Twenty-five years ago today, the 9/11 terrorist attacks hit the two World Trade Center Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, with a fourth plane falling over Pennsylvania. I was working at the United Nations headquarters in New York at the time. From my office window, I could see flames pouring from the first tower.
Then, we were evacuated from the building.
Some of us regrouped in a nearby cafe—watching in disbelief live footage from the event, not even realizing, when the second tower fell—that it was live and not a replay.
Then, some of us thought that such an emergency would call for blood and decided to rush to the nearest blood donation station, where the line was already around the block.
So many people had volunteered, as soon as the news spread, that the nurses could not cope and had to send the majority away, accepting only 0- blood donors, since 0- was in short supply and could be used for all negative blood types.
In the end, this spontaneous outpouring of solidarity did not help. No one survived the blast in the towers. But again, as in many other emergencies, it showed that the first instinct of many is to help, rather than run for safety.
The following days were mournful and yet at the same time full of energy. The city was covered in messages of people looking for their loved ones and asking if anyone had news.
Some of us, at the UN, felt we needed to help, but how? What could we offer?
Our diversity. We could offer our diversity and our ability to speak so many languages. So we contacted the place where families were rerouted when looking for their family members or friends, or when they had difficult administrative issues to address.
In some cases, the lease was in the name of the missing person, presumed but not declared dead, and the survivor was at risk of being evicted.
Some were not even legally in the country and could face deportation.
In most cases, the breadwinner had disappeared and the family had no means to sustain itself.
And this, in addition to the grief, in a situation where communication was seriously impeded by language limitations.
Many of us would go to the reception centre after working hours to assist. We gave our contacts in case a special language was needed that was not immediately available, so we could rush from the office to help.
Medical staff provided even us with psychological support, and taxi drivers would volunteer to take us to and from the centre free of charge. The outpouring of solidarity was enormous.
Everyone did what they could, just like volunteers around the world have been doing and still do today. Our language skills came in very handy to help on many occasions.
I never felt so much a New Yorker as I did over that difficult time.
And I became aware, more than ever before, that a healthy society requires and needs to encourage the solidarity and commitment that volunteers—UN Volunteers—all over are showing every day.
Flavia Pansieri was the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) from 2008 to 2013.