Life consists of choices, which are sometimes out of people’s control. The choice of terrorists to crash planes into the World Trade Center solidified the lives of young Afghan children far into the future. After the attacks, America sent out to Afghanistan to combat the terrorist organizations that planned this attack, putting many civilians in the crossfire. In the novel Ground Zero, eleven-year-old girl, Reshmina, living with her family, has grown up in the shadow of this war. Hila, her older sister, was murdered by American soldiers at her own wedding when they were believed to be Taliban. The civilians living in Reshmina’s village have to fight to survive after multiple raids and attacks happen to their homes. While she is living in a …show more content…
The country was not unfamiliar with terrorist attacks before this date though. On February 26th, 1993 Ramzi Yousef placed a moving truck with 1,500 pounds of explosives in a parking garage under the World Trade Center. (“The September 11th”). The explosion injured 1,024 civilians and was a predecessor for the attack that would come only eight years later. (“The September 11th”) On September 11th, 2001, four planes, hijacked by a group of nineteen terrorists, crashed in various locations in the United States. One in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, one in the South Tower, one in the Pentagon, and one recaptured and flown into a field. (“The September 11th”). After clean-up ended, it was estimated that about 2,606 innocent people had lost their lives. (“The September 11th”). After these attacks the population became afraid to fly, more airport security was enforced, and a war that raged for twenty years came about. (“The September 11th”) These attacks caused destruction and chaos, but they showed how Americans came together through patriotism and sadness. Regardless of what you looked like or believed, civilians helped get each other out of New York and into safety. People donated food, money, and their time to help clean the city and support the families coping with loss. The importance of this event transcended the geographic, political, and …show more content…
invaded Afghanistan after the attacks on September 11th to rid the country of the Taliban regime and to stop Al-Qaeda and its leader. The terroristic group Al-Qaeda set up camps in Afghanistan that indoctrinated and trained over 10,000 to 20,000 men before the fatal attack on America. ("Afghanistan War"). These camps also became bases for weapons and for coordinating terrorist attacks. ("Afghanistan War"). Al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan was made possible by the Taliban, an organization that overthrew the government and is guilty of ethnic cleansing, numerous massacres, and purposely starving civilians. ("Afghanistan War"). The U.S. military fought with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda but their members would flee making it hard to find them in the mountainous terrain. ("Afghanistan War") Pain was inflicted upon innocent civilians in Afghanistan, similar to the pain civilians felt during September 11th. The goals of both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are what Americans, especially Christians, view as evil and merciless. These groups are inhumane and they have set their country many steps back socially and