Memories from Luxembourg
1. "I was about to head to the UK to start my studies after graduating high school. The early afternoon of 11th September 2001 had been designated as the moment when I would get what was needed for my flat's kitchen and my room at university. My mother, then girlfriend and I headed to the nearest IKEA, which was in nearby France, and got underway. On the way there, we were listening to the radio's daily broadcast. We shopped, paid and loaded the car. When we drove back, we heard the excited voice of a news anchor talking about dust and debris everywhere on the streets surrounding the World Trade Center, and fires raging. Not understanding the reality of the situation, I switched frequencies to another network and landed on a French news outlet where the news was much the same.
My mother wanted to stop off at another shop on our way home and as she went in we stayed in the car, listening to the radio. When we got home, my dad leaned out of the window to tell us the news, as he had already been watching TV coverage. It was then that we also saw the images that are still etched in to our planet's communal memory.
The rest of the day consisted of my girlfriend and I picking up some food and sitting down at a friend's place, talking to people our own age about what was going on. One of our friends was dating a Lebanese woman at the time, and was putting everything in motion to get her to move to Luxembourg, as he feared that all hell would break loose in the Middle-East shortly.
As the date of my moving to the UK drew closer in the next couple of days, my mind kept wandering to what else terrorists could come up with to shake the foundations of western society.
I wondered if I would be safe crossing the English channel on a ferry.
- Gérard Kraus
My mother wanted to stop off at another shop on our way home and as she went in we stayed in the car, listening to the radio. When we got home, my dad leaned out of the window to tell us the news, as he had already been watching TV coverage. It was then that we also saw the images that are still etched in to our planet's communal memory.
The rest of the day consisted of my girlfriend and I picking up some food and sitting down at a friend's place, talking to people our own age about what was going on. One of our friends was dating a Lebanese woman at the time, and was putting everything in motion to get her to move to Luxembourg, as he feared that all hell would break loose in the Middle-East shortly.
As the date of my moving to the UK drew closer in the next couple of days, my mind kept wandering to what else terrorists could come up with to shake the foundations of western society.
I wondered if I would be safe crossing the English channel on a ferry.
- Gérard Kraus