The Philippine Online Chronicles

Americans and people the world over will soon commemorate the historic attacks on the World Trade Center. The date has been forever immortalized in history as 9-11. On that fateful day, September 11, 2001, the history of the world changed that Monday morning and every man, woman and child was affected. A single act of terror ten years ago on one nation by one group still has ramifications on the way our world turns today.

What ensued after was a long series of attacks against Al Qaeda. At the same time, Osama Bin Laden became public enemy number one. Suddenly, terrorism has become a byword and it became ok to give up some comforts and civil liberties for the sake of security. It has become unpatriotic to decline physical pat-downs at the airport and to demand to eat with real utensils onboard. Paranoia swept the world. Everyone has become security conscious to the point of ridiculousness.

Since then, much of the movements of the US government have been to bring both the organization and leader down, from the war on Iraq to the eventual capture of Osama Bin Laden under the Obama administration. With the capture of Bin Laden and the execution of his second in command, the US has finally managed to break apart its enemy’s stronghold at the cost of millions of dollars annually.

Economically, many nations were affected. Any activity in the US economy produces a ripple effect on the various economies of the world, especially ours. We are highly dependent on many US goods, and at the same time, we export many products, which are bound for US shores.

Another main reason is that oil prices reached an all time high. Oil dependent nations and industries became affected. This caused fuel prices to go up, making consumers change the way they lived. For example, here in the country, it suddenly became more important to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle than to go for a gas-guzzler. People started buying fuel and energy efficient appliances.

The attacks that occurred in 9-11 also had an environmental impact. The debris from the rubble was dumped on the Hudson, which later evolved into one of the largest landfills. Let’s not even talk about the environmental impact of the war that ensued.

It also made people change the way they design buildings. Suddenly, soaring structures seemed to be like beacons for attack and having a high profile address has become a disadvantage because it puts people at an unnecessary risk. Rather than just having to make buildings and structures earthquake proof, there is the added dimension of having to make buildings that can possibly withstand terrorist attacks from land, air and sea.

Here in the Philippines, we watched aghast, alongside with the rest of the world, and witnessed how a superpower like the United States was attacked and felled by their own airplanes. What seemed liked such an invincible force became all too human in our eyes.

Given our strong ties to the US, it’s no wonder the Filipinos take to heart what happened that fateful day in September a decade ago. It was as if our own buildings in Makati were brought down, rather than the Twin Towers in New York City. Because of the number of human lives lost that day, it was only fitting that we pay our respects.

Immediately after the attacks, then President Macapagal-Arroyo expressed the Philippine government’s support to the US. We opened our airspace to the US. We made available whatever Philippine intelligence we had to the US Military to help bring down the Abu Sayyaf. On our shores, counter terrorism exercises continue, funded by millions of US aid.

While we continue to believe in the strength and power of the US and rely on any existing treaties with the nation and continue to receive aid, we have also become conscious that the US has many problems that is has to deal with. This is especially true with the US economy being the way it is now. This means that we can’t keep relying on our American comrades to bail us out in our own time of need. This is probably something to keep in mind, should we decide to take a militant stance against China over the Spratly islands.

We have many of our kababayans who are based in the East Coast. Because of the Muslim insurgents in our country also known as the Abu Sayyaf, the country came under close scrutiny, since it was strongly believed that Abu Sayyaf was closely linked with Al Qaeda. The country became known as a terrorist haven.

Because of this, Filipinos traveling abroad became even subject to more intense airport security and scrutiny. In the last decade, if you traveled anywhere (especially to and within the US) with a Philippine passport, you were most likely asked to step out of the line to get your things inspected by TSA personnel.

New airport security measures were also put into place all over the world, now including the use of body scanning equipment and physical pat downs. This is aside from the prohibitions against carrying any liquids onboard, as well as any object that can be considered a weapon, including a nail cutter, tweezers and even a butter knife. At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, you even have to remove your shoes as part of the security inspection.

Racial profiling has become acceptable. In fact, it also seems that a level of intolerance has developed against our Muslim brothers and sisters. If you were different, complained or brought attention to yourself, you were considered a terrorist.

It’s been a decade since the 9-11 attacks and it seems that Americans still have not completely healed from the wounds caused by that act of terror. This is because there is still much to be done.

We see that the acts of the courageous men and women who helped put New York City back together are nothing but exemplary. Our own countrymen can take many lessons from the acts of bravery and selflessness that the Americans showed after 9-11.

As the 9-11 anniversary approaches, we should all be reminded at just how closely linked our world is. What happens within the borders of one nation can have a direct impact on our own shores.

Another lesson to remember is to not be complacent. While people have taken the other extreme and have become overly paranoid, we need to see that things can change in an instant, so we should never take anything for granted.

Finally, there should also be forgiveness for healing to begin. While the act of terror was uncalled for and has resulted in unspeakable harm to millions of lives for over a decade now, it does no good to dwell on hatred, anger or fear. Instead, we should learn from the mistakes of the past and find ways to heal.

We all pray nothing like this taints our history ever again.

Photo: “World Trade Center Attack” by Cliff, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved