14 September 2001

The past week has been filled with sorrow. I found out about the hijacked planes on Tuesday, when I was working on, ironically, a working group plan for NetAfrique’s proposal to rework the Martin Luther King, Jr. Project Foundation’s site. As usual, we were listening to Joy FM, a station with a format of light, excruciating pop music from the U.S. and Europe, when I heard the announcer speak over the music, as he does, that an airplane had flown into the World Trade Center. Then the song continued, and I turned to my office mates and asked, "Did he just say that a plane flew into the World Trade Center?" They nodded and turned back to their monitors. My first reaction, not unique, was that it must have been an accident. I imagined a helicopter or city-hopper-like craft.

After a few minutes, I went into another office to see if we could try to get Internet access in order to check out what happened. One of my co-workers found a picture and the breaking news, but it wouldn’t load entirely. I decided to go back to Geekhalla and see if I could get access there. No luck. By the time I got back to the office there were reports of the second plane crashing into the WTC, so I knew it wasn’t an accident. I tried to find a phone center so I could call home to find out what was happening. The radio reports were not detailed, and someone in the street was saying that the U.S. was being bombed. I got through and was toldtold of news of hijackers and the Pentagon. Still, no one in or around the office stopped normal activities (and I suppose it’s not so unusual), so I wasn’t sure what to think. I went to the next office, where there is a television, and saw images of the towers and Pentagon on fire. It was terrifying. At that point, I went back to the office, gathered my things, and set out to find a restaurant or hotel with CNN.

The other geeks had already heard and read about what was happening, so they were out looking for CNN, too. When we finally found coverage, we sat in shock under the television for the rest of the day. We checked on our families and friends, but mainly just watched the screen in disbelief.

The next day, after everyone realized what had happened and the ramifications, the mood everywhere was somber. Usually, when I pass through the men who wait near the U.S. consular section building, I get a bit of friendly harassment (marriage proposals and the like). But now they were quiet or offered condolences. Also, the building was ringed with guards dressed in black uniforms.

Ghanaians I’ve encountered have been saddened by the attacks, and there are prayer vigils happening all around Accra. Many Ghanaians live in New York, and at least five have died in the destruction. Most people wonder how U.S. security failed, but they also remind me of the foreign policy we have in place which could engender such hatred.

However, on Wednesday evening, when I was typing e-mail in Cyberia, a man started shouting praise and support for the attacks and said he hopes it’s only the beginning. I don’t know where he was from, but he didn’t appear to be Ghanaian. His rant was idiotic and simplistic, so it was hard to take seriously. But I know people do have these feelings, and, politics and history aside (if that’s a possibility), the sheer insensitivity to the fact that thousands of people were killed made me angry.

It’s difficult to scrounge around for information about what is going on and to be so far from home during this episode. Sometimes we can get online (which is how I can post this, of course), and I have a little radio here to listen to the BBC or Radio France. (I’ve decided to avoid Cyberia for the time being.) I can’t process any of the things President Bush says, since it’s the most mindless and sound-bite-inspired rot. The BBC has interviewed people who have more insightful things to say, but it’s still hard to swallow the fact that this happened. When I see photos of the New York skyline, I’m devastated.

I’m worried about the retaliation the U.S. will plan, and I worry about being in Africa while this happens, since I can imagine that it could cause a conflict that that spins out of control.

The country I return to in December will be a different country.


(Hopefully there will be more on Ghana in my next post.)

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