We will remember the 2,977 people from more than 90 nations who were killed as a result of the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Περισσότερο από 400 of them were people who responded first to the attacks.
Ο Δρ. Benjamin J. Luft, a native New Yorker, began treating responders who survived the September 11 attacks for medical and psychological needs. Deeply moved by the experiences of these American heroes, Ben was instrumental in establishing the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program at Stony Brook University Medical Center to focus more research and study on their physical and emotional issues. He began interviewing the responders as a part of their treatment. The impact of these interviews became the impetus for the production of an oral history as a book: We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal, and also as a film: 9/11: An American Requiem. In many ways and on many different levels, this body of work continues to support, educate and inspire all those who experience it. On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, as we all remember our tragic loss, I asked Ben to share his thoughts and reflections.
In addition to being an author and a filmmaker, Ο Δρ. Benjamin Luft is the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist and expert in the treatment of Lyme disease and AIDS-related conditions. Involved in many of the early studies of Lyme disease, he identified the genome sequence of 13 different strains of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. This discovery has contributed to a much deeper knowledge of the disease and paved the way for the development of a vaccine to fight it.
Can you update us on your book, your film, and the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment program at Stony Brook University?
The primary mission of our program is to monitor the health and wellbeing of those who responded and were exposed to the World Trade Center disaster, and to provide care for all conditions related to such exposure. We follow 6,000 patients across Long Island, and have recently expanded to Brooklyn. Empirically, it quickly became apparent that physical and mental health in the responders were intimately related to one another and we therefore developed a unique, collaborative model that replaces the traditional separation of medical, psychiatric and social services with an integrated delivery of care. This premise has formed the basis not only of the way in which we deliver care, but of our research program as well. We have now demonstrated not only that mental and physical health are related to one another, but that post-traumatic stress may actually act as a cofactor and mediate physical disease. This may mean that, in patients with concomitant physical and mental health problems, treatment of the physical condition is dependent on control of the psychiatric condition. We are now studying the physiologic, biochemical and genetic basis for this relationship.
The complexity of the clinical disease arose from its origin in the extraordinarily toxic exposure to the environmental disaster of 9/11. This formed the basis of a seminar course for medical students that dissects the multidimensional nature of the event. We examine the physical, περιβαλλοντικών, psychological, ιατρικός, sociological, religious and economic impact, and how these factors drove the nature of the response. The stories of specific responders serve as springboards for our discussions of these various dimensions. This was the derivation of our oral history project, the video recordings, the book, We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Renewal, and the film, 9/11: An American Requiem. The oral histories that we collected will be archived at the Library of Congress.
Our book and film reflect deeply personal and unique perspectives. They are meant to be individual accounts, in responders’ own voices, expressing their individual motivation and sacrifice in responding to 9/11. They were created to help us understand the human impact of the World Trade Center disaster and encourage us all to recover. In our most recent interviews, we are now exploring the human cost of such sacrifice, its long-term impact on the responders and their family, and the manner in which society responds to their needs. The book is available on Amazon, and the film is available at our center and is being shown at small theaters, βιβλιοθήκες, and community centers. The film and videos are being used as part of a library and school program to educate the community on the impact of 9/11.
You have always felt the need to create a visual archive for educating future generations. What values do you believe students and educators can gain from this archive?
Οι ερωτηθέντες πουν την ιστορία τους από την άφιξη στο χώρο της 9/11 και αντιμετωπίζει διαρκή κίνδυνο, human carnage, and toxic dust. They speak of their actions and motivation to respond in the face of an extraordinary act of terror. They are humble, but one senses their courage from their actions. They are unabashed in speaking of their foibles and weaknesses; their altruism, patriotism, loyalty and sense of community provide them with the strength to carry on. They are simple and frank. Although their voices are filled with sorrow and pain, there is little bitterness. They celebrate one another. They are a testimony to the human spirit’s ability to transcend unimaginable horror and still maintain its integrity and humanity.
The stories in the archive touch upon the values and essence of humanity that have been taught by every great civilization and religion; they speak of our interdependence with one another. Although they were surrounded by death, destruction, and desperation, responders nevertheless tend to remember most vividly a positive sense of purpose, their embrace of one another into a brotherhood. The responders’ stories are intricately related to those they are rescuing. Hearing these stories, we are first touched by the events, we cry and empathize with the responders, we too feel a sense of comraderie. Ωστόσο,, before too long, we begin to question our own understanding, values and presuppositions. These stories allow us to bear witness to the events of 9/11 and ultimately aid us in the healing that is needed as a result of such evil.
Your video interviews involved limited editing, allowing us to hear the voices of the responders in as real a way as possible. Why was this video treatment important to you?
The manner and conditions that our interviews were conducted in are uncommon and uniquely suited to eliciting a frank, deeply personal and intimate discussion. They are performed in my office at the World Trade Center Health Program on Long Island, where the responders have been receiving health care for years by interviewers who have done their best in helping responders come to terms with the disaster and its effects. The result is that the responders’ stories are powerful. Their sentences are short, their language is simple, direct and highly descriptive. As much is learned from their non-verbal language – their pauses, απώλεια των λέξεων, συναισθηματική διάθεση τους – as from the words themselves. There was no need for the interviewer to insert himself. Θα μειώσει μόνο από αυτό το εξαιρετικό μαρτυρία.
Another reason that only minimal editing was appropriate was that the interviews themselves took on a confessional quality. We discovered that, εκτός από την ιστορική συμβολή του, participation in this project had a profound impact on the responders themselves. It gave them the opportunity not only to recollect the events from their own past, but also to share with us their considered views on the event itself and the societal response. It was important to me that we make a conscious effort to avoid sentimentality and partisanship.
Eleven years after 9/11, any final reflections that you would like to share with us?
What has become evident to me is that the response to 9/11 was more pivotal than the event itself. This is not to minimize the truly heinous character of this terrorist attack, but such evil has repeatedly reared its ugly head throughout human history. What is variable is the response. So many of the responders chose to act in a truly heroic and altruistic manner, with a deep commitment to their colleagues, κοινότητά τους, and their nation. In the days immediately following the tragedy, we so often heard, “the United States was one.” Ironically, in the midst of the turmoil that the responders were experiencing, the responders felt a certain peace of being in sync with one another, working for a common purpose. Έκτοτε, this unity has become fragmented and the toxic impact of 9/11 continues to fester, even eleven years later. Although the main mission of our clinic is to care for the physical and psychiatric illnesses resulting from 9/11, delivering such care has become inextricably linked to the important question of how to transition the responders from physical and psychological trauma back to a normal life. In many respects, we have come to the conclusion that this healing requires not only that the responders’ να βελτιωθούν τα συμπτώματα, but also that the greater society come to grips with the trauma of 9/11. The completion of the new World Trade Center and its deeply moving memorial will be significant steps in this process.
Οι φωτογραφίες είναι ευγενική προσφορά του Δρ. Benjamin Luft and C. M. Rubin.
Στο παγκόσμιο Αναζήτηση για Εκπαίδευση, μαζί μου και παγκοσμίως γνωστή ηγέτες σκέψης συμπεριλαμβανομένου του Sir Michael Κομμωτήριο (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Ο Δρ. Michael Block (ΗΠΑ), Ο Δρ. Leon Botstein (ΗΠΑ), Καθηγητής Clay Christensen (ΗΠΑ), Ο Δρ. Linda Ντάρλινγκ-Hammond (ΗΠΑ), Ο Δρ. Madhav Chavan (Ινδία), Ο καθηγητής Michael Fullan (Καναδάς), Ο καθηγητής Howard Gardner (ΗΠΑ), Ο καθηγητής Andy Hargreaves (ΗΠΑ), Ο καθηγητής Yvonne Hellman (Η Ολλανδία), Ο καθηγητής Kristin Helstad (Νορβηγία), Jean Hendrickson (ΗΠΑ), Καθηγητής Rose Hipkins (Νέα Ζηλανδία), Καθηγητής Cornelia Hoogland (Καναδάς), Η κ. Chantal Kaufmann (Βέλγιο), Ο Δρ. Eija Kauppinen (Φινλανδία), Υφυπουργός Tapio Kosunen (Φινλανδία), Ο καθηγητής Dominique Λαφοντέν (Βέλγιο), Ο καθηγητής Hugh Lauder (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Καθηγητής Ben Levin (Καναδάς), Lord Ken Macdonald (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Καθηγητής Barry McGaw (Αυστραλία), Shiv Nadar (Ινδία), Καθηγητής R. Natarajan (Ινδία), Ο Δρ. PAK NG (Σιγκαπούρη), Ο Δρ. Denise Πάπα (ΗΠΑ), Sridhar Rajagopalan (Ινδία), Ο Δρ. Diane Ravitch (ΗΠΑ), Sir Ken Robinson (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Καθηγητής Pasi Sahlberg (Φινλανδία), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, ΟΟΣΑ), Ο Δρ. Anthony Seldon (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Ο Δρ. David Shaffer (ΗΠΑ), Ο Δρ. Kirsten Μοναδική Are (Νορβηγία), Στήβεν Spahn (ΗΠΑ), Yves Theze (Γαλλικό λύκειο των ΗΠΑ), Ο καθηγητής Charles Ungerleider (Καναδάς), Ο καθηγητής Tony Wagner (ΗΠΑ), Sir David Watson (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Καθηγητής Dylan Γουίλιαμ (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Ο Δρ. Mark Wormald (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), Ο καθηγητής Theo Wubbels (Η Ολλανδία), Ο καθηγητής Michael Young (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο), και ο καθηγητής Minxuan Zhang (Κίνα) καθώς εξερευνούν τα μεγάλα ζητήματα της εκπαίδευσης εικόνα που όλα τα έθνη αντιμετωπίζουν σήμερα. Η Παγκόσμια αναζήτηση για την Εκπαίδευση της Κοινότητας Σελίδα
C. M. Rubin είναι ο συγγραφέας των δύο πολυδιαβασμένα online σειρά για την οποία έλαβε ένα 2011 Βραβείο Upton Sinclair, “Η Σφαιρική Αναζήτηση για Εκπαίδευση” και “Πώς θα μας Διαβάστε?” Είναι επίσης ο συγγραφέας του μπεστ σέλερ τρία βιβλία, Συμπεριλαμβανομένων Η Ρεάλ Αλίκη στη Χώρα των Θαυμάτων.
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