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SCARY FIREWORKS IN NEW YORK MADE ME THINK OF OUR BROTHERS/SISTERS IN
PALESTINE
-
IRAQ
-
AFGHANISTAN
by Aisha [New Trend rep in New York city]
September 13, 2003, was a spectacular 6 1/2 minute celebration of
Central Park's 150th Anniversary in New York City. I saw the news report
earlier in the daytime on
CNN.
An Asian man, Cai Guo-Qiang, collaborated with Fireworks by Grucci to
display his "Light Cycle". It was a giant ring of fireworks. The
artist stated that if bombs can be used to destroy, that they could be
used for joyous celebratory occasions, too.
The display began at 7:45pm and then...chaos! At first, I thought it was
a construction crew beginning yet another road repair project. My family
thought it might be a thunderstorm. I looked out the window and saw
people running around screaming and looking up in the evening sky. I see
these colorful explosions and remember the earlier news report.
Apparently, not many people knew about this fireworks display. The
evening news reports stated that the 911 emegency phoneline was inundated
with thousands of calls from frightened New Yorkers.
I, too, thought of
9/11
and the sound reminded me of the fright I felt that tragic day.
However, I thought that this display was powerful, frightening, and
magnificent all at the same time!
The people interviewed spoke of how angry and frightened they were but, I
didn't feel sorry for them. Why? Because when I heard those thunderous
explosions, I wondered about my little brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
Palestine
who have to endure these scary sounds on a daily basis! The reality for
me and the rest of New York City is that this was just a display but, in
some parts of the world (Muslim and nonMuslim) little children have to
hear, see, and feel the devastating effects of tons of bombs being dropped
in their communities - daily! Six minutes of anxiety cannot compare to
the devastion going on in the rest of the world.
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2003-09-21 Sun 08:52ct