| Their
stories |
 |
Translated
by Jenny Chang, Chi Law, northern California
November 20, 2001
The Buddhist concept of "conditioned
causation" is really intriguing. Facing this disaster of
the century, Tzu Chi volunteers advanced to the front lines
and had opportunities to reach out to victims' families and
the fortunate survivors of the September 11 disaster. When listening
to their stories, Tzu Chi volunteers were heartbroken, as if
they personally experienced the disaster.
Having directed aid distribution at the scene
for several days, Sister Lu-jung, head of the New Jersey chapter,
described a case she had handled the day before. An American
lady came to the aid counter with a child in tow. After talking
to her, Tzu Chi volunteers learned that the child's mother was
one of the persons reported missing, while his father had been
a passenger on one of the hijacked planes. Everyone was too
sad to utter a word after hearing such a depressing story. In
addition to receiving $1000 of emergency aid, the surviving
relatives were added to Tzu Chi's long-term care list.
Sister Yang Su-su of the New Jersey Chapter
said that an American who worked at the Window of the World
on the 107th floor escaped the disaster because he was late
for work that morning. Led to our counter by the Salvation Army
to apply for emergency unemployment assistance, he suddenly
burst into tears when Tzu Chi volunteers told him that Doris
Eng was among those missing. He explained that Doris was his
manager, who had treated him very well. She had changed from
the night shift to the morning shift to supervise remodeling
work, and thus was involved in the disaster. After hearing the
unfortunate story about Doris, Tzu Chi volunteers all felt sorry
for this young, beautiful woman. Last week, Tzu Chi volunteers
from New York went to Doris's home to visit her mother. They
gave her monetary aid and will visit her often to care for her.
Mr. Lee, a Chinese coworker of Brother Li
Yang-te at Window of the World, also came to our counter. Absent-minded
and red-eyed, Mr. Lee told Tzu Chi volunteers his story with
a trembling voice. He was supposed to come to work at 6:30 a.m.
on September 11. The night before, however, his manager told
him that he should come in at noon instead. Mr. Lee argued with
the manager about this schedule change, but who could have known
that he would thus escape death! Mr. Lee added, however, that
whenever he closed his eyes, many of his missing colleagues
would reappear in front of him, which really frightened him.
He said he had not slept in a week and was about to collapse.
After hearing of his condition, many Tzu Chi volunteers came
to comfort him and told him to recite "Nambha Kuan Yin
Bodhisattva" when he felt afraid. They also took down his
phone number and filed his case for future follow-up.
The Salvation Army brought to our aid distribution
counter a young woman, five or six months pregnant. Her husband
was a firefighter who died while on duty at the September 11
disaster. Tzu Chi volunteers rushed to hug her when they heard
about her misfortune, and they all started to cry when they
saw her red, tearful eyes.
A young blond lady who said she was Russian
also visited our counter. She had been married for less than
a year. Her husband had worked at the World Trade Center and
had already been missing for a few days. She began to sob hopelessly
while telling her story. Tzu Chi volunteers comforted her and
gave her $1000.
Sister Chang Chen-fen, who had been helping
with aid distribution for three consecutive days, said that
a couple of days ago a lady whose firefighter husband was missing
came to our aid counter. When asked what Tzu Chi could help
her with, she gratefully replied, "I'm OK." She then
told Tzu Chi volunteers that her husband escaped death while
fighting a fire in 1986. From then on, she felt that every day
she lived was a gift from God. Now though her husband was really
gone, she felt contented. She said she did not need any aid
because her children were all grown up and had their own families.
She hoped that we'd help other more needy people.
Sister Chen-fen added that the saddest story
she heard was about a Spanish man who escaped the disaster because
he worked the night shift at the Window of the World. When he
came to us for unemployment aid, he said that 84 of the 500
employees of his company were missing. He learned from a colleague
that shortly after 9:00 a.m. on September 11, many employees
were working on the 106th and 107th floors. When they learned
that a plane had crashed into the floors below them and that
death was inevitable, they hugged each other and waited to die.
Some of them phoned their families or other colleagues to say
goodbye.
Hearing all these heartbreaking stories,
Tzu Chi volunteers not only comforted victims and their relatives,
they also learned an important lesson from this frightening
disaster: faced with this human catastrophe, we must dissolve
hatred and heal broken hearts with love. Let our hearts find
gratitude in our meditation. Through our reflections on the
disaster of September 11, let us advance on the Path of the
Bodhisattvas. Let us pray for blessings on all suffering souls,
for purification of the mind, for peace in our society, and
for a world free of all disasters.
