By Eric Wanner
9/11 was happening when we got home
from school in the afternoon. Someone had called our house so we
turned on the TV. As we sat glued to the TV, the tower collapsed,
then the second one, and we also heard about the Pentagon and the
crash in Pennsylvania. That night, lots of parents remained at work
and lots of phone calls were going back and forth as people tried
to decide if we were in danger here in Germany, whether we would
go to school the next day etc. The next day there was a Community
Meeting where agitated people and department heads met to discuss
what was happening, whether we would be evacuated etc. From then
for the next few days, that was on all TV channels, even the German
ones, without any ads interrupting the broadcasting.
The next day concrete barricades
were set in place around our housing complex, which is a fairly
large group of 4-story apartment buildings. Parking places near
the office buildings were blocked off and they remain so, so we
have fewer parking spaces than before. It was always normal to have
security guards walking around but after 9/11 the German police
was there too, and they parked vans around our area and many police
stood around, armed and with flak vests on. People who have never
lived in countries where armed guards are an everyday thing were
bothered by this, but most of us have seen that before so we didn't
care. German friends were nervous about visiting us. We brought
cookies to the police regularly and the younger kids enjoyed visiting
with them.
RSO had plainclothes guards patrolling
our neighborhood too. The school buses were escorted with security
onboard. Police cars or unmarked cars followed or joined along the
route.
When Halloween came around, Trick-or-Treating
was cancelled and large gatherings, even children's parties, had
extra security and German police standing around. Community Trick-or-treating
was cancelled this year too and all the community parties have been
held in a fenced-in area, with a guard checking ID cards.
The street in front of the consulate itself is still barricaded
and patrolled. A riot control water tank was stationed there too
but that was placed there any time there was a big demonstration
downtown so that wasn't really new.
