parts of New Zealand, and it was a one teacher school and we had a television in there, and they had the television on and then all the kids kept coming to school, and they’d be watching the news in the morning before they came to school and we just kept watching it, and we were all really really stunned. For us, it was like a movie happening, a big blockbuster American movie, but it was actually real and we couldn’t get over it. We kept watching and watching and then parents would drop in and this was truly a very remote part of New Zealand but everyone was still tuned into it because New Zealand is very very aware of international events because we’re such a small country that we kind of have to have that awareness where other countries that are bigger have to only know more about their own country not so much about anywhere else. It was an amazing thing, and we just kept saying it all the time, through the day.

Q: How did September 11 make you feel, personally? JH: Me personally? My heart went out to all the people, all the families, the people that were involved in it, or that didn’t know whether they were involved in it or not, that had people perhaps missing that they didn’t know whether they were ok or not, and disbelief about the whole thing, about why would people want to do this and how could it happen and amazement at the way everyone in New York rallied around, all the firefighters and everything. It was very amazing but very very sad.

Q: How did your country react to the US War on Terrorism and the occupation of Iraq, then and now? GH: Our government was non-committal I guess you’d have to say. They didn’t want to get involved in Iraq and I think probably most of the country, perhaps some of the older generation, may have wished to get involved but certainly most of the younger generation and my generation didn’t want to get in another war that was perceived from this part of the world as maybe a no-win situation.

Q: Do you have anything you want to add? JH: Well, I’d just like to say that I think that our role as a small country is the way that our government elected to act, that suited me and I think that it is really fantastic that we have our forces over there but only in a peacekeeping role. That’s really best for me and I think that’s how it should be. GH: We haven’t got the military mite to do anything on our own. We’re ill advised to get involved in major conflicts and if we can do a peacekeeping or a medical or humanitarian stuff that’s the way for us to do it. JH: Its given an overall greater awareness to people in New Zealand about all things Islamic because people are grasping to understand why it is all happening. GH: Such a contraire to our normal way of life, to see people go and kill themselves and to try and kill others. JH: It also has a bit of an affect in that we have both traveled a lot in Islamic countries, through the Middle East and Indonesia and northern Africa and that was fine when we were younger and everything. There was some of the things we didn’t like, like their attitude toward women, but now it would greatly effect where we would go on holiday. We would just not go to those countries now. We wouldn’t feel safe. GH: It didn’t just take place. It happened. No one was sure what had happened at first and for us really getting sort of these on sight CNN, straight from NBC sort of footage and they’re saying, ‘Well, we don’t know whether it’s a plane that’s just gone of course,’ and the next minute its filtering through that it was terrorists or possible terrorists and then next minute the second plane went in and it was sort of surreal, it was a bit like a movie.

Q: Yeah, it was totally like a movie. Then they had the other crashes at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. GH: The plane that was in the air that they couldn’t find or they didn’t know where it was. And when the buildings collapsed that was when it hit home. A lot of people said ‘Well, this is going to burn away for awhile,’ but when the first one went down that was suddenly when I realized this is serious.

By: Taylor Brown Q. What’s your opinion on the war in Iraq? A. I think that the war should have never taken place but now that it’s happened I think that you kinda have to deal with it and move ahead with it and figure things out. I think it’s gonna take a long time to fix and yeah.
 * Interview with Andrew Brown

Q. What is your reaction to President Bush’s response to September 11th? A. I think-I think I heard a comedian say this before but I think agree with it where he says that he kind of wasted a really good opportunity cuz I think right afterwards his approval ratings shot through the roof and like everybody was really together and there was a lot of solidarity but nothing really got done for awhile afterwards so it’s kind of a missed opportunity but I don’t think really he did anything really bad right afterwards I think he did just everything average.

Q. Do you believe he’s doing a good job handling the situation? A. I think with the-the war its just become a mess with a-there's not there doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of focus and it seems to be changing all the time and you just hear like the newspaper’s full of different stuff happening each day that’s just horrible so I don’t know it doesn’t seem like its going anywhere so I would have to say no.

Q. How has the war effected your life? A. Just that it’s in the news everyday and that your more aware of what’s going on and people talk about it i guess that would be one small good thing that came out of it, but yeah just people talking about it and thinking about issues.

Q. How long do you think the war will last? A. I don’t think its gonna be like a strict end I think its just gonna fizzle out but I think its gonna be awhile I think a-it just gonna kind of like slowly fades out and nobody will really notice that it ended.

Q. Do you feel safe living in America after September 11th? A. A-yeah I don’t feel scared or in danger I mean if something happens it happens. And like I know that the security has been stepped up since it happened so were better off now then before I guess so yeah.

By, Lina You**
 * Mr. Champion’s Interview

Q: Where were you when 9/11 happened? A: I was here in Costa Mesa. I was at home.

Q: How did it affect your life? A: Well I‘m from New York, and I’m aware and familiar with New York City and when I saw this on television I was in complete shock I just could not believe that this was happening and I was thinking about the human life and the effect on family and friends and all of us. And again being from New York, and seeing that building come down and the other building coming down. And realizing what was happening was just unbelieving and was just a total shock.

Q: Did you think that it was terrorist right away A: Uh yeah I suspected my family and I, we suspected that it was terrorist especially when you see an aircraft going into two buildings and you know that it was two different aircrafts and you know that it has to be something like terrorist and not a mistake by a pilot. Or anything like that.

Q: How did it change your life? A: Well I began to realize how of course I always realized how fragile life was and that there’s terrorism in the world and you never know from one minute to the next where it’s going to hit. Going to hit in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa is it going to hit everywhere and anywhere. It’s just a sad situation, that this is happening and we live in a level of society than how difficult it is to combat terrorism living in an open society under the constitution and the bill of rights that we have. It’s very difficult.

Q: How do you think it changed America? A: Well I think we began to realize the seriousness of the situation and that we have to do something about this terrorist situation. It brought it home to all Americans everywhere. Here in this country and all around the world. It took something like this, which is a shame that it took something like this to wake us up about the seriousness of this situation.

By, Jaye H., Lina You Q: Where were you when you found out about the terrorist attacks on September 11th? A: I was actually watching the TV. After breakfast, I turned on the TV I just felt like turning on the TV and watching something and then all of a sudden I see an airplane crashing into like one of the um twin towers and I thought that it was just fake, but then like here comes another airplane I saw hitting the second twin tower so and then they said it was real and then I was like ‘Oh crap.’
 * Be Diep’s Interview

Q: Did you think it was a terrorist attack right away or did you know what was going on? A: Actually I didn’t know what was going on. I thought at first I thought it was fake but then like when they said it was a terrorist attack AND THEN I knew it was a terrorist attack.

Q: You went to school the same day right? How did your teachers like take care of it? Did they let you watch it in class? Did they talk about it at all? A: Yea, they let us watch it in class and then our history teacher was more like involved with it.

Q: Did it affect you a lot? Like were you really sad about it did you really care at all? A: I felt really scared cause one of my family members lived around there but um I guess my mom called her that night seeing if she was alright and she didn’t live in that area but she knew people from that area so it was kind of scary.

Q: How do you think it effect young people of your age? A: We’re part of history. It affected us a lot.

Q: What did you think about how America came together at that time? A: Uh what do you mean?

Q: Well when everyone started to get all the American flags like on their cars and their windows and stuff. A: There were like good parts and bad parts about the terrorist attacks like the worst part was all the people dying but bringing the states together that was the best part about like the attacks I guess.