Ten years ago, Afifeh Alaween thought her classmates would blame her for the Sept. 11 attacks.
On that day in 2001, Alaween was a 14-year-old freshman in her first week at North Bergen’s High Tech High School. She didn’t know many of the kids.
When two hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center as part of a terrorist attack at 8:46 a.m. Tuesday morning, Alaween, who is of Middle Eastern descent, grew concerned that her classmates would react negatively toward her. The hijackers were from a Middle Eastern terrorist organization.
When word came that her school would be closed for the next two days, Alaween decided that the best course of action would be to volunteer her time at Ground Zero.
“It just seemed like the appropriate thing to do,” said Alaween last week. “I guess my mom knew there was no way of convincing me not to go.”
“There was an innocence lost after that.” – Jennifer Penton
____________
“I remember as we were getting on to the ferry we prayed with each other and just hoped for the best,” added Alaween. “[We prayed] for inner strength for what we were about to see.”
“As soon as you stepped off the ferries, there was nothing to be seen,” Alaween added. “The remnants of the Towers were just being held by the grace of God. Unless you were with the National Guard or the Fire Rescue Squard or just someone volunteering – there was no one to be found.”
Alaween assisted rescue workers as they searched the wreckage for potential survivors. Many rescuers needed water, aspirin, or other medication, which was supplied by Alaween and other volunteers.
Alaween recalled her reaction to witnessing Ground Zero up close.
“I remember it sort of being like a state of shellshock,” said Alaween. “There was no sense in crying or anything else. You needed to do what needed to be done.”
Alaween said she saw a woman being pulled from the wreckage – alive.
“[It] was around six or seven at night on my first day there,” said Alaween, “and that was just a sense of relief and I think it instilled a newfound hope in everyone.”
Alaween returned to school Friday, Sept. 14. She found herself unable to return to Ground Zero for over nine years.
“It was just a refusal on my end. I can’t get those images out of my mind,” said Alaween. “They’re scarred there. I can’t go down there without getting myself worked up.”
Caught in the mix
For North Bergen resident Joe Lepore, it began like any another typical daily commute to the Church Pension Group on 39th street and Fifth Avenue.
An employee of the mail department, Lepore had a friend in a nearby residential building who lived in a penthouse on the 39th floor. While walking to work down Fifth Avenue, Lepore heard a plane fly overhead and thought nothing of it.
After hearing news of the attack from people around him, Lepore quickly changed his plans and decided to go with his friend to the penthouse patio to snap pictures.
His photos, some of which accompany this story, were unreleased until this publication.
After the second attack, Lepore received a call from his fiancée telling them they needed to leave Manhattan immediately.
“We came out on Fifth Avenue walking up 42nd street,” said Lepore. “People were shoulder to shoulder walking with this stunned look on their face.”
“[They] were so quiet, it was eerie,” added Lepore.
While waiting on line for the ferry, Lepore began complaining about the length of the line. He then heard someone behind him telling him to mellow out and relax.
While turning around to confront the man, Lepore noticed the man was completely covered in ash.
Completely taken aback, Lepore responded, “I’m sorry, man. I’m not complaining.”
Lepore lost a cousin in the attacks.
He and his fiancée made it onto the ferry as the thick smoke spread across Manhattan toward the Empire State Building.
Educators tame anxiety
While teaching seventh grade writing and language arts at Horace Mann School, Mike Spina recalls being informed by security that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center buildings.
For many teachers, a big part of the challenge was maintaining composure after receiving news of the tragedy.
“At first I think I told the kids that there was some type of emergency in New York without giving specifics,” said Spina. “I told them there was some sort of trouble at the World Trade Center, but didn’t give any details.”
“I did notice that when I talked to them about the emergency, my voice did crack a tiny bit,” continued Spina. “It was very tough to hide my anxiety as I’m sure it was for many teachers.”
According to Spina, Principal Jorge Prado instructed teachers to bring the kids to the auditorium. Parents came to pick their kids up in large numbers.
“Jorge Prado did a good job, although you could hear the nervousness in his voice whenever he came on the intercom,” Spina said.
Spina remembered the drive home to Central Jersey.
“I live in Old Bridge and the drive home on the Turnpike was eerie,” said Spina, “the lack of planes in the sky passing Newark Airport going south was just scary and way too silent.”
Other North Bergen educators, such as John F. Kennedy School teacher Jennifer Penton, had a similar experience.
In one of her first days at a new school, Penton recalls teaching a second grade music class.
“I remember that day so specifically,” said Penton. “It’s something that stuck in my memory. It’s just one of those days that you don’t forget.”
Penton recalls hearing commotion in the hallway. She was told of the attacks by construction workers who had been on the roof of the school.
With a husband who works for New York Waterway – the ferry company that ended up shuttling many escaping New Yorkers across the river to New Jersey – Penton knew her husband could be in danger.
“My immediate thought was – my husband,” said Penton. “I tried to get in touch with him on his cell, but service was all out. There was no way to get in touch with anybody. It was quite scary.”
Like Spina, Penton’s challenge as a teacher was to keep her composure in front of her students.
“I just kept on teaching as best as you could,” continued Penton, “but once the word was out, it was out.”
Although her second grade students were too young to fully understand the impact, many of the older students of Kennedy School could see what was happening from the third floor.
“They were all kind of scared,” added Penton. “You could see the smoke; you could see the Tower.”
Her husband, a part of the rescue effort, returned home after 8 p.m. He was dressed in rain gear after having been covered in the white, dusty, ash from the towers.
“You could see it in his face when he came home,” said Penton. “Just kind of a blank expression. There’s no description of what he saw.”
“I think it changed everybody as a person,” added Penton. “There was an innocence lost after that.”
Mayor feels the impact
Mayor Nicholas Sacco was working at his house when he received a phone call that a plane had hit the tower. After hearing the news, Sacco at first assumed it was an accident.
Sacco walked down to Kennedy Boulevard East to observe.
“People weren’t talking. Everything was just quiet. Eerie,” said Sacco.
As mayor, Sacco had to find out which residents of his town were missing.
“People [were] coming out at night with candles, walking around,” continued Sacco. “Little vigils – almost spontaneous.”
Eventually, Sacco heard that three former North Bergen High school students were victims of the tragedies that day. Christopher Amoroso, class of 1990, Sal Edward Tieri, class of 1978, and Lt. Robert Cirri, class of 1980, were the three graduates that had lost their lives in the attacks.
“Chris Amoroso was probably the closest person [to me] because I had known him as a young man,” said Sacco. “I knew his family very well. It was kind of very personal.”
Sacco said, “It stole the innocence from the country. Maybe the naïveté that we were invincible.”
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.