There are dates that don't just belong to History. They belong to the families left behind, to the children who grew up without their parents, to the people who waited for a phone call that never came.
September 11, 2001 is one of those dates.
That morning, the world watched in shock as images from New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania were captured by terrorists. Four passenger jets were hijacked. The Twin Towers collapsed, the Pentagon was hit, and Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville when passengers resisted the hijackers. Nearly 3.000 people were killed and thousands more were injured. FBI
But behind the number 2.977 there are not just victims. There are names. There are faces, dreams and lives that were violently interrupted.
They were workers who had just arrived at their offices. They were passengers traveling for work, for vacation, for a family reunion or for a wedding. They were parents who had dropped their children off at school a short time earlier. They were people from different countries, religions and cultures, who that morning shared the same tragic fate.
Among them were eight children. Nearly 3.000 children lost a parent, while more than 400 rescuers gave their lives trying to save people they did not know. FBI
Firefighters climbed the stairs of the burning Towers while everyone else tried to get down. Police, rescue workers, doctors, and ordinary citizens rushed towards the danger. Many never returned. Others survived, but continued to pay a heavy price, facing serious illnesses from the dust and toxic substances of Ground Zero.
September 11th didn't end when the fires went out. It continued in the empty chairs at family tables, in the photos left on shelves, in the birthdays not celebrated, and in the lives changed forever.
At the National September 11 Memorial, the names of the victims are engraved around the two large gaps left by the Twin Towers. They are not there as a death list. They are there to remind us that every person had their own story and their own place in the world. National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Twenty-five years later, pain is not measured only by the time that has passed. It is measured by the absences that remain. For the families of the victims, September 11 is not an anniversary that occurs once a year. It is a reality that accompanies them every day.
The memory of this day should not be a reason for hatred towards peoples, religions or people. It should be a promise that we will not allow fanaticism and terrorism to defeat our humanity.
Today we don't just remember the disaster. We remember the self-sacrifice, the solidarity, and the hand that reached out in the darkness to hold another hand. We remember those who fled and we honor those who rushed to help.
We do not forget the Twin Towers. But above all, we do not forget the people.
2.977 lives.
2.977 stories.
2.977 reasons to remember.
We will never forget.
New York mayor releases 170.000 pages of 9/11 documents
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has launched a new online portal, giving the public access for the first time to approximately 170.000 pages of documents related to air quality, public health risks and the management of the situation after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Much of the material was located in 68 boxes in a municipal office and, according to the official announcement, was only discovered in 2025, despite repeated requests made in the past for its release.
The documents include reports, measurements and internal memos about the presence of asbestos, benzene, lead and other hazardous substances in the Ground Zero area. Despite public assurances that the air was safe, internal data reportedly documented serious risks to citizens and rescue workers.
The mayor said people got sick because they trusted the authorities' assurances and stressed that, almost 25 years later, more people have died from illnesses related to September 11 than those killed on the day of the attacks.
The files are now available in the public domain. New York City web portal.
Publisher's Comment
September 11th left behind not only those who perished in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the planes. It also left behind thousands of people who survived that day but continued to pay the price for many years.
If the authorities knew the air was dangerous and still reassured citizens, then this is not just a miscommunication. It is a profound moral failure towards the firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, workers, residents, and children who trusted the word of those responsible.
The people who ran through the rubble to save lives deserved protection, honesty, and care. They did not deserve reassuring assurances that potentially put them in even greater danger.
The release of these documents, even 25 years later, is a step towards transparency. It cannot restore lost health or comfort grieving families. But it can restore some of the truth.
Remembering the victims requires more than ceremonies and words. It requires responsibility, accountability, and the promise that no human life will ever again be sacrificed to protect the image of any government or public authority.
Ioanna Lazarou
Publisher – Journalist
photo Greek News FL
